We are into day two of the NFL free agent frenzy. To no surprise, there were no Ravens free agency moves. But several players on my Ravens big board signed elsewhere. In this note I take a look at who’s gone, and add some new names to consider from recent player releases.
Ravens Free Agency Moves – Who Got Away
Let’s take a position review of who’s now off the board.
Offensive Tackle
Joseph Noteboom resigned with the Rams on a large three year deal with $25 million guaranteed. Because we don’t yet know the breakdown between signing bonus and his year one salary, Noteboom’s year-one cap number is not available. But given the size of the guarantee, it’s safe to say that my $4 million year-one cap number target for the Ravens turned out to be way under market. The Rams clearly believe Andrew Whitworth will retire and see Noteboom as their starter. For the Ravens, this leaves only Morgan Moses as an offensive tackle that I would pursue.
Free Safety
The Seahawks surprisingly resigned Quandre Diggs. I had listed Diggs as a very strong backup option at free safety if the Ravens are unable to nab top-enders Marcus Williams or Tyrann Mathieu. And I remain unconvinced that they should pursue Marcus Maye (injury; locker room issues). There really isn’t anyone else that interests me. But Marcus Williams is still my top pick and Tyrann Mathieu is still on the board.
Edge Rusher
Hasson Reddick came off the board quickly, signing with the Eagles. He received a three year deal with $30 million guaranteed. Without contract details I don’t know his year-one cap figure but it’s likely to come in above the $7 million that I estimated. This leaves only Za’Darius Smith as an edge rusher target on my primary list (see below).
Charles Davis, a situational rusher, signed back with the Lions. Perhaps the Ravens will have interest in Justin Houston or Melvin Ingram, but those signings will not dramatically move the needle. If they are unable to sign Smith, we are heading towards the draft with a glaring hole at this position. The Dolphins retained Emanual Ogbah, who I didn’t see as a Ravens target.
Defensive Line
All four of my primary targets came off the board. The Chargers signed Sebastian Joseph-Day with $15 million of guaranteed money. The Broncos nabbed D.J. Jones with a $20 million guarantee. The Bengals retained B.J. Hill, and Foley Fatukasi went to the Jaguars. Clearly, the Ravens were not willing to dive into this market (telling us defensive line was not a priority), as the year-one cap number for these guys all came in roughly where I expected.
Newly Released Players Who Could Be Ravens Targets
This is the pond in which the Ravens prefer to fish. The Ravens like to hook players who were released by their old teams and who therefore don’t count against the compensatory draft pick calculation. There are quite a few players here who should be tempting targets.
Bobby Wagner – Inside Linebacker
I’ll start with the biggest name: Bobby Wagner from the Seahawks. At 31, Wagner can’t be expected to be the player he was during his prime. He had a strong season last year. Wagner has been an off-the-ball linebacker his entire career – the position currently played by Patrick Queen. Without even getting into cap numbers speculation, with the Ravens either Wagner would have to play the strong-side position (replacing Josh Bynes), or the Ravens would have to move Queen back into that slot. Queen, who still struggles in his newer role, was dreadfully inadequate as a Sam linebacker. Wagner’s signing would not be the rifle shot that directly addresses the Ravens’ need given Queen’s inadequacies and Wagner’s propensities. Then, there’s the likely contract number – it will likely be too high for a team with the Ravens’ comparatively limited cap space.
Za’Darius Smith – Edge Rusher
I’ve been touting a move to Smith in most of my postings. I expected him to be released and, well, here he is. It’s all about the contract and the physicals from here. If the physicals are good, the Ravens should give Smith their best shot as he’s precisely what they need.
Myles Jack – Inside linebacker
Now I had mentioned Jack as a likely release candidate, along with Blake Martinez (Giants) and Eric Kendricks (Vikings). The Giants re-signed Martinez. I like Jack but don’t love him. Would he be an upgrade over Josh Bynes? Perhaps, but not enough to cause me to leap at him in mid-March. It just isn’t compelling. I’d rather wait a bit longer in any event and see if Kendricks’ name pops up.
Michael Pierce and Eddie Goldman – Defensive Line
Since leaving the Ravens in 2020, Pierce has hardly played. Covid took him out of 2020 altogether and injury limited him to barely 250 snaps in 2021. Early in his career with the Ravens Pierce was a dominant run stuffer in his rotational role. At age 29, it’s hard to know what he has to offer. I much prefer the four defensive lineman who got away (see above). And frankly, I’d prefer a return of Calais Campbell, albeit at a much higher price. The Ravens may kick the tires here and I don’t put Pierce’s signing as being out of the realm as it shouldn’t take much. But a lot of due diligence is needed on a guy who has never really played a full-time role on even first and second downs.
Eddie Goldman has gone from being a really good player to a major liability. At this point in his career one would have to believe they could resurrect the old Goldman from the dead. I just wouldn’t go down this road.
J.C. Tretter – Center
The 31-year old Tretter was released by the Browns. He’s a better, albeit older, player than Bradley Bozeman and was graded at 78.7 by Pro Football Focus while yielding only one sack last year. He has been a dominant pass protector his entire career. Tretter is on the natural downside of his career and I don’t think the Ravens should be spending any cap space on this position. And that includes not resigning Bozeman, who I think is just a solid player.
Cornerback – Two More Names to Consider
With the release of Tavon Young and the surprising (to me) departure (at least for now) of Chris Westry, the Ravens are obviously very thin in the secondary, with no one who is suitable for the slot. Two second-tier players who could hit the radar are Akhello Witherspoon (Steelers) and Bryce Callahan (Broncos). Witherspoon is a solid player who yield 16 receptions on 33 targets last year and graded very well by Pro Football Focus. He was effective and would add some much needed depth.
Callahan has always been a strong player in my view. His problem has been injuries, including in 2021 when he suffered a knee injury. I think the injuries will keep the Ravens away, but Callahan has the skillset to play the slot and do it well if he could stay on the field.
Ravens Free Agency Moves – Players Ravens Previously Released
Let’s take a look back at the list of Ravens’ releases in view of the lack of Ravens free agency moves so far and who is no longer available. Safe to say that the Ravens’ options on the defensive line are far fewer. Could we revisit Calais Campbell? I think the odds of his return are higher, subject of course to where his market winds up. It’s hard to see the Ravens allocating more than $3 million or so of cap space here.
Brandon Williams? Not for me. At age 33 he just doesn’t offer enough, even given his more invigorated play down the stretch last year.
Justin Houston? The potential for his return likely depends on whether the Ravens can scoop up Za’Darius Smith. If they can’t then the Ravens should consider bringing him back, but in a more rotational role than he played last year.
Bradley Bozeman? I just don’t like spending the cap dollars here. Bozeman apparently is drawing little interest with numerous other centers being plucked. I’m still a pass here.
Anthony Averitt? Somehow I think the odds of his return have gone up. There was clearly little interest in Averitt on days one of the frenzy, which isn’t surprising. But I suspect the views on Averitt are fairly mixed. If he is still on the market in a few weeks the odds of his return will increase unless the Ravens turn elsewhere.
Pat Ricard? You know the old Ozzie Newsome saying: “Right player, right price.” The Ravens are not going to pay Ricard like a tight end. He isn’t one. He is a fullback who plays roughly half the Ravens’ snaps. What’s that worth cap wise for a team that is cap-tight?
Until the next update . . .
