Contract talks between the Ravens and left tackle Eugene Monroe are at a standstill, sources tell Matt Zenitz of the Carroll County Times (Twitter link), who reports that the free-agent-to-be appears unlikely to return to Baltimore. Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun is hearing the same thing, tweeting that Monroe will test the open market and likely won’t re-sign with Baltimore, given the sort of offers expected from other suitors.
Monroe, who was acquired by the Ravens in a trade with the Jaguars last season, is viewed as one of the top tackles among this year’s class of free agents, along with Branden Albert of the Chiefs and Jared Veldheer of the Raiders. The Dolphins and Cardinals are a couple teams expected to seriously pursue a left tackle in free agency, and the Raiders could enter the mix for Monroe if they’re unable to lock up Veldheer.
According to Zenitz (Twitter link), Monroe is seeking a long-term deal that averages about $10MM annually, while the Ravens would prefer to pay closer to $8MM or $9MM per year. On the surface, that doesn’t seem like an insurmountable gap to bridge, but those annual salaries add up to a significant disparity over a four- or five-year contract, and the two sides could also disagree over the amount of guaranteed money.
As OverTheCap.com’s data shows, a salary of $10MM per year would make Monroe one of the top five highest-paid left tackles in the NFL by annual salary.