Baltimore Ravens Offseason Roundtable: Part III Roster Building

Question: Which free agents from other teams should the Ravens sign?

Yitzi Weiss: I like Travis Benjamin and Rishard Matthews at WR, either of the Rams CB's, and possibly a safety like Walter Thurmond or Tashaun Gipson. Otherwise, hoping we fill pass rusher and other holes through the draft.

Chris "Braven" Brown: I am sutbborn enough to say that I do not want any free agents from any other teams. None. I would like to build through the draft, and feel that the pieces we have in place are well enough. This includes at the highly populated WR and DB positions, where new blood from other teams would only slow the familiarity process. With rookies, the Ravens are writing on fresh paper. The ONLY exception I'd make, besides a perennial all-pro, cap casualty situation, would be to talk Patrick Willis out of retirement. LOL.

Chuck Mills: James Laurinaitis and seeing as Boyle has been suspended, Jared Cook.

Michael Sedjro: Whichever corner the Rams don't sign. I don't think either will come cheap but if Webb and Flacco take pay cuts and if other players like Arrington and Daryl Smith are cut, plus the cap increase, i think it could be done.

Wola Odeniran: There aren't a lot of realistic free agent options for the Ravens to sign. I honestly don't think that the Ravens will be major players in that area this year so I'm beginning to believe if Jalen Ramsey isn't available by the time the Ravens are on the clock during the 2016 NFL draft with their sixth overall pick, trading back wouldn't be a bad idea.

Brian Malan: As always, I think we will do our signings in the 2nd wave of free agency when players start getting cut. I don't see many out there right now that will both fit us AND be affordable. If we did go after anyone, I could see it being a pass rusher of some sort.

Vasilis Lericos: My opinion really depends on if the Ravens resign Osemele.  If they can sign K.O., they will not have much cap space to bring in outsiders so they should sit tight.  If Osemele prices himself out of range, I still believe the Ravens should undertake a purging of some veteran contracts to free up cap space.  And then sign one big ticket difference maker, FS Eric Berry would be at the top of my list, followed by ILB Danny Trevathan.

They should look to add a couple bargain type veterans, but only to below market contracts or players who have stayed relatively healthy over their careers and are in their mid-late 20s with multiple good seasons ahead of them.  The positions to consider include OG (Brandon Brooks), OLB (Nick Perry), ILB (Jerod Mayo) and S (Rashad Johnson/David Bruton).  Not sure if any mid tier WRs would really be upgrades.

Question:  Which player(s) should the Ravens offer early extensions to?

Yitzi Weiss: An early extension for BWill is the no brainer. Wagner only if you get a discount by doing it now. Possibly Aiken instead of him playing the year out on the tender and costing us even more long term.

Chris "Braven" Brown: I agree that Brandon Williams has earned this consideration. Hopefully he will get the pro bowl he deserves after this season, with motivation like this. I would also offer Safety Will Hill one. I have a gut feeling that it would boost his play, to know that he is believed in. He already is playing at a high level. The other message here is that the Ravens want to get some consistency on the back end.

Chuck Mills: Brandon Williams and Kyle Juszczyk.

Michael Sedjro: Brandon Williams. Best 3-4 nose in the league. Doesnt give much pass rush so he will come cheaper.

Wola Odeniran: An early extension candidate could either be nose tackle Brandon Williams or right tackle Ricky Wagner. The Ravens don't have a lot of people who are worthy of an early extension. In my opinion, the Ravens might need to play these contracts out.

Brian Malan: Obvious one would be Brandon Williams, he is the most deserving on the team. But one I would also like to see is Kamar Aiken, particularly before he signs his RFA contract this year. And if he does play out as an RFA, get one down during the season to secure him for a few more years.

Vasilis Lericos: I've gone back and forth on extending Flacco this offseason, there are cap benefits to both scenarios.  At this point, I would like to see Flacco extended for 2-3 more years, but only if he accepts a 15% reduction in yearly salary from the current $20M AAV for the 2-3 additional years tacked on.  If not, eating the big cap hit in 2016 will allow more flexibility for a team friendly restructure next offseason.

Hope to see B-Will signed to an early extension, the Ravens have been burned by a few early extensions recently, but B-Will is very reliable and his price will only go up if he posts more sacks.  I would like to see Will Hill and Ricky Wagner rebound from 2015 before committing to them long term.  Kamar Aiken has earned a 3-year deal as long as the price is reasonable.  If Kamar wants to gamble on himself, a 2nd round 1-year tender should be in order.