Baltimore Ravens: Free Agency Starts with Cool Waters, Eugene Monroe Re-signs
Mandatory Credit: Pat Lovell-USA TODAY Sports
About an hour after 4pm ET Tuesday afternoon, the Baltimore Ravens resigned LT Eugene Monroe.
The Ravens secured the bright spot on the offensive line for $37.5 million for five years, which includes $19 million guaranteed and even an $11 million signing bonus.
Reports now seem to say there was never any doubt in re-signing the left tackle, who the Ravens acquired during the 2013/14 season to help the struggling offensive line.
Monroe is very happy with the deal, according to everything I am seeing; he is now very close to his family and wife, so the deal seems to be good on all sides.
Aaron Wilson reported on Twitter that Monroe said:
"“It’s a great deal for both sides. I’m excited, man. I was confident it would work out. I was never concerned.”"
Monroe posted this on his Twitter account:
At only 26 years old, Monroe is the start to a revamp of the offensive line. Hopefully his talent will attract some of the available players to help strengthen the front line.
In only the beginning of free agency, the Ravens did not go after any of the top offensive linemen, clearly with Monroe in sight already.
With the big cash spent on Monroe, the Ravens will probably not be spending any major money on offensive linemen again.
Though that should not keep the front office people from revamping the offensive line, I doubt the Ravens will be able to sign another big name.
Monroe’s re-signing has been a big one behind Terrell Suggs and Dennis Pitta.
Now with the re-signing out of the way, the Ravens should be able to start diving into the free agent market.
Former Ravens’ defensive tackle Arthur Jones was lost to that professional team from Indianapolis on a five-year deal (they keep taking things from us, some things never change).
The Ravens have 13 free agents remaining, which could still be re-signed. See list below:
WR Jacoby Jones
ILB Daryl Smith
OT Michael Oher
ILB Jameel McClain
CB Corey Graham
TE Ed Dickson
FB Vonta Leach
TE Dallas Clark
WR Tandon Doss
There are still big names here, and some I believe the Ravens should continue to try to bring back. But at 4 ET today, these players are now free agents; but of course that does not stop the Ravens from trying to re-sign them.
I predict Oher will not return to the Ravens, and unless something has changed in the front office, Jones will probably not be returning to Baltimore. There seems to be too much money under him for just a special teams player.
Smith, McClain, and Ihedigbo are important defensive players that I would hate to see leave Baltimore. Because all of these players are free agents now, I doubt they will hesitate to test the waters of free agency before looking back at Baltimore.
There is a lot of talent on this list, and any team would be lucky to sign them. It is unrealistic for the Ravens to keep them all, there are just those few players they should retain.
There have been reports that the Ravens are looking at other tight ends, so that could mean TEs Dickson and Clark may not be coming back to Baltimore, especially after the Pitta deal.
Keep an eye on these names as free agency progresses; most will not be returning, though some may come back to Baltimore. Free agency has only begun, and hopefully the Ravens will begin to heat up the waters soon.