Baltimore Ravens: Ngata can get done with current cap number

The changing of the month brings a changing of the guard as we say goodbye to our friend Shawn Brubaker from the editorial team at The Baltimore Wire.

I am honored to follow in Shawn’s footsteps, and look forward to continuing to offer some of the best Baltimore Ravens coverage on the net.

So with that, it is a new month with a new editor and March is the start of the new NFL season.

Tomorrow at 4 p.m. is the official deadline for teams to designate franchise and transition tags. There aren’t many teams who are likely to use the tag, but few are left with little choice but. The Denver Broncos and Dallas Cowboys are each expected to use the tag on their star wide receivers. Kansas City will use the tag on Justin Houston. You simply can’t let players like them just walk away without compensation.

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The Baltimore Ravens are unlikely to be one of those teams based on the financial situation the team is in. Instead, the Ravens have all their focus on the upcoming free agency period. They have a slew of important decisions to make in addition to the ones they have already made.

Chris Canty and Jacoby Jones were the first of the cap causalities. Both guys were significant contributors to the team that won the Super Bowl two years ago and will be missed. However, most people understand why the team had to release both players. They carried high cap hits for players that didn’t contribute enough for the price.

Over the next few days, there is sure to be more news to come with Haloti Ngata’s contract situation being the biggest unknown of them all.

The Ravens have just $4.7 million in cap space for the upcoming season. Ngata is scheduled to make $8.5 million in 2015, with an astronomical number of $16 million against the salary cap. The Ravens simply can’t get anything done with the current financial situation, and unfortunately it looks as though Ngata isn’t helping the cause.

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At age 31, the five-time All-Pro is looking for his final payday and knows that the Ravens need him more than he needs Baltimore. Ngata has been a pillar to the Ravens success. Anywhere he lines up on the defensive line, he dominates his opponent. There are just a handful of guys who are as disruptive as him. If he reaches the open market, NFL teams will be salivating at the chance to land one of the premier defensive tackles in football. He is going to get his money.

The Ravens frankly need more cap room if they want to be players in free agency. Torrey Smith isn’t expected back and Jacoby Jones’ release leaves Baltimore with a hole at wide receiver. They would love to keep Justin Forsett. They would love to find upgrades in the secondary and tight end positions. None of that seems possible unless something happens with Ngata.

The official start of the 2015-2016 league year is at 4 p.m. on March 10. Teams have until this time to get a deal done with potential free agents or they hit the open market. Basically it means the Ravens have less than nine days to make a decision with Ngata. Do they keep him at his current figure? Work out a contract extension? Release him? These are just some of the tough decisions Ozzie Newsome has to make in the coming days.

So until something changes in the near future, we wait for March 10 to arrive.

That is when the real fun begins.

Next: Could Chris Johnson be an option for the Ravens?

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