Next up: Pro-bowl, Free Agency, Draft and the Salary Cap

[Deflated Football]

I want Boldin back.

[ravensnick]

I want Boldin back.

We can have the wheelchair squad with him and SSS. 

[Winchester]

Not at this point in his career. Benefit the ravens to find the next Bolden. It would be interesting to try and trade for Marqise Lee for more d to late pick. Needs some minor tweakstweaks of some bad habits cuz of coasting on his raw talent but talent and upside is enormous. And he more than has the skills to correct his habits. He don't have the big hands of Beckham but he can do all the things Beckham can and some things better. He is explosive and elusive. Moves like a gazelle and very tough to cover and track. Just watch every dback that played him playing on his heels because of his gears. He has all pro potential.

[gabrielgrissom]

I've never been a fan of Monroe.  Didn't think we should have acquired him. McKinnie was just as good. Would have endorsed the Tackle Arizona got, but we traded average for average.  Lost track of Monroes contract status, if he is a Free Agent...good riddance.

 

Upshaw has been ho hum at best.  I don't think the NFL will be beating down the door to get to him. He's steady mediocre. If there's no significant offers we should keep him.  He was another bad pick, but that's not his fault.

Mckinnie had 4 good games as a raven and that's when it counted the most... He SUCKED before he got traded to Miami... That's why we got eugene

[Cillmatic]

People are underestimating how good the defense got the second half of the season when they moved Webb into that FS/NC slot and put Wright opposite Smith on the outside. That secondary shut down two elite receivers the last couple weeks and held up nicely against some others. So maybe that 1st round pick can go toward a receiver or pass rusher.

As for Joe, of course he is going to restructure. Everyone in the world knows this is happening. He's not going to hold the team hostage and no reasonable person thinks that is his mentality. Plus IIRC doesn't Rice and Ngata's contracts come off the books this offseason? We should be able to do something without the ridiculous prospect of cutting Justin Tucker or KO which I have read.

Let's see what the state of the team is in a couple weeks before we go over the ledge that we're in a cap purge situation.

In what games did this occur?

[omar586]

kendrick lewis is horrible

[gabrielgrissom]

People are underestimating how good the defense got the second half of the season when they moved Webb into that FS/NC slot and put Wright opposite Smith on the outside.   That secondary shut down two elite receivers the last couple weeks and held up nicely against some others.    So maybe that 1st round pick can go toward a receiver or pass rusher.  

 

As for Joe, of course he is going to restructure.  Everyone in the world knows this is happening.  He's not going to hold the team hostage and no reasonable person thinks that is his mentality.   Plus IIRC doesn't Rice and Ngata's contracts come off the books this offseason?    We should be able to do something without the ridiculous prospect of cutting Justin Tucker or KO which I have read.

 

Let's see what the state of the team is in a couple weeks before we go over the ledge that we're in a cap purge situation.

Imagine if will davis could get back to the level he was playing at last year...

[StingerNLG]

In what games did this occur?

 

Did what occur?  You mean when they shut down AJ Green today (34 yards) and Antonio Brown (61 yards) last week?

 

I thought Brown was the best receiver in the league and AJ Green was an elite guy for the Bengals?

 

Seriously, that defense got better as the year went on. 

[StingerNLG]

I want Boldin back.

 

Kamar Aiken put up more yards and TD's than he did this year.   Aiken will do just fine in that role, either as a #2 guy or in the slot.  

[jazz1988]

Not at this point in his career. Benefit the ravens to find the next Bolden. It would be interesting to try and trade for Marqise Lee for more d to late pick. Needs some minor tweakstweaks of some bad habits cuz of coasting on his raw talent but talent and upside is enormous. And he more than has the skills to correct his habits. He don't have the big hands of Beckham but he can do all the things Beckham can and some things better. He is explosive and elusive. Moves like a gazelle and very tough to cover and track. Just watch every dback that played him playing on his heels because of his gears. He has all pro potential.

 

But can he stay healthy?

[K-Dog]

Did what occur?  You mean when they shut down AJ Green today (34 yards) and Antonio Brown (61 yards) last week?

 

I thought Brown was the best receiver in the league and AJ Green was an elite guy for the Bengals?

 

Seriously, that defense got better as the year went on. 

you are only successful if you get zero catches for zero yards.  [/sarcasm] 

[January J]

Not at this point in his career. Benefit the ravens to find the next Bolden. It would be interesting to try and trade for Marqise Lee for more d to late pick. Needs some minor tweakstweaks of some bad habits cuz of coasting on his raw talent but talent and upside is enormous. And he more than has the skills to correct his habits. He don't have the big hands of Beckham but he can do all the things Beckham can and some things better. He is explosive and elusive. Moves like a gazelle and very tough to cover and track. Just watch every dback that played him playing on his heels because of his gears. He has all pro potential.

Treadwell could be the next boldin and even better. Plus he will be right in our range at pick 6. Could possibly even trade back a few spots and still get him. Just bc we don't have a good track record drafting receivers is no reason to not take one. If he is the bpa we will take him. I wasn't big on going that route at first but I'm actually starting to lean that way. Sss will be gone after next season so it would benefit us to start Developing another guy along with Perriman now. Perriman, Treadwell and aiken could be the trio of the future and pair very well together. I'm still leaning towards defense but the second round has a lot of talent too. Treadwell in the first and yannick in the 2nd would be remarkable. Then maybe Apple or bell in the third.

[52liveforever]

Treadwell could be the next boldin and even better. Plus he will be right in our range at pick 6. Could possibly even trade back a few spots and still get him. Just bc we don't have a good track record drafting receivers is no reason to not take one. If he is the bpa we will take him. I wasn't big on going that route at first but I'm actually starting to lean that way. Sss will be gone after next season so it would benefit us to start Developing another guy along with Perriman now. Perriman, Treadwell and aiken could be the trio of the future and pair very well together. I'm still leaning towards defense but the second round has a lot of talent too. Treadwell in the first and yannick in the 2nd would be remarkable. Then maybe Apple or bell in the third.

 

If we trade back for Treadwell which is the only way I would be completely ok with it as I don't see him as worthy of #6, what do you see us getting in return? That could be quite an intriguing move if we get good compensation I'm just not sure what we could get to make it worth it.

[ellicottraven]

A lot really depends on how Joe restructures his deal and how much leg room it gives us to lock up Upshaw, Tucker and maybe even K.O (unlikely though). I expect Monroe to be back next year at full strength and given his cap numbers he's going nowhere unless of course we find a decent trade partner. Also, we're picking #6, so a blue chip player may fall to us.

[Sherly_Tebow]

What if we trade our 6th pick for say the 10/15 pick plus that teams 2nd rounder? Is that too much to ask? If we could sacrifice a few spots in the first round for a few more 2nd/3rd round picks, it may be worth it!

[Ravenseconbeast]

Webb played exclusively at FS today in base sets and only played slot CB in nickel situations. After the game, he told someone in the media that he looks at himself as a FS going forward. I'm curious to see whether that will be here or not, though.

Sounds like he is trying to save his job. I dont buy his talk. Fans have been holding onto him with another dissapointment season. If we really draft a star player from the draft, Im ready to move on from him.

Edited January 4, 2016 by Ravenseconbeast

[Ravenseconbeast]

Chris Hewitt needs to go. Do not want this guy near Hargreaves/Ramsey. He'll make them into a bust 100%.

[Steve0x]

I want Ngata back!

[Guest]

Mckinnie had 4 good games as a raven and that's when it counted the most... He SUCKED before he got traded to Miami... That's why we got Eugene

 

Its all water under the bridge now.

 

While McKinnie was still on the team, I made a study of the two inspired by my own observations. McKinnie was neck and neck, a slightly better pass blocker than Monroe at a fraction of the salary. 

 

It turned out to be McKinnie's last year and the thought had to be Monroe could be our Left Tackle of the future.  Monroe was available for two 4th round picks is my recollection. They were picks poorly spent, which has been our recent history.

 

A Front Office makes its own evaluations, but when the Jaguars decided to draft another Left Tackle in the first round and let Monroe walk you had to have your antenna go up.

[rmcjacket23]

Sounds like he is trying to save his job. I dont buy his talk. Fans have been holding onto him with another dissapointment season. If we really draft a star player from the draft, Im ready to move on from him.

I mean, that's great and all, except the problem is timing. If you are waiting until the draft to decide if Webb will be on the roster and/or what position he will play, that means two full months of FA have already been completed. The FS market will be completely dead by then (certainly of playmakers) and I'm never a fan of draft a secondary player in the first round and throwing him to the wolves in year 1.... typically doesn't pan out well.

 

So even if you draft a playmaking secondary player at #6, I don't even see what the value in cutting Webb would be? You're either losing a possible FS or an above average corner (and yes, he's an above average corner by just about any possible evaluation standard) and having very little shot of replacing him in May, a good two months after FA has opened.

 

In my opinion, if Webb is on the roster by the time the draft occurs, he's likely locked onto this team for 2016.

[rmcjacket23]

Its all water under the bridge now.

 

While McKinnie was still on the team, I made a study of the two inspired by my own observations. McKinnie was neck and neck, a slightly better pass blocker than Monroe at a fraction of the salary. 

 

It turned out to be McKinnie's last year and the thought had to be Monroe could be our Left Tackle of the future.  Monroe was available for two 4th round picks is my recollection. They were picks poorly spent, which has been our recent history.

 

A Front Office makes its own evaluations, but when the Jaguars decided to draft another Left Tackle in the first round and let Monroe walk you had to have your antenna go up.

Cost between the two really wasn't that much difference.

 

McKinnie made a total $5M in 2011-2012 with the Ravens. He actually made about $800K from us in 2013 as well. 

 

We paid Monroe $3.8M in 2013, so only about $1.5M more than what McKinnie was averaging playing for us when he was the LT. And that's also excluding the fact that McKinnie spent a large quantity of 2012 not offering any value to this team whatsoever.

[Drew P]

Shareece Wright on AJ in the red zone wth was that all about?

[atomicfront]

Its all water under the bridge now.

 

While McKinnie was still on the team, I made a study of the two inspired by my own observations. McKinnie was neck and neck, a slightly better pass blocker than Monroe at a fraction of the salary. 

 

It turned out to be McKinnie's last year and the thought had to be Monroe could be our Left Tackle of the future.  Monroe was available for two 4th round picks is my recollection. They were picks poorly spent, which has been our recent history.

 

A Front Office makes its own evaluations, but when the Jaguars decided to draft another Left Tackle in the first round and let Monroe walk you had to have your antenna go up.

 

Wasn't he a free agent after that season?  Perhaps that is why Jacksonville trade him as they knew they would lose him anyway and only end up with a single fourth round pick for him.  

 

Also talking about tackles.  Oher is starting for the 15-1 Panthers and leads all tackles in games played the year Monroe/Oher were drafted.  

[terrynjulia03]

Theres a article by Brian over on RSR about our cap situation. You guys really need to read it before tossing out wild assumptions. Basically even without resigning KO and assuming they tag Tucker, give Aiken a 2nd rd tender while not tendering anyone else, resigning our erfa and given a assumed cost of our rookie pool than even with a guessed increase in the cap to 153m we will be several M OVER the cap.

Now of course thats assuming Joes contract drags into the spring and no other releases.

Interesting releases:

Arrington 1.43m

Canty 2.15m

Forsett 2.3m, some will argue this

Levine 1m

Pitta 5m if hes a post june 1

DSmith 2.6m

Lewis 933k

Now Elam would save 1.328m, what do we do here? Keep in mind we usually carry 4-5 safeties, and assuming Levine and Lewis go were down to 3.

Monroe is a 2.1M savings or 6.5m given a post june 1 release. However keep in mind after June 1 youre not gettong the cream of the crop of FAs. So with everyone above being released that saves us 15.38m, add in another 8-10 if they can get Joes contract redone prior to FA and well be looking at MAYBE 19m in wiggle room. Thats best case scenario. Someone double check my math lol

[GrimCoconut]

Is anyone else surprised that we're already doing our State of the Ravens conference?

[The Raven]

Is anyone else surprised that we're already doing our State of the Ravens conference?

 

Yeah, actually. When is it?

[rmcjacket23]

Theres a article by Brian over on RSR about our cap situation. You guys really need to read it before tossing out wild assumptions. Basically even without resigning KO and assuming they tag Tucker, give Aiken a 2nd rd tender while not tendering anyone else, resigning our erfa and given a assumed cost of our rookie pool than even with a guessed increase in the cap to 153m we will be several M OVER the cap.

Now of course thats assuming Joes contract drags into the spring and no other releases.

Interesting releases:

Arrington 1.43m

Canty 2.15m

Forsett 2.3m, some will argue this

Levine 1m

Pitta 5m if hes a post june 1

DSmith 2.6m

Lewis 933k

Now Elam would save 1.328m, what do we do here? Keep in mind we usually carry 4-5 safeties, and assuming Levine and Lewis go were down to 3.

Monroe is a 2.1M savings or 6.5m given a post june 1 release. However keep in mind after June 1 youre not gettong the cream of the crop of FAs. So with everyone above being released that saves us 15.38m, add in another 8-10 if they can get Joes contract redone prior to FA and well be looking at MAYBE 19m in wiggle room. Thats best case scenario. Someone double check my math lol

The report says we would be a couple million over, yes. But there's plenty of cuts that will occur, just like every year, that will put us in a position to be able to spend a little bit just like we always do. 

 

To be honest, this year really isn't that much different than the last 2-3 years around this time. We can't afford to get into a bidding contest with teams with a lot more space for some of our players, but this season, we really only have 1-2 guys (ignoring Tucker, who isn't going anywhere) that we are even realistically interested in bringing back from UFA. Those guys are KO and Upshaw. 

 

I don't see Upshaw being a huge priority, so I feel certain we will let him test the market and find out what his value is. KO is a coin toss for me. You would probably immediately cut Monroe after resigning KO, and his deal would probably only have a $3-5M cap hit in year 1 anyway, so cutting Monroe alone pays for half of it.

 

$19M in spending is on the high side, since I don't think Flacco's extension frees up more than about $6-8M in cap space. 

[GrimCoconut]

Yeah, actually. When is it?

I think I heard it's this Thursday or Friday. That tells me that the team and front office already know what they want to do and where we must improve.

[rmcjacket23]

I think I heard it's this Thursday or Friday. That tells me that the team and front office already know what they want to do and where we must improve.

Thursday at 2pm I believe. There's a bulletin on the homepage of this website about it.

[terrynjulia03]

The report says we would be a couple million over, yes. But there's plenty of cuts that will occur, just like every year, that will put us in a position to be able to spend a little bit just like we always do. 

 

To be honest, this year really isn't that much different than the last 2-3 years around this time. We can't afford to get into a bidding contest with teams with a lot more space for some of our players, but this season, we really only have 1-2 guys (ignoring Tucker, who isn't going anywhere) that we are even realistically interested in bringing back from UFA. Those guys are KO and Upshaw. 

 

I don't see Upshaw being a huge priority, so I feel certain we will let him test the market and find out what his value is. KO is a coin toss for me. You would probably immediately cut Monroe after resigning KO, and his deal would probably only have a $3-5M cap hit in year 1 anyway, so cutting Monroe alone pays for half of it.

 

$19M in spending is on the high side, since I don't think Flacco's extension frees up more than about $6-8M in cap space.

Of course. That post was a best case scenario. Reality it will prob be somewhere in the middle. As for Joe I hated the contract than and hate it now. All the "experts" said Oh itll look great after Rodgers gets his contract and Wilson and Kap and Cam and so on. What a crock. Rodgers is the highest paod QB in the league, his cap hit? 21m every year. BigBen cap hits of 23,18,23,23. Rivers 21,18,19,20. Wilson got even less with not a single year over 20, all are 18ish. Joes cap hits under current structure 28 next year 31! In 17 and 26 the final year. An extension averaging cap hits of 19 shouldnt be out of the question. 18, 19,20,20,22,22 is about where he should be at.