The Baltimore Ravens were not the only team rearranging its roster this past week. Teams all around the league cut players or slapped the Franchise Tag on others, although the deadline for doing so isn't until Sunday. Baltimore put the Franchise Tag on Ray Rice and released two (Lee Evans, Chris Carr), soon to be three (Domonique Foxworth) other players
Looking around the AFC North, the Steelers made some noise earlier this week by announcing they were releasing veteran wide receiver Hines Ward. They also just announced that they were also parting ways with LB James Farrior and DE Aaron Smith, as noted in a story on NFL.com. QB Ben Roethlisberger finally met with new offensive coordinator Todd Haley and reported that their initial meeting was "a step in the right direction."
The Cincinnati Bengals have been relatively quiet as they try to figure out how to spend all of the money they have as they sit atop the NFL in terms of available cap space. They did apply their own Franchise Tag to placekicker Mike Nugent today.
Cleveland Browns kicker Phil Dawson was also tagged by the team this afternoon. The Browns hold two first round picks in the draft and are rumored to be considering offering them to the St. Louis Rams for the right to move into the second spot and take Baylor QB Robert Griffin III. However, a story on NFL.com today said the team was also impressed with Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannenhill, who is considered the third best QB prospect behind RG3 and Stanford QB Andrew Luck, almost definitely going to the Indianapolis Colts with the first overall pick in April's draft.
Further adding intrique to the Brown's off season is the recent statement that free agent RB Peyton Hillis is considering retiring from football to become a CIA agent, although it appears that the story is news to head coach Pat Shumur. Now that is a story worth keeping an eye on, as there has been some discussion on this site that Hillis would be a good complement to Ravens RB Ray Rice.