News is flying off the shelves here on the first day of NFL free agency.
Just minutes after the Baltimore Ravens announced the team released James Hurst, the team’s official Twitter account released more information. As was reported earlier, the Ravens placed a tender on a restricted free agent, Matt Skura. According to multiple sources, it’s a low tender, so Baltimore would not get compensation if the team fails to match Skura’s contract. New to the conversation, though, was confirmation that the Baltimore Ravens re-signed Gus Edwards. This was expected but not official until now.
Edwards hit the market as an exclusive rights free agent (ERFA). This means that Baltimore has the exclusive rights to Gus Edwards, and simply needed to pay him the league minimum contract to keep him around. That’s exactly what Eric DeCosta and the Ravens’ front office did. Baltimore re-signed Edwards for a $750,000 cap hit in 2020, a massive steal considering how productive Edwards has been for the Ravens. Under the previous collective bargaining agreement (CBA), Edwards’ cap hit would have been $660,000, but the newly ratified CBA raised contract amounts for all ERFAs.
Re-signing Edwards is obviously the right move for the Ravens, but placing a low tender on Matt Skura may come back to haunt the Ravens. Skura was very productive at center for the Ravens last year and was on his way to a Pro Bowl before he suffered that massive knee injury against the Rams. If Skura is healthy by the beginning of the 2020 season, he would likely keep his roster spot, but that, of course, is no given. Coming back from the knee injury may be difficult, and because the Ravens cannot guarantee Skura will be healthy by the start of 2020, the Ravens may end up replacing him. No matter what happens to Skura, the Ravens will need to address the offensive line regardless. Marshal Yanda and James Hurst are already gone, and these roster spots need to be filled.
