[News] Late For Work 12/31: Two Things You Must Know About Steve Smith's Return

[BR News]

Osemele playing in final game as a Raven? Big development happening under radar. Za'Darius vs. Pernell.

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[whobilly]

Possible to sign both KO and Alshon Jeffery? Lot depends on restructuring Joe's deal, but I'm sure Joe wouldn't mind throwing to SSS, Jeffery, a HEALTHY Perriman, Aiken, Boyle, Williams, and Gilmore along with having Forsette and Buck swinging out of the backfield.

[stixfix69]

KO is worth using the franchise tag on....People will say it may be used on Tucker, but getting Tucker signed to a long term deal would be cheaper than trying to get KO's signed to one next year....JMO....

[DenverRaven]

Regardless of what happens with KO, it speaks volumes about the FO being able to see his potential across the line. He's either coming back, or netting us a sweet comp pick. The FO has been under the gun this season, rightfully so in some aspects, but they still know the system better than most.

Edited December 31, 2015 by DenverRaven

[stixfix69]

By franchising him 2 things can happen, we pay him the tag number, or it buys us time to work a long term deal before the season starts, like we did with Ngata....This is just one player i feel we need to find a way to keep....He is a Mauler, he plays like a Raven, and has the work ethic that defines what a Raven should be....JMO....

[RavensDieHard21]

Either tag or sign KO. He's a difference maker and brings ferocity to our line. Especially in run blocking. Just watch his tape and see how relentless he is and how easily he bulldozes defenders. I would hate to see a mega talent like him leave the team.

[cushrinada1986]

Worth mentioning all these transactions makes the Ravens like the deepest team in Madden right now. Seriously, go look at the Ravens roster, looks like FA list. Seriously though, Monroes signing really makes things really hard here. Might have to make some cuts on defense and tbh if I was Flacco, after having the season I just had, I would restructure anything I needed to make sure I dont have Hurst watching my blindside again..... DB, pass rusher early in the draft would help, mid round WR like Sterling Sheppard and maybe even another DB like Eric Murray and we can start fixing those holes on D we had last year. Having our young guys like Urban and Will Davis may help also(Davis was pretty good before he was injured).

[fusuymada]

Okay, I am all on board with paying Flacco after the super bowl that he won and was the MVP and tied Montana's record wiith 11 tds and 0 ints. However, Joe now has enough money to support the next 5 generations of Flaccos and it seems Joe is pretty good with money so now it is time for him to take one for the team. Manning did it, Brady did it, Brees did it, so now it is time that Flacco did it. With a reasonable new contract we could afford KO at tackle and a high dollar free agent receiver (since we cant draft or develop them). If we do those two things the offense will be ok and we can use this high draft to get the next Ray Lewis/Chris McAllistar/Haloti Ngata/Ed Reed etc.... And if we use the whole draft (or the majority of it) on defense we will be better than we thought we were going to be this year. If get a good FA wide receiver, Smith/Perriman will be #2s and Aiken and company will be #3's, #4s and #5s. With KO back the line is perfect and that doesn't even include Zuttah. Running backs are great in fact we will probably lose one, and Tight End goes without saying if they can stay healthy. With Mallett at QB it looks like if Joe goes down we are good. There isn't a weak spot on this offense with those moves.  And these moves will make it so we can lose players at all those positions and still have starter quality players to fill in.  Nowadays its not about just your starting lineup, you have to plan two and three players deep at some positions.

Edited December 31, 2015 by fusuymada

[gregob56]

Of course hind sight is 20/20, but if the FO could have a do over on one of the 105 roster moves, I believe it would be to sign Dwight Freeny over Babin.

[roamingcharges]

Would be a good day when Flacco, Suggs and Smith Sr. get on the practice field in Training Camp 2016 and declare: "We're Back!" Would be even better if there are two marquee free agent signings and 3 heralded draft picks there to welcome them.

[BigUgly]

Prior to the win against the Stillers, I would've said that Ozzie was trying KO at LT to increase his stock in free agency to nab a higher comp pick. With a likely top 3 pick, the Ravens could've targeted Tunsil, the LT from Ole Miss. Now? I have no idea!

[vinnystp]

Just a heads up to all you Flacco haters, saying he needs to take a pay cut. Yes, this "contract year" was built in with the intent to renegotiate, and also pay Flacco for his success after his rookie contract, rightfully earned with that big shiny ring on his finger. The common misconception comes when people compare Flacco to Brady, Brees, and Manning, with regards to renegotiated contracts. Brady and Brees DID NOT take a pay cut. They kept their contract number, and the teams converted part of their salary for the year to a signing bonus. This immediately frees up the team from that money, and pushes it to later years, while the player still gets to remain paid exactly the same. Each game check might be lower, but they have this hefty signing bonus sitting in the bank. Manning did take a pay cut, to reduce the cap hit to the Broncos, by 4m if I remember correctly. However, Manning is also on his 4th??? contract in his career. This is still Flacco's second contract. Comparing apples to apples with Manning, is not fair to Flacco, especially when one of those players is a 4 time MVP. So if everyone expects Flacco to accept less money, while also creating cap space for the team, let's be fair to the player. Flacco has earned his paycheck just like you and I have. Just be realistic about the expectations of the end result. The expectations might be more along the lines of, contract extension, converting a huge chunk of the salary to signing bonus, while keeping the annual salary contract money down to a reasonable annual hit. This is where we, as fans, need to keep our expectations of the upcoming pay negotiations. If I had a guess, his number for 2016 might be somewhere around 16-18m, then expect each year to increase from there. While converting the remaining 10-12m to signing bonus.

[ellicottraven]

Big development happening under radar? What can it be? If it is big and under the radar, it smells like Joe Flacco's deal to me. I only hope it doesn't drag on for ages this time around, because based on what Flacco has stated before, he's already been the highest paid QB and that is no longer an incentive or need for him. My gut tells me that the extension is going to be commensurate with Flacco's production since winning the SB (I think he was already rewarded for the SB with his first contract). I think an extension around 19-20M/ yr is appropriate and fair. I think a 4 yr extension between 76-80MM (with a $25MM bonus) sounds like a great deal for all parties involved. I wouldn't even mind if we extended Flacco to a 5 yr deal just given his durability.

[ellicottraven]

Regardless of what happens with KO, it speaks volumes about the FO being able to see his potential across the line. He's either coming back, or netting us a sweet comp pick. The FO has been under the gun this season, rightfully so in some aspects, but they still know the system better than most.

I meant to give you an up vote but accidentally turned out to be negative.

[budman]

Here is a friendly Happy New Years to all of you in Raven Nation! Be smart and Be Safe. I look forward to talking with you all in 2016!

GO RAVENS!!

[goldenboldin]

love love love forsett but if its tight money, buck allen and terrance west out of the backfield enough would be a solid duo.

[Halshayeji]

1- Thank you SSS for coming back! We all owe you one. Even if he drops every pass this upcoming season the Ravens still got their money's worth and some! I'd love to se SSS holding the Lombardy and finishing in the top 7 in receiving yards. Surely that would end the debate of him being a HOFer

Edited December 31, 2015 by Halshayeji

[GeeWallee]

I firmly believe that Osemele is the ONE Player that needs to be signed long term.

We all know that Flacco will reconstruct and that helps. You also have the scenario of using the Franchise Tag on......Justin Tucker ! This gives him a significant pay raise until they can negotiate a long term deal for him.

Let's hope they can get this done.....because Osemele is Definitely... a Ravens' Type of Player ! He's a good teammate and a hard worker and could be our LT for years to come !

Wishing all of you a Happy and Safe New Year's Eve and a wonderful start to a Happy 2016 !

[Halshayeji]

Possible to sign both KO and Alshon Jeffery? Lot depends on restructuring Joe's deal, but I'm sure Joe wouldn't mind throwing to SSS, Jeffery, a HEALTHY Perriman, Aiken, Boyle, Williams, and Gilmore along with having Forsette and Buck swinging out of the backfield.

It's funny looking back that this team is just one player and a clean bill of health away from being great.

[DenverRaven]

I meant to give you an up vote but accidentally turned out to be negative.

 

Haha, all good!

[pcwag33]

Not everybody can return to form from an achilles rupture, if that's really what it was.

[Halshayeji]

Prior to the win against the Stillers, I would've said that Ozzie was trying KO at LT to increase his stock in free agency to nab a higher comp pick. With a likely top 3 pick, the Ravens could've targeted Tunsil, the LT from Ole Miss. Now? I have no idea!

I have an idea!

1- Resign KO or franchise him. Draft the best Olineman available with our first. Play the best 5 on Sunday's. Best and deepest Oline in the NFL right there!

2- Take a swipe at A.Jeffry. If he's too expensive then bring in someone in FA. Someone like Ruben Randall or the guy from the Browns. Sss comes back, perriman gets healthy, and aiken pushing them all for playing time. That's a legit group of WRs right there.

3- Fire Pees and hire someone worthy of coaching 8 former pro bowlers. Hand him the rest of the picks and tell him if this is not a Top-10 defense then your fired!

4-Record that conversation and send it to Trestman

[rmcjacket23]

KO is worth using the franchise tag on....People will say it may be used on Tucker, but getting Tucker signed to a long term deal would be cheaper than trying to get KO's signed to one next year....JMO....

Uh, no. There isn't a team on the planet who thinks KO is a $12-13M a year player. Realistically, his value is about half of that.

[rmcjacket23]

By franchising him 2 things can happen, we pay him the tag number, or it buys us time to work a long term deal before the season starts, like we did with Ngata....This is just one player i feel we need to find a way to keep....He is a Mauler, he plays like a Raven, and has the work ethic that defines what a Raven should be....JMO....

And during that time being bought in negotiations, we will be able to sign precisely ZERO players. I mean literally... zero players. The moment you slap the tag on him, that's roughly $13M gone. 

 

So not only do we have to come up with $13M in space just to tag him (which we will be roughly $13M short as of now), after you cut several players to get that space, you can't afford to sign a single player.

 

He ain't anywhere near worth that much in any possible scenario.

 

This is moot, of course, because there's a zero percent chance the FO has even given consideration to franchising a player that they realistically might not even be able to afford to resign at HALF the franchise tag cost.

[ellicottraven]

I firmly believe that Osemele is the ONE Player that needs to be signed long term. We all know that Flacco will reconstruct and that helps. You also have the scenario of using the Franchise Tag on......Justin Tucker ! This gives him a significant pay raise until they can negotiate a long term deal for him. Let's hope they can get this done.....because Osemele is Definitely... a Ravens' Type of Player ! He's a good teammate and a hard worker and could be our LT for years to come ! Wishing all of you a Happy and Safe New Year's Eve and a wonderful start to a Happy 2016 !

You know what I would agree with your assessment if he comes at a fair price. However, I don't believe that is likely. From purely a financial perspective, it may indeed be smart for the Ravens to have a healthy Monroe back at LT with Ryan (ascending the PFF ratings like a maniac) at LG, with the rest of the line remaining the same as now. However, if we did get K.O at the right price, I would still want Monroe back with K.O at LG and Ryan as the primary guard back up. If Monroe's recent propensity for getting hurt continues, then obviously we can slide K.O over to LT and Ryan can man the guard position better than adequately.

[Ravenous_Ravens]

Yep Keep Osemele. This is where Joe needs to be smart and renegotiate his contract to allow him team to be better equipped going into next season. The fact K.O. can play LG or LT is great for negotiations. Monroe could stay around or potentially be traded. No sense cutting him due to dead money on the contract. Flacco adjusts his contract so they can sign K.O. to a solid contract offer of a LG with added bonuses in the event he becomes the LT. Jensen has shown to be a solid fit a LG. The whole scenario plays off Flacco being a team player and I don't see that being a problem. I mean the guy goes to McDonald's after the SubperBowl and I'm sure he likes not being a pinata.

[thecommish]

KO should be our starting T... IDK what it would take to keep him but we need to find a way to get it done! BPerriman,SSS, Camp, Aiken and a FA or Draft pick here would make our WR corps dangerous... Gilmore, Maxx and Boyle will be even better at TE... our Offense would be set... we can get rid of Pees and then begin to focus our attention on our Defense in the draft!

[thecommish]

Ohhhh and BTW... the only reason that ZSmith didnt blow away McPhees rookie numbers is bc we didnt even activate him for a long strecth... if he played more... he may have double digit sacks this year... He produces when given the chance... we just give our young guys enough of a chance typically!

[thecommish]

Eric Weddle will be leaving SD... wouldnt mind seeing him paired up with Will Hill... that guy and play and high character, high motor, locker room type of guy and can still play at a PBowl level

[RavensBaltimore]

Ohhhh and BTW... the only reason that ZSmith didnt blow away McPhees rookie numbers is bc we didnt even activate him for a long strecth... if he played more... he may have double digit sacks this year... He produces when given the chance... we just give our young guys enough of a chance typically!

The article says that Smith has already played far more snaps than Mcphee in his rookie year.