[News] Late For Work 3/6: Free Agency Predictions. Who Stays? Who Goes? Who Arrives?

[steelcityraven]

In other words.

Brandon Marshall, Perriman, Wallace, Chris Moore and Ju Ju Schuster (along with maybe Campanaro) should be our WR corps this coming year (or something like that)

[steelcityraven]

While John Ross's 40 time is great.... We already have speed. We need that sure handed - great route running WR who can move the chains and we need a fast twitch shifty type of slot WR (that we hoped Campanaro or Reynolds would be).

[rmcjacket23]

3 hours ago, stuckonaboat13 said:

Brad Kaaya -2nd Round
Look what the Patriots did with Jimmy G ... the Ravens need to follow suit as Flacco is no spring chicken. Why not start grooming a guy now? Don't talk to me about other needs, without a reliable backup your season is over when the starter goes down. I'd rather not wait until round 7 to draft ball state college of technology keith Wenning

Yes, your season is over when your franchise QB gets injured. That's how the NFL works. People can say all they want about Garoppolo, but nobody has a vague clue how good he is because you've barely seen him play.

Nobody realistically thinks the Patriots are a SB champion or even a substantial threat without Brady. Could they make the playoffs? Possibly, but that's not really an accomplishment.

There aren't even like 25 good QBs in the entire NFL, so this notion that literally ANY team can just go get an insurance policy on a QB who has very little durability concerns is laughable.

Plus, this ignores the tremendous risk factor that the QB you draft might develop into absolutely nothing, which is a far likelier occurrence in the NFL these days then even finding a good backup. So you're using a 2nd round pick on a player you hope never plays for you AND have zero guarantees that he will amount to anything. Those are the kinds of decisions that get an entire FO fired, so needless to say, the Ravens won't be doing that.

[TheRavengers]

1 hour ago, stuckonaboat13 said:

You just proved my point with your own silly argument. With sub standard players at certain positions we were a divisional round team because you can scheme around weakness. 

You can't scheme around a bad Qb. You complain about 2014?? Take a look at 2015....

we need an insurance policy more 

Everything about 2015 was awful, every single thing. Anyway, my point is that we have other more pressing needs than a QB right now, and the 3 positions I named are proof. We need better WRs who can make plays, aside from Mike Wallace, we need pass rushers to complement an aging Suggs and Doom if/when he gets cut and we need cornerbacks because Shareece Wright isn't getting it done and Jimmy is good but was hurt half the year. 

[balfan23]

45 minutes ago, rmcjacket23 said:

Yes, your season is over when your franchise QB gets injured. 

I'd qualify that with - your season is over when your franchise QB gets injured and misses a significant number of games or is out for the post season.

IMO the purpose of the quality back up QB is to be able to weather a handful of games that your franchise QB is out. If he's out for 4 games, for example, lets say a quality back up gets you 2-2 over that stretch and a bad one is a guaranteed 0-4. That 2 game difference can be the difference between making and not making the playoffs. As long as the franchise QB is back at the end of the season and going into the playoffs, that quality backup can save your season. 

We're spoiled, because the only time Flacco has been out, he was out for the season. That may not be the way he finishes his career though. I think the best example of this in action has been the Steelers. Ben is routinely out for a few weeks and they've had guys who have allowed them to fill the gap. I don't know how many of them we would qualify as "quality" but they've all seemed to be a good fit with the team and allowed them to avoid a crater in the middle of their season. 

[billiejean]

  2 hours ago, bioLarzen said:

I still see Garcon as a pipe dream - if he receives an offer from ozzie at all, he'll be offered much more money elswhere, of that I'm, sure. I'm afraid the same applies to Brandon Marshall.
The only free agent linked to the Ravens I think is really worth reaching deep into the pocket for, is Nick Mangold. Without a quality C the best we can hope for from, the O is something similar to what we saw last season...So, unless a cap-happy organization throws fool's money at him, I think Ozzie should make signing Mangold our free agent priority.

I agree that we need a better Center and that is a position that you need veteran experience. Mangold if healthy would really help solidify our line but I just worry about that ankle. He missed 8 games was placed on IR and said he needed surgery and now he is saying that he does not need the surgery because rehab went well. That concerns me.

Even when healthy Mangold has not played well the last two years.. "C Nick Mangold is a shell of himself, and missed games this season for the first time in his career. After grading as one of the best, if not the best, centers in the NFL from 2006–2012, his play has taken a steep decline since 2014." My concern is that we will pay for the 2006 - 2012 Mangold and we will get the 2014 - 2016 Mangold

[Dedicated Raven]

Definitely would like Nick Mangold would be un upgrade to Zuttah. Marshall could be a Boldin type but I'd rather have Garcon. Just don't know if his price tag will match the ravens cap durability this year.

[raveninct]

One cannot help wondering how and why the average football fan's memory span is so short... Every single season, fans of cap-strapped teams play the same old "will our key UFA's be retained" game - totally forgetting that thay have played the same game the last time, and before that, and before that... only to see said key UFA's leave just about every time - because UFA's almost invariably follow the money trail... and it never leads to cap strapped organizations. So, for the 21st edition of the annual "Which Key Ravens UFA's Will Be Back In Baltimore Next Season" show, the answer is... what it has almost always been: none of them. It was clear as day all along, so nobody with a good grip on the notion of the cap system is surprised to see Brandon Williams, Rick Wagner and Juszczyk leave - JUST LIKE ALMOST EVERY SINGLE KEY UFA LEAVES CAP-STRAPPED TEAMS.

Let's not play like it's surprising... we, football fans, know better.

Completely agree. Williams and Wagner are definitely out of here. If they were staying, a deal would've been done by now. Maybe Juice stays because the premium for him from another team won't be quite as large, at least on a dollar basis (not on a percentage basis). But even that's a stretch. Pearce will have to step up (optimistic that he can, but not certain), and hopefully we can find a RT in the draft. I would go CB in the 1st round and OT/RT in the 2nd.

[balfan23]

As far as Williams and Wagner are concerned, I've felt like we'd keep one but not both. However, I have to remind myself that the best approach is to just assume we're going to lose every mid to high profile FA and then be pleasantly surprised if we get to keep anyone. 

[TheRavengers]

50 minutes ago, balfan23 said:

I'd qualify that with - your season is over when your franchise QB gets injured and misses a significant number of games or is out for the post season.

IMO the purpose of the quality back up QB is to be able to weather a handful of games that your franchise QB is out. If he's out for 4 games, for example, lets say a quality back up gets you 2-2 over that stretch and a bad one is a guaranteed 0-4. That 2 game difference can be the difference between making and not making the playoffs. As long as the franchise QB is back at the end of the season and going into the playoffs, that quality backup can save your season. 

We're spoiled, because the only time Flacco has been out, he was out for the season. That may not be the way he finishes his career though. I think the best example of this in action has been the Steelers. Ben is routinely out for a few weeks and they've had guys who have allowed them to fill the gap. I don't know how many of them we would qualify as "quality" but they've all seemed to be a good fit with the team and allowed them to avoid a crater in the middle of their season. 

To piggyback on this, I'd like to point out that 2014 was the last time that Ben played a full 16-game season. This past season he missed 2 games, one was against the Pats and the Steelers lost. The season before (2015) he missed a 4 game stretch and the Steelers were 2-2 there, with one of those being against us and Michael Vick was the starter.

[stuckonaboat13]

2 hours ago, steelcityraven said:

BC a second round pick on a guy who will sit the bench for 3 years makes little sense when we have as many legitimate holes as we currently do. We expect a 2nd rounder to contribute now.

Plus the Ravens have had more success with veteran FA QBs then drafted QBs... Too many holes right now to spend a 2nd round pick on a guys who will not contribute (for some time)

this kind of reactive thinking is what kills a team. Don't you think the Patriots fans were saying the same thing when the drafted Jimmy G in the second round? The Ravens need to be pro active and draft with a eye on the future. The Pats drafted Jimmy G in the back of the second round (pick 62) and now are going to get a first rounder in return from some poor desperate team.  On top of all that are you really comfortable putting the weight of the season on Flacco who turns 33 this year, plays behind a less than ideal line , and has had major knee surgery ? I don't want to repeat 2015 watching Schaub and Clausen  waste a season

[Chuckx999]

You can't scheme around a bad QB!!! You got that right!!! "old 3 and out Flacco" is just BAD. Yes we do need 2 CB's and 2 LB's real bad. Ozzie just has to trade picks, give away the 5-7 rounders to move up and get these 4 defensive players. Then add 2 offensive linemen and a center.
Lets rebuild the defense because no one in the Ravens Org. wants to admit "old 3 and out Flacco" is finished. So the offense will just die a little more each game, let it die, rebuild slowly. But by rebuilding the defense we can get better faster when we do get a NEW QB. Remenber "Trent Dilfer" just did enough to help our Defense win a Super Bowl.

[robbie29]

Hensley is clueless and simply filling dead air time. Why is the world would any team or agent rely on what ESPN thinks about any sport? Because they film sports they are suddenly experts? Notice how the underlying message and tone is that Baltimore is all washed up without hope. Time to stop with posting outside content and kick them to the curb.

Given the amount of time he has spent in and around Ravens' HQ and interviewing key Ravens personnel over the years, I certainly wouldn't call him clueless. Plus, since he works for ESPN and not the Ravens, he has far more freedom to write from a less-biased POV.

[ByTheBay]

18 minutes ago, Chuckx999 said:

You can't scheme around a bad QB!!! You got that right!!! "old 3 and out Flacco" is just BAD. Yes we do need 2 CB's and 2 LB's real bad. Ozzie just has to trade picks, give away the 5-7 rounders to move up and get these 4 defensive players. Then add 2 offensive linemen and a center.
Lets rebuild the defense because no one in the Ravens Org. wants to admit "old 3 and out Flacco" is finished. So the offense will just die a little more each game, let it die, rebuild slowly. But by rebuilding the defense we can get better faster when we do get a NEW QB. Remenber "Trent Dilfer" just did enough to help our Defense win a Super Bowl.

Problem is that those 5-7 round picks don't carry enough value to move much in rounds 1-4. I do agree with you that we need to shore up the Oline and then hit the draft hard on defense. 

[bigcatfrank1]

lets face it, If Williams, Wagner and Aiken all go in free agency the Ravens will absolutely need some Veteran help. Hopefully they keep Williams.
WR- Garcon, Marshall, Britt
Wagner and Zuttah can go and my opinion is pick up a Center and Guard.

[whobilly]

You can't scheme around a bad QB!!! You got that right!!! "old 3 and out Flacco" is just BAD. Yes we do need 2 CB's and 2 LB's real bad. Ozzie just has to trade picks, give away the 5-7 rounders to move up and get these 4 defensive players. Then add 2 offensive linemen and a center.
Lets rebuild the defense because no one in the Ravens Org. wants to admit "old 3 and out Flacco" is finished. So the offense will just die a little more each game, let it die, rebuild slowly. But by rebuilding the defense we can get better faster when we do get a NEW QB. Remenber "Trent Dilfer" just did enough to help our Defense win a Super Bowl.

5th 6th and 7th round picks are basically worthless when trying to trade up. We are mediocre because we've whiffed on the majority of the #2 and #3 picks. Curious, how did you feel about Flacco when the confetti was dropping from the ceiling in New Orleans?

[rmcjacket23]

  4 hours ago, steelcityraven said:

BC a second round pick on a guy who will sit the bench for 3 years makes little sense when we have as many legitimate holes as we currently do. We expect a 2nd rounder to contribute now.

Plus the Ravens have had more success with veteran FA QBs then drafted QBs... Too many holes right now to spend a 2nd round pick on a guys who will not contribute (for some time)

this kind of reactive thinking is what kills a team. Don't you think the Patriots fans were saying the same thing when the drafted Jimmy G in the second round? The Ravens need to be pro active and draft with a eye on the future. The Pats drafted Jimmy G in the back of the second round (pick 62) and now are going to get a first rounder in return from some poor desperate team.  On top of all that are you really comfortable putting the weight of the season on Flacco who turns 33 this year, plays behind a less than ideal line , and has had major knee surgery ? I don't want to repeat 2015 watching Schaub and Clausen  waste a season

1. And when other teams don't meet the Patriots asking price, he walks in FA next season and they used a 2nd round pick on a guy who played 1.5 games for them.

That's called a bust by any other standard.

I'm not even sure that using a 2nd round pick on a player, having him produce practically nothing for you for 3 years, and then trading him for a 1st round pick is even that valuable in the long run either.

2. 33 isn't old for a QB, and I could care less about a major knee injury from a QB. I'm not even sure there are many recent examples of ACL injuries hampering a QBs career, unless they are a mobile one.

Think you're just making up irrational reasons to waste a draft pick at this point.

[Tdot.to.Bmore]

Torrey Smith was just released. What do you guys think about signing him and releasing Wallace. By the sounds of it we could get Smith for half the cost of Wallace and then we can use that extra cap room for other needs. Maybe use those extra millions or get Garcon or Marshall. Torrey has the same skill set at Wallace so i would not be apposed to it.

[hen826957]

I still see Garcon as a pipe dream - if he receives an offer from ozzie at all, he'll be offered much more money elswhere, of that I'm, sure. I'm afraid the same applies to Brandon Marshall.
The only free agent linked to the Ravens I think is really worth reaching deep into the pocket for, is Nick Mangold. Without a quality C the best we can hope for from, the O is something similar to what we saw last season...So, unless a cap-happy organization throws fool's money at him, I think Ozzie should make signing Mangold our free agent priority.

I like the signing of Mangold as well but as your thinking can't afford Marshall, no Garçon, no Brandon Williams, no Wagner. If we only can afford Mangold in the offseason because everybody else we want is expensive then that's terrible. Imagine if we could only afford Mangold and that's it for free agency. Hope that's not the case. LOL. 😅

[Ravens8383]

Torrey Smith was just released. What do you guys think about signing him and releasing Wallace. By the sounds of it we could get Smith for half the cost of Wallace and then we can use that extra cap room for other needs. Maybe use those extra millions or get Garcon or Marshall. Torrey has the same skill set at Wallace so i would not be apposed to it.

I don't hate the thought of Torrey Smith back in Baltimore but I hate the thought of Wallace being somewhere else. Why not bring Smith in and keep Wallace if he comes cheap? Then draft a guy like Cooper Kupp or Chad Hansen to be they sure handed guy.

[BigUgly]

Thought the Ravens would've made more salary cap purges by now (Wright, Lewis, Zuttah, etc.). I hope they aren't going to stand pat with this team - less Juice, Wagner and Williams of course.

[whobilly]

Torrey Smith was just released. What do you guys think about signing him and releasing Wallace. By the sounds of it we could get Smith for half the cost of Wallace and then we can use that extra cap room for other needs. Maybe use those extra millions or get Garcon or Marshall. Torrey has the same skill set at Wallace so i would not be apposed to it.

He was released because he is a one dimensional player. If we could pick him up for 3 mill maybe I'd think about it. Maybe. I'd rather we pick up Boldin on a one year deal. A WINNER with ATTITUDE, and almost forgot he would catch 65 balls for 7 or 8 TD's.

[purpledown]

Looks like all of the free agents will be going elsewhere this season,especially Brandon Williams. We will be in the same spot next season, out of the playoffs. But hopefully Harbaugh and the front office will be gone. Then maybe we can stop being the farm club of the NFL.

[purpledown]

I believe this will be Harbaugh last one.

[ellicottraven]

I believe this will be Harbaugh last one.

What do you mean? The season hasn't even started yet. Give him time and we'll know what happens. My suspicion is we'll have a winning record probably 9-7 but could still miss the playoffs because I can't see us beating Cincy and Pittsburgh twice. It's going to be tough the way we play conservative defense and keep throwing the ball. Hopefully Harbaugh understands he has to create balance because Bisciotti himself called Harbaugh out in the presser.

[RavensDieHard21]

I hate to say it but Wagner, Williams and juice are as good as gone. Ravens choke again 

[OzzieBisciotti]

I want to see the videotape of Perriman catching some footballs- just to see him catch more than 5 passes in one year.

Time to bring Torrey back home...

[TheConquerorWorm]

Torrey Smith was just released. What do you guys think about signing him and releasing Wallace. By the sounds of it we could get Smith for half the cost of Wallace and then we can use that extra cap room for other needs. Maybe use those extra millions or get Garcon or Marshall. Torrey has the same skill set at Wallace so i would not be apposed to it.

I think this is a no-brainer. I don't care that he's a speedster like Wallace. He's not going to cost you $10 million+ like Garcon & Marshall and the way Wallace disappears in big games - there's plenty of room for Torrey on this team. Plus Wallace is gone after this year (if not sooner) - the Ravens could easily lock up Torrey for the next 3 years on a friendly deal. He already got paid and would definitely look to come home.

[#Nevermore]

Why in the world would we want Prince Anukamara? Hensley says he's just like Jimmy Smith because he can't stay healthy and he failed to record more than one interception in 5 of the past 6 seasons. What is the rationale to sign him, to be Shareece Wright 2.0? We don't need to sign anymore mediocre players and especially at DB.

[bioLarzen]

8 hours ago, #Nevermore said:

Why in the world would we want Prince Anukamara? Hensley says he's just like Jimmy Smith because he can't stay healthy and he failed to record more than one interception in 5 of the past 6 seasons. What is the rationale to sign him, to be Shareece Wright 2.0? We don't need to sign anymore mediocre players and especially at DB.

This is the time of the year when whenever a player becomes available, he's automatically linked to all other 31 teams - regardless whether the team has any need in that péosition, how the player would fit the scheme, salary cap and personnel etc... At time it indeed seems like free agents and organizations are linked randomly - first as an "innocent" question like "Would (FA player) fit the (organization)?" Next thing you know is that it's reported as "(Player) may end up with (organization)" - next day Ian Rappaport reports that "(Organizatrion) is considering bringing (player) in." That afternoon the refute "(Organization) is not interested in (player)." There - 4 "news" items out of nothing...
I don't want to bring politics in here, but if anyone is looking for "fake news" the pre-free agency period in the NFL is a prime hunting ground. I would go out on a limb saying at least 90 percent of these "news" have been deliberately fabricated.

Edited March 7 by bioLarzen