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

[GrimCoconut]

Looks like Titans are trying to lure Eric Decosta away for their open GM position...

This is an annual rite of passage for most teams that fire a GM. I wouldn't think much of it yet.

[GrimCoconut]

Worries about his sophomore injury?

They didn't affect him at all this year. It was an ugly injury but you shouldn't pass on a guy due to injury alone.

[B-more Ravor]

The team has a long list of F/A (30) and decisions to make along the way.

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/baltimore-ravens/

 

 

The list is a little off (for instance, Gordon and James are no longer on the team), but most of those named will be under the Ravens' control with either a ERFA or RFA tender.  They will likely tender all of the ERFAs because they are the cheapest of the cheap and likely only tender 1 RFA - Aiken.  Some of the other RFAs they may decide to not tender and attempt to re-sign them to lesser deals (as they've done in the past with Levine, McClellan, etc).

Edited January 5, 2016 by B-more Ravor

[GrimCoconut]

Most of whom will be under contract with either a ERFA or RFA tender. They will likely tender all of the ERFAs because they are the cheapest of the cheap and likely only tender 1 RFA - Aiken. Some of the other RFAs they may decide to not tender and attempt to re-sign them to lesser deals (as they've done in the past with Levine, McClellan, etc).

The latter part is what I expect. There's little incentive to tender our RFAs due to their cost except for Aiken. He's really the only one worth tendering. Maybe we re-sign the others but I don't expect many RFA retained this year. Trawick is the only one really worth anything from my memory. He'll likely remain on a cheap deal similar to what we did with Levine, McClellan, and Guy.

[B-more Ravor]

According to this we have $7,903,687 in cap space, that can't be right, can it?

 

That assumes a $154M Cap, so hopefully, but it may not reach that high. 

 

It also only includes the 47 players currently under contract.

 

It also doesn't include a lot of things that go into the Cap - 2015 carryover, incentives adjustments, ERFA and RFA tenders, etc.

 

This gives a more clear, accurate picture of where they presently are - before cuts and Flacco's Ext -> http://russellstreetreport.com/2016/01/04/baltimore-ravens-salary-cap/2016-salary-cap-preview-v2-0/

[terrynjulia03]

Here's the article:

 

http://russellstreetreport.com/2016/01/04/baltimore-ravens-salary-cap/2016-salary-cap-preview-v2-0/

 

But, keep in mind that for every player released there is a player added to the Rule of 51 Cap calculation, so for all of those release figures, there'd be a corresponding addition to the Cap of $525K.

Thanks Ravor. Didnt know how to link to it.

[usmccharles]

This is an annual rite of passage for most teams that fire a GM. I wouldn't think much of it yet.

oh yea I know, he gets approached every year, just was saying.

[harfordravenfan]

overthecap.com is a good site to learn about all that and see how much each player will cost to cut. I don't expect we trade doom, he still showed good pass rush skills on a team with zero pass rush

 

Also don't see D Smith going anywhere

[harfordravenfan]

This was posted right before;

 

Flacco said that he hasn't talked to anybody about contract. But with a 28.5 mill cap hit next year, he knows it likely will be addressed

 

https://twitter.com/jeffzrebiecsun/status/684102242144776196

 

 

I wouldn't put much thought into the other comment. It's out of context.

 

Agreed, and besides if he acted surprised when asked about the cap hit everyone on here would be calling him stupid

[usmccharles]

Also don't see D Smith going anywhere

Thats up in the air for me, no clue there.  Can easily make an argument for both decisions

[rmcjacket23]

Also don't see D Smith going anywhere

Me personally, I have a tough time paying $3.5M to a MLB who clearly is a two-down or less player at this point in his career, and particularly when you know there's practically a zero percent chance he's here in 2017.

 

I'd personally start handing over the linebacker "leadership" reigns to Mosley, who is clearly the future at the position and will be going into his third year and like to see us get a little younger and faster at the position.

 

Plus, in a tight cap situation, freeing up $2.6M could be the difference between retaining somebody like KO or not.

Edited January 5, 2016 by rmcjacket23

[Kid87]

I hope we bring back Will Davis at CB he played great before his injury

[rmcjacket23]

I hope we bring back Will Davis at CB he played great before his injury

He's under contract and its a cheap contract. Barring him not being healthy, I'd expect him back. We traded picks for him...I think the FO is committed to him for at least another year.

[Cillmatic]

I hope we bring back Will Davis at CB he played great before his injury

So he can tear his all for the third time?

[terrynjulia03]

Also don't see D Smith going anywhere

Why? Orr has been getting more and more of his snaps and Mosley has been wearing the green dot all year. Honestly I think he retires. Hes clearly lost a step or 2. Too good of a cap savings to keep a guy to play a couple downs a series. Hes done.

[jazz1988]

Why? Orr has been getting more and more of his snaps and Mosley has been wearing the green dot all year. Honestly I think he retires. Hes clearly lost a step or 2. Too good of a cap savings to keep a guy to play a couple downs a series. Hes done.

 

I think Dean Pees also hinted that Daryl Smith was playing with a injury this year but I don't know what type of injury it was .Depending on the injury  it's possible that it could have affected his speed/ coverage ability

[harfordravenfan]

Me personally, I have a tough time paying $3.5M to a MLB who clearly is a two-down or less player at this point in his career, and particularly when you know there's practically a zero percent chance he's here in 2017.

 

I'd personally start handing over the linebacker "leadership" reigns to Mosley, who is clearly the future at the position and will be going into his third year and like to see us get a little younger and faster at the position.

 

Plus, in a tight cap situation, freeing up $2.6M could be the difference between retaining somebody like KO or not.

 

Have to admit Orr has played well recently and would be cheaper. I should've looked at cap savings before commenting

With all the cut this guy and that guy and that coach... I find myself typing before thinking sadly lol

[Kid87]

So he can tear his all for the third time?

Why not we have nothing to lose lol.. evey year one of our CB tear an ACL..he was the best corner on our Team along with Jimmy

[rmcjacket23]

Have to admit Orr has played well recently and would be cheaper. I should've looked at cap savings before commenting

With all the cut this guy and that guy and that coach... I find myself typing before thinking sadly lol

I mean he may easily still be here, not really sure. 

 

Just seems to me that if you need the cap space and you're looking to get younger and faster at the position, he's as obvious a cut candidate as it gets.

[January J]

So he can tear his all for the third time?

could say the same thing about suggs. Obviously he has a little more cachet, but Davis is young and he's got a lot of potential.

[harfordravenfan]

I mean he may easily still be here, not really sure. 

 

Just seems to me that if you need the cap space and you're looking to get younger and faster at the position, he's as obvious a cut candidate as it gets.

 

in regards to depth at ILB position, if we cut Smith and resigned Orr... would that just leave A Brown and the potential resigning of McClellan?

[rmcjacket23]

in regards to depth at ILB position, if we cut Smith and resigned Orr... would that just leave A Brown and the potential resigning of McClellan?

Pretty much. Always the possibility of adding a cheap veteran or more likely a mid-round draft pick.

 

But yes, I'd expect an Orr vs Brown competition for that role for the most part. 

 

In the grand scheme of things, its possible our defense sort of shifts more towards playing a lot of 5 and 6 DB sets, which we already do. 

 

In those instances, I'd expect to see a decline in the need for two MLBs to be on the field at the same time anyway.

Edited January 5, 2016 by rmcjacket23

[baltimorefan328]

With the projected picks the Ravens have I was looking at a possible scenario.  Joe Thomas has seemed like he may be having a change of heart of wanted to remain in Cleveland and wants to try and go somewhere that he has a chance to go to the playoffs and win (http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/01/04/joe-thomas-isnt-sure-if-he-wants-another-year-in-cleveland/ among other sources).  I haven't seen this much myself but around the boards here I have also seen people think Monroe does not want to be here.  So if the main left tackles in the draft are gone or the Ravens want to go in a different direction, I'm wondering if this could be a possible scenario the Ravens explore.

 

Looking at the contracts (all according to Spotrac):

 

Joe Thomas cap hits:

     2016: $9,500,000 - age 31

     2017: $10,000,000 - age 32

     2018: $10,000,000 - age 33

     2019: UFA

Yes Thomas will be 34 by the end but the Ravens could possibly extend his contract a couple years to get that cap hit down just a little bit and he is still playing at a decently high level.  I think even after 2018 he could still play at a relatively high level until potentially 35-37, so the Ravens could get 4-6 years of sound left tackle play.  What's very important as well is Thomas carries not more dead money for the remainder of his contract.

 

Eugene Monroe cap hits:

     2016: $8,700,000 - age 28 - $6,600,000 in dead money

     2017: $8,950,000 - age 29 - $4,400,000 in dead money

     2018: $8,950,000 - age 30 - $2,200,000 in dead money

     2019: UFA

We all know Monroe has been inconsistent here and as I mentioned above may not really want to be here.  He is younger and cheaper than Thomas and has played well at points in his career, so maybe a change of scenery could help him and the Browns would like that.

 

So, obviously Thomas has been in Cleveland his whole career and he is slightly more expensive and older than Monroe, but the Ravens could potentially extend Thomas to try and lower that cap hit a little more.  Even if Thomas ends up slightly more expensive than Monroe, Thomas is typically regarded as a top five left tackle every single year.  He wouldn't necessarily be an immediate stop gap either because he could still have 5-6 very productive years in him.  This also wouldn't really change the Ravens salary cap at all because even right now Thomas is not making that much more than Monroe. With the Ravens likely getting some decent comp picks this year, and Thomas being 31 at the start of the season, I don't think it could hurt the Ravens to at least talk with the Browns and see what kind of pick in addition to Monroe the Browns would want.  Also, the Browns typically have a ton of cap room so Monroe's salary likely wouldn't be much of a concern for them.

 

Again, of course this scenario is unlikely from both sides, but just thinking outside the box of how the Ravens could maybe solve a large problem on their offensive line while still having the chance to allocate the majority of their draft picks to other holes

[rmcjacket23]

With the projected picks the Ravens have I was looking at a possible scenario.  Joe Thomas has seemed like he may be having a change of heart of wanted to remain in Cleveland and wants to try and go somewhere that he has a chance to go to the playoffs and win (http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/01/04/joe-thomas-isnt-sure-if-he-wants-another-year-in-cleveland/ among other sources).  I haven't seen this much myself but around the boards here I have also seen people think Monroe does not want to be here.  So if the main left tackles in the draft are gone or the Ravens want to go in a different direction, I'm wondering if this could be a possible scenario the Ravens explore.

 

Looking at the contracts (all according to Spotrac):

 

Joe Thomas cap hits:

     2016: $9,500,000 - age 31

     2017: $10,000,000 - age 32

     2018: $10,000,000 - age 33

     2019: UFA

Yes Thomas will be 34 by the end but the Ravens could possibly extend his contract a couple years to get that cap hit down just a little bit and he is still playing at a decently high level.  I think even after 2018 he could still play at a relatively high level until potentially 35-37, so the Ravens could get 4-6 years of sound left tackle play.  What's very important as well is Thomas carries not more dead money for the remainder of his contract.

 

Eugene Monroe cap hits:

     2016: $8,700,000 - age 28 - $6,600,000 in dead money

     2017: $8,950,000 - age 29 - $4,400,000 in dead money

     2018: $8,950,000 - age 30 - $2,200,000 in dead money

     2019: UFA

We all know Monroe has been inconsistent here and as I mentioned above may not really want to be here.  He is younger and cheaper than Thomas and has played well at points in his career, so maybe a change of scenery could help him and the Browns would like that.

 

So, obviously Thomas has been in Cleveland his whole career and he is slightly more expensive and older than Monroe, but the Ravens could potentially extend Thomas to try and lower that cap hit a little more.  Even if Thomas ends up slightly more expensive than Monroe, Thomas is typically regarded as a top five left tackle every single year.  He wouldn't necessarily be an immediate stop gap either because he could still have 5-6 very productive years in him.  This also wouldn't really change the Ravens salary cap at all because even right now Thomas is not making that much more than Monroe. With the Ravens likely getting some decent comp picks this year, and Thomas being 31 at the start of the season, I don't think it could hurt the Ravens to at least talk with the Browns and see what kind of pick in addition to Monroe the Browns would want.  Also, the Browns typically have a ton of cap room so Monroe's salary likely wouldn't be much of a concern for them.

 

Again, of course this scenario is unlikely from both sides, but just thinking outside the box of how the Ravens could maybe solve a large problem on their offensive line while still having the chance to allocate the majority of their draft picks to other holes

Its highly unlikely the Browns would trade him to us, and I'm not sure we'd be wanting to give up a first round pick to get him, which is what it would cost. So it would have to come after he's released, which means he no longer has a contract and his cap hits are gone. He's just a FA who can sign with anybody, which means we'd also likely get outbid.

 

If we were going to go this route, we'd be better off just resigning KO. He'd be cheaper, and we wouldn't have to compete with others necessarily.

 

Note also that IF the Browns were to trade him to us, his cap hits would actually be LOWER than your analysis. The only part of his contract we'd be on the hook for is his salaries. So his cap numbers would be:

 

2016 - $8.3M

2017 and 2018 - $8.8M.

 

Still don't see any way we could squeeze $8.3M under the cap for one player in 2016 though.

Edited January 5, 2016 by rmcjacket23

[baltimorefan328]

Its highly unlikely the Browns would trade him to us, and I'm not sure we'd be wanting to give up a first round pick to get him, which is what it would cost. So it would have to come after he's released, which means he no longer has a contract and his cap hits are gone. He's just a FA who can sign with anybody, which means we'd also likely get outbid.

 

If we were going to go this route, we'd be better off just resigning KO. He'd be cheaper, and we wouldn't have to compete with others necessarily.

 

Note also that IF the Browns were to trade him to us, his cap hits would actually be LOWER than your analysis. The only part of his contract we'd be on the hook for is his salaries. So his cap numbers would be:

 

2016 - $8.3M

2017 and 2018 - $8.8M.

 

Still don't see any way we could squeeze $8.3M under the cap for one player in 2016 though.

Ah thank you for that, I wasn't sure about the roster bonus impact.  I agree intra-division trade is unlikely, but I wasn't sure it would actually take the Ravens first round pick plus monroe to make a trade like that happen

[allblackraven]

Pretty much. Always the possibility of adding a cheap veteran or more likely a mid-round draft pick.

 

But yes, I'd expect an Orr vs Brown competition for that role for the most part. 

 

In the grand scheme of things, its possible our defense sort of shifts more towards playing a lot of 5 and 6 DB sets, which we already do. 

 

In those instances, I'd expect to see a decline in the need for two MLBs to be on the field at the same time anyway.

I'd like Darron Lee instead of one of those 5-6 DBs on the field.

[Tank 92]

They didn't affect him at all this year. It was an ugly injury but you shouldn't pass on a guy due to injury alone.

 

Perriman paranoia.  

[PurpleCity5]

So he can tear his all for the third time?

It very rarely happens. 

[rmcjacket23]

Ah thank you for that, I wasn't sure about the roster bonus impact.  I agree intra-division trade is unlikely, but I wasn't sure it would actually take the Ravens first round pick plus monroe to make a trade like that happen

Hard to tell what the value is. 

 

If you believe reports, they almost sent him to Denver this year in a deal. Was allegedly a first and a third rounder in 2017 for Joe and a 4th rounder, but that apparently wasn't enough to get the deal done.

 

I wouldn't think the Browns would even want Monroe, so I'm not sure why he would be included in the deal. I'd almost guarantee if they traded Thomas they'd just use one of the draft picks on a rookie LT and start from scratch. 

 

No chance they'd want Monroe and his contract.

[GrimCoconut]

I'd love Joe Thomas here but I would be surprised if the Browns traded him to us. That seems almost too unrealistic for even me to consider, and I like to consider myself pretty open-minded. Maybe it could happen as part of some 3-team trade, which I can't think of the last time that's ever happened. I recall it happening once, but I can't remember the details of it. I could be wrong, maybe it never happened. My memory is weird sometimes.

 

Anyway, I'd love Joe Thomas. He's a top-5  LT and arguably the best in the business.