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Ravens News 1/12: Offseason calendar, free agent safeties and more

AFC Championship - Baltimore Ravens v New England Patriots Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

Key 2019 offseason dates for the Baltimore Ravens - Lisa Redmond

February 2: Pro Football Hall of Fame 2019 class announced

This will be a very important day for former safety Ed Reed as he waits to hear if he will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The announcement comes one day prior to Super Bowl LIII during the NFL Honors award ceremony.

February 26-March 4: NFL Scouting Combine

This will be the front office’s first glance at draft prospects.

March 11-13: Teams are allowed to contact and negotiate with agents of players scheduled to become unrestricted free agents at 4 p.m. ET.

March 13: Start of 2019 league year, free agency and trading period beings at 4 p.m. ET.

April 25-27: 2019 NFL Draft in Nashville, Tn.

August 31: 4 p.m. ET deadline for final 53-man roster

Ed Reed seems poised to become a first ballot Hall of Famer in February.

NFL free agency 2019: Players Baltimore Ravens could target - Aaron Kasinitz

Safety

The Ravens must decide whether six-time Pro Bowler Eric Weddle has another strong year left in his 34-year-old body. Baltimore could save a chunk of cap space by cutting Weddle, which would leave the team with returning starter Tony Jefferson and dependable reserve Chuck Clark atop the safety depth chart. In that case, the Ravens would likely want to add one more player to the mix, either to compete for a starting spot or to pad depth.

Potential targets

Kenny Vaccaro

Tre Boston

Tyrann Mathieu

Ron Parker

Mathieu is one of several big-name safeties in line to hit free agency, and we listed him here because he’s the youngest of that bunch. If the Ravens released Weddle and wanted to maintain star power at the position, they’d have to shell out big money. It seems more probable that they would hone in on a player like Boston, who had three picks and 79 combined tackles for the Cardinals this year but struggled last offseason to score a lucrative deal.

Earl Thomas, HaHa Clinton-Dix, Landon Collins and Lamarcus Joyner headline the list of impending unrestricted free agent safeties. Each will likely command an annual salary that approaches or exceeds $10 million.

Greg Roman set to be promoted to Ravens’ OC - Grant Gordon

Greg Roman is taking the reins of the Baltimore Ravens offense going forward.

Rapoport added the move signals the franchise is “fully invested” in quarterback Lamar Jackson and that head coach John Harbaugh “isn’t going anywhere for a while.”

With Jackson taking over down the stretch, the Ravens’ offense leaned heavily on the running game which was fostered by Roman and led by the rookie QB. With Jackson under center, the team rebounded to earn an AFC North title and a trip to the playoffs.

Roman’s last stint as offensive coordinator was in 2015 and 2016 with Buffalo. The Bills led the league in rushing both seasons but ranked 28th and 30th in passing.