[News] Eisenberg: Keeping Brandon Williams Should Be Ravens' Top Priority

[BR News]

The Ravens would miss Brandon Williams more than they missed Haloti Ngata because there is no obvious star to replace him.

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[ravenwildman]

This is spot on, don't want another KO situation next year. Hopefully the work is being done now to prevent that. GO RAVENS! 25

[ravensnj]

This is spot on, don't want another KO situation next year. Hopefully the work is being done now to prevent that. GO RAVENS! 25

I concur. What are we waiting for? The price to go skyrocketing? Get r done!

[ALSKAN RAVEN FAN]

Just get it done....

[ellicottraven]

Honestly I don't see it happening with agents unwilling to work with teams these days. The money gained with portability is vast if players are willing to wait and produce well. Here's why I'm not optimistic.

Williams will be unwilling to sign an extension before the year is through because he wants to increase his value through play and possibly a pro bowl. Second, if he does increase his value considerably, the Ravens can't afford to go after him and will lose out on him like they did on K.O. For one, I don't think we should have matched K.O's price from the Raiders and two they're going to regret paying him all that money.

Do I hope Williams will be a Raven next year? Absolutely. Am I hopeful? Absolutely not.

[Ravensfansince03]

Here's where Eisenberg is wrong. Haloti Ngata brought leadership to this team, both on the field and in the locker room. Haloti Ngata was hardly ever knocked on his butt and always demanded 2 offensive lineman to block him.

Talk is cheap tho, we'll see what Brandon Williams is as good as the pundits and experts say he is..

[Ravensfansince03]

  1 hour ago, ravenwildman said:

This is spot on, don't want another KO situation next year. Hopefully the work is being done now to prevent that. GO RAVENS! 25

I concur. What are we waiting for? The price to go skyrocketing? Get r done!

They're waiting to see if he is the real deal or not. And to be frank, I'm waiting to see too

[stixfix69]

B.Will is a must, been saying it since the off-season started last year....NT is the key to any successful 3-4 D....Pit hasn't been as good since Casey Hampton left, they are not a dime a dozen....B.Will demands a double team as he pushes the line back, and opens up gaps for stunts or LBers hitting the hole....

[CQ1]

Signing Brandon is a must ! A great guy and player!

[bigcatfrank1]

My feelings, First off no team should ever be held ransom for a player. The Ravens should stick to their economic plan and pay what "they" can afford for each position and player. Yes B W is a beast and performing at a high level...so far...many things can happen over a period of a season. Most of the players that the Ravens have brought on board are developing at a very fast pace we never know who might be the shining "star".

[757RavensFan]

Unless the Ravens offer him an outrageous deal NOW, I can't see BWill or his agent entertaining any offer until after this season when he becomes a free agent. 

[The Greek]

with the salary cap going up and dead money from some players off the books after this season plus guys like suggs, doom, pitta if he is still here will be released after 2017 because the cap savings would benefit the team moving forward. the freed up money will come in handy to resign key players.

[balfan23]

Love BW and he's definitely a key part of the team, but the FO will certainly still understand the need to only keep the right player at the right price. 

I'm not sure what the market will bear for him and I'm not familiar enough with Cox to make the comparison, but to me, he really shouldn't be an absolute top dollar DT/NT. He's a great run stopper, but I think he needs to prove to be a much more disruptive force on the front to garner top 5 DT money. 

He's great with clogging up the middle, but unlike Ngata, I rarely see him in the backfield blowing up plays. Ngata was, in his prime, a 3 down DT and I don't see that in BW. 

No doubt, want to see us keep him, but (as always) we have to be careful with those limited cap dollars. 

[bigcatfrank1]

with the salary cap going up and dead money from some players off the books after this season plus guys like suggs, doom, pitta if he is still here will be released after 2017 because the cap savings would benefit the team moving forward. the freed up money will come in handy to resign key players.

Dont expect the Ravens parting with Suggs or Dumervil if they are healthy and want to play. They will not command money in the market, Ray was an example of this. They will negotiate deals accordingly. Pitta on the other hand will probably retire after this season, but if he makes it through he also will be on the cheap to stay with the Ravens. It is BW that would leave because of his demand Dont forget Urban and Jernnigan whos contracts will also be negotiable soon. The Ravens are going to play the game by the book, it will be Williams who will decide.

[stixfix69]

Looks like the Lions lost their TE, and we have a lot of depth at TE, wonder if the Oz might make a trade for a draft pick.....

[Moderator 3]

11 minutes ago, stixfix69 said:

Looks like the Lions lost their TE, and we have a lot of depth at TE, wonder if the Oz might make a trade for a draft pick.....

Except half of ours are suspended.

[ravensnj]

4 hours ago, Ravensfansince03 said:

They're waiting to see if he is the real deal or not. And to be frank, I'm waiting to see too

He has improved every season. He is ready to make the Pro Bowl. So, let's sign the big fellow!

[stixfix69]

  49 minutes ago, stixfix69 said:

Looks like the Lions lost their TE, and we have a lot of depth at TE, wonder if the Oz might make a trade for a draft pick.....

Except half of ours are suspended.

Good point, but with Watson,Crock,Pitta, Brown, and Max, then Waller and Boyle will make 6 when they come off suspension...

[Ravensfan23]

Maybe this is wishful thinking on my part but I think if there is any guy to break the mold of money over fit it's BWill. Of course he like anyone else will want to be paid and deserves to be, especially with a great season, but he's also his own kind of personality. That's not to say guys like K.O and Torrey were greedy for leaving but both were offered extremely comparable offers and they decided to follow the couple extra million opposed to staying were they fit best. I think BWill is the kind of guy who will say to the Ravens....just take care of me, I don't have to be the highest paid, but don't low ball me either. I think Ozzie aggressively goes after him and BWill signs before FA starts. OR i sure hope so. 

[FloridalovesRavens]

Hope this has not just been another grooming for another team! That being said the Ravens will not be held ransom because of one player. I would like them to resign him. Good player and great person as well. Get it done NOW!

[Halshayeji]

37 minutes ago, Ravensfan23 said:

Maybe this is wishful thinking on my part but I think if there is any guy to break the mold of money over fit it's BWill. Of course he like anyone else will want to be paid and deserves to be, especially with a great season, but he's also his own kind of personality. That's not to say guys like K.O and Torrey were greedy for leaving but both were offered extremely comparable offers and they decided to follow the couple extra million opposed to staying were they fit best. I think BWill is the kind of guy who will say to the Ravens....just take care of me, I don't have to be the highest paid, but don't low ball me either. I think Ozzie aggressively goes after him and BWill signs before FA starts. OR i sure hope so. 

I for one can't blame KO or Torrey for leaving.

1- the difference between what the Ravens could offer at the time and the niners or raiders offered was too big.

2- they played 4 great seasons at a bargain contract here at Baltimore.

3- this could be their only real pay day.

Even though I hate to say this, I wouldn't blame Williams for leaving if the Ravens don't offer as much money as other teams. It's just too much to ask from a guy who has been here for 4 great years while being paid a fraction of his value.

I really hope Ozzie locks him up ASAP because the closer we get to FA the harder it gets to keep someone like B.Williams.

[dirtybird66]

I really hate when the RAVENS coach a guy up and every time he goes off to another team,their luck has bound to run out one of these times,i guess now that TUCKERS wrapped up then he'd be the next guy to get the franchise tag.

[Ravensfan23]

7 minutes ago, Halshayeji said:

I for one can't blame KO or Torrey for leaving.

1- the difference between what the Ravens could offer at the time and the niners or raiders offered was too big.

2- they played 4 great seasons at a bargain contract here at Baltimore.

3- this could be their only real pay day.

Even though I hate to say this, I wouldn't blame Williams for leaving if the Ravens don't offer as much money as other teams. It's just too much to ask from a guy who has been here for 4 great years while being paid a fraction of his value.

I really hope Ozzie locks him up ASAP because the closer we get to FA the harder it gets to keep someone like B.Williams.

I never blame a guy for cashing in. I used to call guys overpaid or greedy, but my business partner and mentor is a former 2nd round pick of the Broncos and he helped change my thinking about it. Now I say these guys are worth whatever a team is willing to pay them. With what these guys put there bodies and families through they should get every penny they can. 

But the flip side is when a team that you are comfortable with, a city that your family enjoys and a organization that's known for winning might be offering you 1Mil less per year than a team who isn't really known for winning, what's more important? Money or Fit? That's all I meant with Torrey and K.O. I don't fault either guy for leaving and despite the fact it takes away from the overall talent of the team, i like to see guys cash in other places. I just wish we start winning some more rings with these guys before they leave. 

[ALPHA]

He's gone, his agent knows he'll make more than Damon Harrison (5/46) on the free market.

[EdTheMythicalOne]

I can't speak for other people, but I certainly didn't gasp or cry out when Ngata was traded. The team tried to renegotiate his deal for years to help free up more cap space because at the time for two seasons Ngata actually had the highest cap hit, not Joe. And Joe restructured his contract the first time the team asked him. Ngata was clearly declining and had some injury issues the last couple of seasons...and then there was the PED suspension. It was time for him to move on.

I am wondering if the person writing this knew that both Ngata and Williams were on the field together when that run defense was so good in the year before Ngata left? So obviously when you remove one big run stuffer and don't replace him with somebody of the same caliber, something is going to give.

So to me this is absolutely a no-brainer issue. Williams is still young and if you sign him to a long term contract you are still getting him while he has his best years ahead of him. He's been a very durable player. He's been a very effective player.

Damon Harrison got a 5 year $46,250,000 contract with an $8 million signing bonus and $24 million guaranteed. Only the Giants know why they paid him that much. He's been a 3 year starter and has only 1.5 sacks. He might be the closest comparison so far to Williams.

Fletcher Cox on the other hand is not a big run stuffing DT, he's a pass rusher and he's actually moved to DE which increases his value. He got paid because he put up 9.5 sacks and has put up 3 sacks one season, 4.5 in another, and 5.5 in his first season. He's also 25 as opposed to 27. Cox got a 6 year deal for $102,600,000 with a $26 million signing bonus and $63,299,000 guaranteed.

I think if you get Brandon Williams for something around what Harrison signed a lot of people would be happy, and possibly even Williams. The thing that will jack up his price is if he has a breakthrough season on sacks and he's trending upwards on that. Remember, it is only the signing bonus and guaranteed money that counts. If you get him for about 3 years at $24 mil in real money....winner winner chicken dinner.

[EdTheMythicalOne]

He's gone, his agent knows he'll make more than Damon Harrison (5/46) on the free market.

His numbers aren't really all that different that Harrison's, Harrison records a lot more tackles, Williams has a tiny edge in sacks 3.5 to 1.5.

[ALPHA]

2 hours ago, EdTheMythicalOne said:

His numbers aren't really all that different that Harrison's, Harrison records a lot more tackles, Williams has a tiny edge in sacks 3.5 to 1.5.

He's going to make more. The continued rise in salary cap players get bigger contracts than the contracts of comparable or better players in previous years.

[purpledown]

The Ravens have to keep this guy. He is just as important as Tucker. His loss would set this defense back a whole lot. Good teams take care of their best players, early.

[purpledown]

This is what is holding the Ravens back, not keeping key players like Williams and injuries.

[EdTheMythicalOne]

  4 hours ago, EdTheMythicalOne said:

His numbers aren't really all that different that Harrison's, Harrison records a lot more tackles, Williams has a tiny edge in sacks 3.5 to 1.5.

He's going to make more. The continued rise in salary cap players get bigger contracts than the contracts of comparable or better players in previous years.

While that may be true, bottom line is that numbers matter and if he puts up another season like last year, that won't look all that impressive.