The 2019 season ended in the most anticlimactic fashion for the Baltimore Ravens. A potential Super Bowl run fell apart in the blink of an eye. Although disappointment still permeates, Ravens fans should be optimistic about the future. Now that the offseason has begun, it’s time to take a look at the individual positional groups and assess their future. Here are the quarterbacks currently on the 2020 roster.
- Lamar Jackson
- 2020 Age: 23
- Experience: Third year.
- 2020 Free Agent Status: Under contract
- Contract Remaining: $5,596,884/2 years, with a fifth-year option for 2023.
- 2020 Cap Hit: $2,583,176
- 2020 Dead Cap Penalty: $4,180,296
- 2020 Cut Savings: -$1,597,120
- Probability of Being Cut/Traded: None
- Robert Griffin III
- 2020 Age: 30
- Experience: Eighth year
- 2020 Free Agent Status: Under contract
- Contract Remaining: $2,500,000/1 year
- 2020 Cap Hit: 2,500,000
- 2020 Dead Cap Penalty: $500,000
- 2020 Cut Savings: $2,000,000
- Probability of Being Cut/Traded: Low
- Trace McSorely
- 2020 Age: 25
- Experience: Second year
- 2020 Free Agent Status: Under contract
- Contract Remaining: $2,145,516/3 years
- 2020 Cap Hit: $625,172
- 2020 Dead Cap Penalty: $120,516
- 2020 Cut Savings: $504,656
- Probability of Being Cut/Traded: Medium
Potential Moves Baltimore Could Make:
- Release Robert Griffin III to save $2 million.
- Trade Robert Griffin III to a quarterback-needy team.
- Release Trace McSorely to open a roster spot.
What Moves Should the Ravens Make to the Roster?
Going into the 2020 offseason, I foresee no moves made to the current Ravens quarterback contingent, and the Ravens should not make any either. The Ravens will obviously keep Lamar Jackson on the roster, and while they could try to work out a long-term extension, that seems premature. Baltimore will likely wait until after they exercise Jackson’s fifth-year option in 2022 before haggling over his second contract. As for Robert Griffin III, he should remain the backup quarterback despite his $2.5 million price tag. Griffin fits the Ravens’ offensive scheme perfectly, and he is well worth the asking price. As for second-year quarterback, Trace McSorely, the Ravens have no reason to release him from the roster – yet. McSorely was never given an opportunity to prove himself in 2019, but if the Ravens do not value him enough to take up a roster spot, they can simply cut him at the end of the preseason. Baltimore cannot save any money by cutting him before training camp as opposed to later, so the Ravens will at least use McSorely as a camp arm.
Which Free Agents Should the Ravens Target?
The Baltimore Ravens should sign at least one additional quarterback to the training camp roster after the draft. An undrafted free agent would provide the Baltimore Ravens the most value, as the Ravens can sign him for a small sum after the draft, and use him as a camp arm without losing a draft pick. It’s too early to accurately conjecture on which quarterback will be brought in, so I will not name one.
Do the Ravens Need to Draft a Quarterback?
As mentioned above, the Ravens need to add a single quarterback to the roster as a camp arm, but to draft one would undoubtedly waste a draft pick. If the Ravens had just two quarterbacks on the roster and were interested in adding a third-string quarterback with long-term potential, then drafting him would make sense. But Baltimore did this last year with Trace McSorely, and we have yet to see what McSorely’s long-term value, if there is any, actually is. The Ravens will not draft another quarterback for the sake of finding a camp arm. The Ravens will simply add an undrafted free agent after the draft.
