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Ravens middle linebacker C.J. Mosley won’t be franchise-tagged by the team, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. If Baltimore cannot reach an extension with Mosley, he will become a free agent on March 13.
A representative for C.J. Mosley said he has been told that Baltimore will not use its franchise tag on the Ravens' linebacker, per a league source. Mosley expected to be an unrestricted free agent, without a tag.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 4, 2019
The franchise tag number is $15.443 million for linebackers and the Ravens currently have $18,560,157 in cap space before free agency, per Over The Cap. However, the team will be set to save additional money with the pending trade of Joe Flacco and possible cuts.
Carolina Panthers middle linebacker Luke Kuechly currently makes $12.4 million in annual salary. Mosley’s team may look for a similar number in free agency, though head coach John Harbaugh believes their will be “limitations with money”.
“Yeah, you’d rather have C.J. back,” Harbaugh said. “There’s always the give and take, of course. There are limitations with money, but C.J. wants to be back and we want him back. I think that’s a really good formula for a player coming back.
“I’m just not even going to entertain the possibility right now that that wouldn’t happen. I’ll just assume that’s going to happen.”
The Ravens are currently in contract talks with the linebacker, per The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec. However, Baltimore may look towards adding pieces around quarterback Lamar Jackson in free agency in the upcoming draft.
Mosley played in 15 games last season, making 105 total tackles, half a sack and an interception in the final drive of the regular season against the Cleveland Browns to seal an AFC North title. He dealt with an ankle injury that he suffered in Week 2 against the Bengals, which seemed to bother him for majority of the season.
He was drafted by the Ravens with the 17th pick of the 2014 NFL Draft. Since that point, Mosley has been named to four Pro Bowls (2014, 2016-2018) and being a four-time Second-team All-Pro selection (2014, 2016-2018).