Five Ravens that must be cut this offseason
The Baltimore Ravens have been never been known as a team that competes in the free agency market, but this year that will change. The Ravens have been hampered in years past by dead money (money that goes to players that are no longer on the team), players like Ray Rice and Dennis Pitta have been working against the Ravens long after they left the team. The Ravens currently have 1.5M in dead money which is very good.
Big contracts have also tied up the Ravens. Joe Flacco, Jimmy Smith, and others have tied up the Ravens in older veterans whose level of play gets lower each year. The Ravens have a history of extending these contracts, giving them small relief now and pushing the rest down the road. This year the Ravens are at a breaking point with many of these contracts where the Ravens must decide whether they keep, release or extend. These are five Ravens that must be cut this off season.
Joe Flacco (Cap Savings-10.5M/Dead Money-16M): Joe has finished his time in Baltimore and there will be time later to talk about his accolades. All that is left is, how he will leave Baltimore? either by trade or cut from the team. Trade targets include the Miami Dolphins, New York Giants, and the Washington Redskins. A good return for him would be a third-round pick, most pundits say. It is expected that if the Ravens can not find a draft partner in the first week of free agency than they will cut him and let him find himself a home.
Jimmy Smith (Cap Savings-9.5M/Dead Money-6.3M): This one is a no-brainer. Even with him playing well towards the end of the season he is not worth this elite level money. He will be 31 years old next season to go along with three major surgeries and a suspension under his belt. A return to the Ravens is possible but I think another team will take the chance of paying more.
Michael Crabtree (Cap Savings-4.6M/Dead Money-4.6M): 54 catches for 607 yards and three TD’s was not what the Ravens envisioned when they signed him this past off season. Wasn’t the RedZone threat that they hoped he would be and had one of the highest drop rates in the NFL. He is going to have to work hard to find a job next season.
Eric Weddle (Cap Savings-7.5M/Dead Money1.7M): With this amount of cap savings the Ravens can find a good replacement in free agency. At 34 years old he has lost one too many steps. He walked back his statement of retiring if the Ravens don’t keep him and he still has something to offer to a team due to his smarts and leadership. If the Ravens do try to resign him to a smaller contract, the Ravens will may have to outbid some teams for his skills.
Brandon Carr (Cap Savings-5M/Dead Money-2M): This one is more obvious than people realize. Even though his starting streak is nothing short of miraculous, at 32 he has lost a step. His best play of the season was the first play in week 16 against the Chargers. Watch the play carefully, he was a step behind the receiver. If that ball is thrown on point that’s a chunk play. Keeping him on the team will also slow development of younger players like Anthony Averett and Maurice Canady.https://www.baltimoreravens.com/video/highlight-brandon-carr-makes-interception-on-first-play-old
The total cap savings from these five cuts would be 37.1M and the dead money would be 30.3M. This is significant saving that can be used to help bolster the squad. All these players are above 30 years of age and moving on from them will allow the Ravens to get younger and faster.
All cap related numbers come from overthecap.com
