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Baltimore Ravens Clearing Cap Space for Free Agents

By Joe Serpico

Dec 21, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints tight end Benjamin Watson (82) scores a touchdown on a one-yard catch while defended by Detroit Lions strong safety Isa Abdul-Quddus (42) in the fourth quarter of the game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 21, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints tight end Benjamin Watson (82) scores a touchdown on a one-yard catch while defended by Detroit Lions strong safety Isa Abdul-Quddus (42) in the fourth quarter of the game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Baltimore Ravens have cleared cap space in recent days. Is a big free agent signing coming?

The Ravens entered the 2016 NFL season with the least cap space in the NFL. After a couple days of tinkering with some of their players’ contracts, they now have some room to make some moves.

It all started with Joe Flacco‘s extension that lowered his cap total for the season. The cut ties with Daryl Smith and Chris Canty. Within the past 24 hours, they have reworked the contracts of Marshal Yanda, Kyle Arrington and Jimmy Smith to create even more cap room.

The Ravens only had about $1.6 million in cap space prior to Flacco’s extension. They now have over $10 million to work with, and suddenly, the Ravens are players in the free agent market.

The first move they made was the signing of tight end Benjamin Watson. It was important for the Ravens to bring a veteran on board with the injury to Crockett Gillmore and Nick Boyle‘s 10-game suspension. Maxx Williams and Chase Ford, who did not play for the Ravens last season, were the only other tight ends on the roster.

Then there was the rumblings that the team might be interested in receiver Mike Wallace. As of this writing, there has not been any more traction to this rumor, but we will keep our eyes on it if anything comes about.

Now we wonder what they do with all this extra money. Our friends over at Ebony Bird gave their prediction of five players they believe Ozzie Newsome could target. Their top target is cornerback Brent Grimes, a move I would not be opposed to. In fact, I wouldn’t be against any the pickups that they have proposed. 

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The one name that they have listed and I have repeatedly said should be the Ravens top target this offseason is safety Eric Weddle. While they do have a logjam at safety with Lardarius Webb converting to safety as well, but Weddle would instantly be an upgrade over the players around him. This team desperately needs a force in the back end of the secondary, and while Weddle is not a young buck anymore, he still gets the job done effectively.

Outside of Weddle and Grimes, there is no player that stands out in this free agent class that could come in and make a difference for this team. The top pass rushers have found new homes and some of the other high-profile players do not fill the team’s needs.

Courtney Upshaw is still a free agent and Baltimore might be his best option. He will never post huge sack numbers, but he does his job at setting the edge and the Ravens do not have another player like him on the roster. He shouldn’t command too much money if the team does bring him back so do not be surprised if this move does come about.

Next: Matt Schaub Headed to Atlanta

It’s been a quiet afternoon so far for the Ravens, but the exciting part about free agency is that something could go down at any second. Ozzie is not done making moves just yet.

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