Ravens Free Agents
by lastcallbmore on Jan 26, 2012 8:35 PM EST
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PrintThe Ravens have many free agents heading into the off season. Some will be back, some might head to Indianapolis with new head coach Chuck Pagano and others will be poached by other NFL teams.
The Ravens will have a tough road ahead of them as they try to determine which players are expendable and which they need for the future.For many players it is not only their play on the field that will weigh in the minds of the front office but their salary, age and who Baltimore has developing behind them.
Another factor could be their special teams contributions. Special teams was a low point for the Ravens this season and the team is not in a position to be passing on anyone that can contribute in this area.
After the jump is a list of the Ravens free agents and what exactly their status with the team means. From BR.com
Unrestricted Free Agents
LB Brendon Ayanbadejo
Age: 35; Seasons: 9
2011 Stats: 35 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 2 pass deflections; 9 special teams tackles
Ayanbadejo is a key veteran on the special teams unit and has grown as a linebacker, particularly in pass coverage.
C Matt Birk
Age: 35; Seasons: 14
2011 Stats: 16 games plays/started
Birk had a fine season in the middle, and was yet again an anchor on the line. He was also relatively injury free after having problems with his knees the year before. Birk is considering retirement.
G Ben Grubbs
Age: 27; Seasons: 5
2011 Stats: 10 games played/started
The 2007 first-round pick has been a consistent starter from nearly the get-go, and earned his first Pro Bowl trip this season despite missing six games to a toe injury. Grubbs is putting his faith in his agent to put him in the best position for next season.
C/G Andre Gurode
Age: 32, Seasons: 10
2011 Stats: 13 games played/5 started
The backup veteran lineman started in place of Grubbs at left guard. He did admirably considering he had never played there before.
LB Jarret Johnson
Age: 30; Seasons: 9
2011 Stats: 56 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 3 pass deflections
Perhaps the team’s most underrated player, Johnson is a key figure in running the defense and stuffing the opponent’s rush. He would like to return to Baltimore, but understands there’s youth behind him.
LB Edgar Jones
Age: 27; Seasons: 5
2011 Stats: 3 special teams tackles
Signed in early November to play special teams, Jones fit in well. Jones has spent parts of five years being a versatile tool for Baltimore, playing on both offense and defense.
LB Jameel McClain
Age: 26; Seasons: 4
2011 Stats: 16 starts, 84 tackles, 1 sack, 5 pass deflections, 1 interception
In his second full season as a starter, the former undrafted free agent took on an even larger role when he stepped up for Ray Lewis, who went down with a toe injury.
DT Brandon McKinney
Age: 28; Seasons: 6
2011 Stats: 12 games, 14 tackles, 1 forced fumble
McKinney is a big-bodied run stuffer who played behind second-year nose tackle Terrence Cody. He’s quick for his size of 6-foot-2, 345 pounds.
S Haruki Nakamura
Age: 25; Seasons: 4
2011 Stats: 15 games, 12 tackles, 2 pass deflections, 9 special teams tackles
The scrappy Nakamura has been a special teams ace since he came into the league. His versatility to play some nickel cornerback and safety has led to time on defense.
DE Cory Redding
Age: 31; Seasons: 9
2011 Stats: 15 games, 11 starts, 43 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 2 pass deflections
In his two years in Baltimore, Redding has become a leader on the defense. The veteran had perhaps his best season since 2006, when he had eight sacks for Detroit.
RB Ray Rice
Age: 25; Seasons: 4
2011 Stats: 16 starts, 291 rushes, 1,364 rushing yards, 12 touchdowns; 76 receptions, 704 yards, 3 touchdowns
One of the premier offensive weapons in the league, Rice is the player Baltimore’s offense largely revolves around. The two-time Pro Bowler showed a knack for breaking longer runs this year. Rice is hoping for a long-term deal, but has said he would accept the franchise tag.
TE Kris Wilson
Age: 30; Seasons: 8
2011 Stats: 15 games, 4 special teams tackles
His time in the sun came on a touchdown reception against Houston in the playoffs, but for the most part Wilson was a positive influence on Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta and special-teams contributor.
S Tom Zbikowski
Age: 26; Seasons: 4
2011 Stats: 14 games, 4 starts, 23 starts, 1 sack, 7 special teams tackles
A starter early in the season before Bernard Pollard took over full-time, Zbikowski has filled in well in his brief starting stints. The boxer is a hard-nosed player.
Restricted Free Agents: LB Dannell Ellerbe, RB Matt Lawrence, CB Lardarius Webb, CB Cary Williams
For restricted free agents, the Ravens have the chance to offer them a tender, attached to a draft pick. If another team wants to sign them, Baltimore would first be able to match that offer. If it choses not to, the other team would have to forfeit the corresponding draft pick to the Ravens in order to sign the player.
Exclusive-Rights Free Agents: LS Morgan Cox, CB Danny Gorrer, LB Sergio Kindle, LB Albert McClellan
An exclusive-rights free agent has two or fewer years of experience and no negotiating rights. If the Ravens make them an offer, they must accept it or be released.
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This list is very troubling.
how the hell are we going to keep all these people? My top 5 to retain not including RFA’s and ERFA’s because thats too many and they’re easier to re-sign.
1. Ray Rice
2. Ben Grubbs-I know he got killed a couple times late in the year but he and Yanda had been our best lineman for years.
3. Jarret Johnson-still invaluable
4. Jameel McClain-until midway this season he and Ellerbe both were about the same, but he stepped up and improved, I still feel like he would be easier to replace than Johnson or Grubbs.
5. Andre Gurode or Matt Birk. We still need a center right?
best tackling team in the NFL, most physical and just dominates people. When we walk out of the tunnel and out of that locker room, we expect to shut people out and play great defense - Ravens DC Chuck Pagano
Redding had a nice impact this year, would like to see him back next year.
by Raven_all_day on Jan 26, 2012 9:44 PM EST via mobile reply actions
so would I but we have McPhee and there are a ton of positions to address
as for Flacco that little bugger isn’t going anywhere just yet no matter what he thinks about deserving Tom Brady mula.
best tackling team in the NFL, most physical and just dominates people. When we walk out of the tunnel and out of that locker room, we expect to shut people out and play great defense - Ravens DC Chuck Pagano
I’m not sure McPhee can hold up against the run yet.
by Raven_all_day on Jan 26, 2012 10:02 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
he was a rookie to some extent we have to bank on him improving
best tackling team in the NFL, most physical and just dominates people. When we walk out of the tunnel and out of that locker room, we expect to shut people out and play great defense - Ravens DC Chuck Pagano
One more year he should be ready if he is going to be a starter.
by Raven_all_day on Jan 26, 2012 11:50 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
McAdoo
Good call. EVERYONE pretty much forgot about him!
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Jan 27, 2012 9:55 AM EST up reply actions
I haven’t forgot about him. I’ve mentioned him a few times. He was pretty impressive in his pre-season game and hopefully he was able to add some weight. Can’t ever have too many pass rushers.
On Ed Reed:
"I’ve told him to his face many times, ‘You’re the greatest safety ever to play the game,’"
"We all learn from each other, but we all learn most from him."
- Troy Polamalu
Forgot about him?
When was he relevant?
You come at the king, you best not miss.
by organizedchaos52 on Jan 27, 2012 11:41 AM EST up reply actions
Haha. Yea for real, much more excited about Kruger and Kindle than I am McAdoodle.
Flacco has to trust his receivers to make catches, but shouldn’t throw towards coverage. He needs to attack deep more often, but shouldn’t hold onto the ball so long. He needs to show more awareness in the pocket and move to extend plays, but nothing good comes of him leaving the pocket. He should run with the ball if nobody’s open, but he definitely can’t run with the ball.
Flacco should have the awareness of Roethlisberger, the elusiveness of Vick, the control of the offense of Manning, the leadership of Brady, the accuracy of Brees, and the arm strength of … Flacco? - Ampallang
I would love for him to come out of nowhere,
a la McPhee. But I have no expectations for him.
You come at the king, you best not miss.
by organizedchaos52 on Jan 27, 2012 2:08 PM EST up reply actions
He was drafted because of his ability to stop the run. DeCosta and Ozzie both said they were surprised that he had this pass rushing ability, because that was not what they thought of him when they drafted him.
Flacco has to trust his receivers to make catches, but shouldn’t throw towards coverage. He needs to attack deep more often, but shouldn’t hold onto the ball so long. He needs to show more awareness in the pocket and move to extend plays, but nothing good comes of him leaving the pocket. He should run with the ball if nobody’s open, but he definitely can’t run with the ball.
Flacco should have the awareness of Roethlisberger, the elusiveness of Vick, the control of the offense of Manning, the leadership of Brady, the accuracy of Brees, and the arm strength of … Flacco? - Ampallang
There's no way
we can pay JJ and Redding what they are worth on the market. Time for McPhee and Kruger to step up next year. I could also see McClain leaving, because Pags will probably pay him more than we would.
- priority should be signing Grubbs. It won’t be cheap. And he’ll have lots of suitors.
- should be the Rice/Flacco situtations
- should be Webb. I’d hate to see him become an UFA next year.
- Gurode or Birk. Pick one.
- Nak or Zibby. Pick one.
we have t o lock up webb long term
and of course flacco/rice need to be paid!
i hate this time of the year, we shouldnt even be talking about this for a few weeks, still cant get over the loss
We could let most of these guys test free agency and be able to retain a few of them.
Grubbs and Rice are not two that we should allow to test the market.
If You Go
By the Spreadsheet that was linked in the other post which lists all the Ravens players, 2012 cap hit, FA status, etc, we are currently seven and a half million under for 2012, all factors considered. Foxworth is pretty much guaranteed gone as his cap hit will be $8.6M and he is not an $8.6M cb… If cut I think we save $5.6M. If Ed Reed retires, not sure about the cap hit rules in case of when a player retires, but his cap number in 2012 will be $8.5M. Assuming Ed comes back, that leaves a little over thirteen million. Flacco’s current 2012 cap number is eight million. That number will probably go up to about $13M. That leaves a about $8M for Rice. And that is without signing Grubbs of JJ or any of the other UFA’s. Now, I could be wrong about how much we save if we dump Foxworth. If Ed retires and we get all of his $8.5M, then that is a completely different ballgame. I think going forward, in order to keep Grubbs, JJ, Gurode, et al, there needs to be someone else cut in order to create room for each of those. Cutting Chris Carr would save I think $2.5M and cutting Ricky would save an additional $1.5M. Does $4M buy us a JJ or a Grubbs?
"A little learning is a dangerous thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring."
"The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug."
"God's whiskers! Your face is as hideous as the demon's in my storybook!"
"I never expected to see the day when girls would get sunburned in the places they do today."
"It's big for a reason."
For Pittsburgh fans, that's Pope, Twain, Rostand, Rogers and Megamind
JJ is as good as gone. You just know Chuck will want him to go lead his defense, and they’ll offer him more than we could. If we didn’t have to sign Joe, Rice, and Grubbs, I’d say we should go after V-Jax. Him with Boldin and Torrey would be badass.
by StuckInUtah on Jan 27, 2012 11:40 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
You're right about Fox.
I seem to remember McNair and Ogden staying on the payroll in ‘07, but that may have been due to how late they retired. I’ll look into it further. It’s also possible that we give Flacco a backloaded deal, or a deal with a low salary and high signing bonus, both of which could actually bring his cap number down for ’12.
Cutting Carr only saves $2.5m this year if he’s cut after June first (it pushes the rest of his deal onto ’13). Evans is worth $4.3m, he could be cut. There may be some restructuring that occurs as well.
One thing you didn’t mention is the money needed to sign our ERFAs and RFAs. We have 7 ERFAs whom we sign for vet min if we decide to do so. We have 4 RFAs, most of whom will likely return (all except Matt Lawrence. Lardar is a RFA btw). The vet min is somewhere around $450k, and I’d expect to spend at least $6m on RFAs. That’s your $8m right there.
You come at the king, you best not miss.
by organizedchaos52 on Jan 27, 2012 11:50 AM EST up reply actions
Also,
let’s not forget that we have to pay the rookies (cutting Carr could pretty much do that, as they won’t need to be signed before June 1st).
You come at the king, you best not miss.
by organizedchaos52 on Jan 27, 2012 2:11 PM EST up reply actions
I’m so glad we traded our 4th round pick for a WR that would get less than 10 receptions, and end up dropping the pass that would send us to the Super Bowl….sigh.
by StuckInUtah on Jan 27, 2012 11:41 AM EST via mobile reply actions
It was a good trade.
Didn’t end up working out sadly.
You come at the king, you best not miss.
by organizedchaos52 on Jan 27, 2012 11:43 AM EST up reply actions
Yes jazz, yes it does. The guy gets paid millions of dollars to hold onto the ball. Given what was on the line at the time, is it asking too much of Lee to just catch the damn ball?
by StuckInUtah on Jan 27, 2012 12:12 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I Have Said it Before
As soon as Evans realizes the ball is going to make it between the defenders, his thought process has to immediate switch to catch with my hands and not the body and put it away with two hands, and as this is a ticket to Indy, hold onto it like it is my first born- not even going to hand the ball to the ref; in fact, I am going straight to the bench on the sideline and carrying this puppy home with me on the plane. -That is what Evans should have been thinking.
"A little learning is a dangerous thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring."
"The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug."
"God's whiskers! Your face is as hideous as the demon's in my storybook!"
"I never expected to see the day when girls would get sunburned in the places they do today."
"It's big for a reason."
For Pittsburgh fans, that's Pope, Twain, Rostand, Rogers and Megamind
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