Mychal Kendricks is still on the market, should the Ravens pursue?

The Ravens current cap situation isn’t outstanding but they have just enough wiggle room to entice free agent linebacker, Mychal Kendricks. According to Spotrac.com, the Ravens’ 2018 Salary Cap is estimated at $15.7 million for the Top 51. Obviously, not all of this is for spending on a free agent, but there may be enough to wheel-and-deal for the 27-year old linebacker.

Brian McFarland, or better known as @RavensSalaryCap, currently has the Ravens with $8.66 million after all adjustments and modifications to the total. This doesn’t include holding onto a couple million for injuries and signings during the season, though. For the sake of trying to be accurate, let’s say the Ravens want to keep $2.66 million for in-season occurrences. If it is anything more, it’s not possible to acquire Kendricks. Even with the estimated $6 million to offer Mychal in this scenario, it is unlikely.

Of course, if they want a new deal done with C.J. Mosley, all bets are off on signing Kendricks, but they may let it ride for Mosley’s final year on his rookie deal, opting to sign him in 2019.

If this is the case, what could the Ravens offer Kendricks to join a new flock?

In 2016, Mychal signed a 4-year/$29 million deal with the Philadelphia Eagles. The average salary was $7.25 million and he caught a signing bonus of $8 million. After winning the Super Bowl, the Eagles designated Kendricks as a Post June 1st release, saving $6 million and ending the final two years on his four-year deal.

As mentioned earlier, Baltimore could only offer around $6 million to the linebacker this year, but pushing most of it as guaranteed could sway interest. The previous deal averaged $7.25 million, and this is a pay-cut, but in 2019 the Ravens have many cuts capable of opening cap space for a bigger year-two payday. Just cutting Jimmy Smith saves over $9 million. While it is something none of us want, the team is consistently struggling with Smith’s unfortunate injuries on a yearly basis.

This is all ignoring the Ravens current linebacker situation, which includes Patrick Onwausor, the current #2 linebacker next to Mosley. The team also drafted Kenny Young to help in pass coverage, something I’ve begged for in the past. The Ravens are incredible with building up linebacker talent, which could also keep them from looking in Mychal’s direction. But, if they believe Kendricks can pair well with Mosley for a couple seasons and take care of the Le’Veon Bell problem, maybe bankrolling a top linebacker like Kendricks is worth it?