State of the 2020 Ravens Secondary

After a brief hiatus in the series, we are back with another State of the Ravens article! Today, we are taking a look at the 14 players in the secondary on the roster, and deciding what the Ravens should do in the offseason with them.

Here are all 14 players in the secondary currently on the roster, along with important information about them:

Marlon Humphrey
- 2020 Age: 24
- Experience: 4th year
- 2020 Free Agent Status: Under contract
- Contract Remaining: $3,769,652/1 year, plus a fifth-year option.
- 2020 Cap Hit: $3,769,652
- 2020 Dead Cap Penalty: $3,769,652
- 2020 Cut Savings: $0
- Probability of Being Cut/Traded: None
Marcus Peters
- 2020 Age: 27
- Experience: 6th year
- 2020 Free Agent Status: Under contract
- Contract Remaining: $40,468,118
- 2020 Cap Hit: $15,000,000
- 2020 Dead Cap Penalty: $19,000,000
- 2020 Cut Savings: -$4,000,000
- Probability of Being Cut/Traded: None
Jimmy Smith
- 2020 Age: 32
- Experience: 10th year
- 2020 Free Agent Status: UFA
- Contract Remaining: None
- 2020 Cap Hit: N/A
- 2020 Dead Cap Penalty: N/A
- 2020 Cut Savings: N/A
- Probability of Being Re-signed: Medium
Tavon Young
- 2020 Age: 26
- Experience: 5th year
- 2020 Free Agent Status: Under contract
- Contract Remaining: $24,345,000/3 years
- 2020 Cap Hit: $8,000,000
- 2020 Dead Cap Penalty: $9,500,000
- 2020 Cut Savings: -$1,500,000
- Probability of Being Cut/Traded: None
Anthony Averett
- 2020 Age: 25
- Experience: 3rd year
- 2020 Free Agent Status: Under contract
- Contract Remaining: $1,740,499/2 years
- 2020 Cap Hit: $825,249
- 2020 Dead Cap Penalty: $330,499
- 2020 Cut Savings: $494,790
- Probability of Being Cut/Traded: Medium
Brandon Carr
- 2020 Age: 34
- Experience: 13th year
- 2020 Free Agent Status: Under contract
- Contract Remaining (Club Option): $7,000,000/1 year
- 2020 Cap Hit: $7,000,000
- 2020 Dead Cap Penalty: $1,000,000
- 2020 Cut Savings: $6,000,000
- Probability of Being Cut/Traded: High
Iman Marshall
- 2020 Age: 23
- Experience: 2nd year
- 2020 Free Agent Status: Under contract
- Contract Remaining: $2,529,898/3 years
- 2020 Cap Hit: $753,299
- 2020 Dead Cap Penalty: $504,898
- 2020 Cut Savings: $248,401
- Probability of Being Cut/Traded: Low
Jordan Richards
- 2020 Age: 27
- Experience: 6th year
- 2020 Free Agent Status: Under contract
- Contract Remaining: $685,000/1 year
- 2020 Cap Hit: $685,000
- 2020 Dead Cap Penalty: $25,000
- 2020 Cut Savings: $660,000
- Probability of Being Cut/Traded: Medium
Brynden Trawick
- 2020 Age: 30
- Experience: 8th year
- 2020 Free Agent Status: UFA
- Contract Remaining: None
- 2020 Cap Hit: N/A
- 2020 Dead Cap Penalty: N/A
- 2020 Cut Savings: N/A
- Probability of Being Cut/Traded: N/A
Anthony Levine
- 2020 Age: 33
- Experience: 11th year
- 2020 Free Agent Status: UFA
- Contract Remaining: None
- 2020 Cap Hit: N/A
- 2020 Dead Cap Penalty: N/A
- 2020 Cut Savings: N/A
- Probability of Being Cut/Traded: N/A
Fish Smithson
- 2020 Age: 26
- Experience: 4th year
- 2020 Free Agent Status: ERFA
- Contract Remaining: None
- Potential 2020 Cap Hit: $820,000 (2020 league minimum)
- 2020 Dead Cap Penalty: $0
- 2020 Cut Savings: N/A
- Probability of Leaving Baltimore: High
Earl Thomas
- 2020 Age: 31
- Experience: 11th year
- 2020 Free Agent Status: Under contract
- Contract Remaining: $48,000,000/3 years
- 2020 Cap Hit: $15,000,000
- 2020 Dead Cap Penalty: $25,000,000
- 2020 Cut Savings: -$10,000,000
- Probability of Being Cut/Traded: None
Chuck Clark
- 2020 Age: 25
- Experience: 4th year
- 2020 Free Agent Status: Under contract
- Contract Remaining: $16,078,705/4 years
- 2020 Cap Hit: $3,418,705
- 2020 Dead Cap Penalty: $10,043,705
- 2020 Cut Savings: -$6,625,000
- Probability of Being Cut/Traded: None
DeShon Elliott
- 2020 Age: 23
- Experience: 3rd year
- 2020 Free Agent Status: Under contract
- Contract Remaining: $1,488,899
- 2020 Cap Hit: $699,448
- 2020 Dead Cap Penalty: $78,899
- 2020 Cut Savings: $620,549
- Probability of Being Cut/Traded: Medium

Potential Moves Baltimore Could Make:

Extend Marlon Humphrey’s contract.
Re-sign Jimmy Smith, Brynden Trawick, Fish Smithson and/or Anthony Levine.
Cut Anthony Averett, Brandon Carr, Jordan Richards, or DeShon Elliott.

What Moves Should the Ravens Make to the Roster?

2020 could be a transformational year for the Ravens secondary. The Ravens may elect to part ways with veterans priced out of their value. Jimmy Smith, already injury-prone, is aging, and the Ravens will not be willing to pay top market value for his services with both Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters on the roster. Brandon Carr is also a potential cap casualty. The Ravens can save $6,000,000 by releasing Carr. Both veterans have been instrumental in the Ravens’ success, but it is time to part ways with them. The financial strain incurred by keeping each player does not benefit the Ravens enough to make them valuable in 2020. The Ravens should keep one veteran around though, Anthony Levine. The defensive back/safety hybrid continues to provide value to the Ravens, and re-signing him should be relatively inexpensive.

Which Free Agents Should the Ravens Target?

The Ravens already have key starters in place in the secondary: Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters at cornerback, and Earl Thomas and Chuck Clark at safety. If Baltimore adds free agents, the Ravens will only need to do so to create more depth or find rotational players. But that strategy is not a guarantee, Baltimore already has Anthony Averett, Iman Marshall, and DeShon Elliott to fill depth positions. Baltimore may decide to add no free agents at all. A player like Bashud Breeland, though, could be a solid addition for the Ravens. He will be more expensive than a typical stash-away depth player, but he could fill a key veteran role as a rotational cornerback. If his market is low, taken over by players like Chris Harris Jr. and Logan Ryan, the Ravens might be able to sign him for a steal of a price.

Do the Ravens Need to Draft a Cornerback or Safety?

Well, it depends. If Baltimore is comfortable moving forward with the depth players on hand like Anthony Averett, Iman Marshall, and DeShon Elliott, then no, unless there is an appealing prospect in the later rounds of the draft. The best avenue for the Ravens may be to add a few secondary players in the free agency period after the draft. Tons of talented players exit the draft without a team. The Ravens are historically good at identifying these players, and could find the next undrafted to make the roster in the secondary pool.