The Ravens have had a pretty bad day today, as many free agents are leaving the team. The Ravens are low on cap space to begin with, and it is not a surprise that many players are going to be going to the highest bidder, something the Ravens cannot match. There is some hope, however, as there are some rumors about certain players signing with the Ravens. We have been keeping a LIVE article going throughout the day, outlining the Free Agency Frenzy. You can see that here.
The Ravens lost three key players today. The first being OT Ricky Wagner. Wagner agreed to a contract with the Detroit Lions, reportedly worth over $9 million per year. Then later on in the day Steve Smith Sr. broke the news that the Ravens would be releasing OLB Elvis Dumervil, who holds the Ravens single season sack record. This move generates $6 million in extra cap space. Ozzie Newsome did not rule out Dumvervil’s possible return however. This could be a move similar to when the Ravens cut Chris Canty a few years ago only to resign him later that offseason. The last major loss to the Ravens today is FB Kyle Juszczyk who reportedly agreed to a huge 4 year $21 million with the San Francisco 49ers. The Ravens simply could not match this offer and had to let Juszczyk go.
The good news for the Ravens is that there are two potential free agents they could likely sign soon. These two are S Tony Jefferson, and former Ravens WR Torrey Smith. According to sources, the Ravens are one of the top suitors of Jefferson, with the Browns being competitive in money offered as well. If Jefferson signs with the Ravens, it will help a secondary that needs some extra players, and we could see Lardarius Webb move back to CB, or be cut if Ozzie Newsome feels he cannot afford Webb anymore. There are also rumors circulating that it is extremely likely that Torrey Smith will return to Baltimore, and if this is true I imagine we could be seeing this happen in the coming days.
Needless to say, the Ravens are off to a rocky start in Free Agency, and will need to find some pieces to replace the ones they’ve lost. Don’t count Baltimore out just yet in making big splashes, they tend to find players in free agency later on in the process, and still could hit it big this offseason.
