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Five Potential Salary Cap Casualties Who Could Fit Ravens’ Needs - Clifton Brown
G Kelechi Osemele, Oakland Raiders
Why he could fit Ravens: Upgrading the offensive line is one of the Ravens’ top priorities. Osemele made a name for himself in Baltimore, and helped the Ravens win Super Bowl XLVII, as a 2012 second-round pick. He developed into a dominant guard that signed a big deal in Oakland after the 2015 season. Osemele was a good, young player the Ravens wanted to keep, but he just got too expensive in Baltimore’s post-Super Bowl cap era. He would bring some of his signature nastiness back to the Ravens’ O-line.
Why Osemele could be released: New Raiders General Manager Mike Mayock may want to continue getting younger up front.
Osemele missed five games in 2018 due to a knee injury and received a 53.7 grade from PFF.
How Will Ravens Address Restricted Free Agents? - Bo Smolka
Restricted free agents are players whose contracts have expired with at least three but less than four years of service time. The Ravens have four restricted free agents: Onwuasor, Pierce, running back Alex Collins and cornerback Stanley Jean-Baptiste.
In the case of the Ravens, it’s significant that Onwuasor and Pierce were undrafted. That means if they are offered an original-round tender and then signed away by another team, the Ravens would get no draft-pick compensation in return.
The Ravens, then, are likely to give both of them second-round tenders, which will cost roughly $6 million against the cap but should be enough to protect them. If they were signed away, the Ravens would get a second-round draft pick in return. The $3.1 million salary would be a nice boost for Onwuasor and Pierce, who were two of the best bargains on the team last year, making less than $700,000 each. Both turn 27 this year.
The Ravens also could have one eye on other teams’ restricted free agents.
Notable restricted free agent receivers around the league include Robby Anderson, Geronimo Allison, Chester Rogers and Tommylee Lewis.
MOCK DRAFT 5.0 - Benjamin Solak
22. Baltimore Ravens: Deebo Samuel, WR, South Carolina
Deebo? Deebo.
A healthy Deebo Samuel could really make waves at the Combine, and he fills a really nice role in this WR class. He’s got much better YAC ability than most of these big-body X and Z types, but he doesn’t bring the same weight concerns of a Hollywood Brown.
Built like a running back in his squat, thick frame, Deebo is a wildly effective route runner and a surprisingly effective red zone threat because of his ability to separate off the line of scrimmage. He warrants shallow targets; high-percentage throws that will make life easier on second-year QB Lamar Jackson.
In this mock draft, offensive lineman Jawaan Taylor, safety Deionte Thompson, edge rusher Montez Sweat and receiver N’Keal Harry were all picked after the Ravens selection.