AFC North Rumors: Jackson, Watson, Steelers
A common conception of the situation surrounding the Ravens and quarterback Lamar Jackson‘s efforts towards a new deal has been that Jackson has refused to participate in negotiations. Jackson’s teammate, defensive lineman Calais Campbell, told the media this week that Jackson is more than willing to work out a new contract, according to Jamison Hensley of ESPN.
“He wants to get a deal done, and that’s the most important part” Campbell said on NFL Network. “Sometimes guys who are part of a team and don’t want to be there anymore use (free agency) as an opportunity to go elsewhere, but he wants to be (a Raven).”
Josina Anderson of CBS Sports reported yesterday that the Ravens remain “hopeful” for a new deal and that the team currently has their best offer yet on the table for Jackson. It’s reportedly not an all or nothing offer, as the Ravens are waiting for a counter to their proposal from Jackson. We have no certain facts as to what the deal may entail, but on The Athletic Football Show podcast hosted by Robert Mays, rumors were mentioned that Baltimore is willing to go up to $50MM per year and 80% guaranteed money. The team is running out of time before they’ll be required to tag Jackson or, barring a more preferred resolution, trade him.
Here are a few more rumors from around the AFC North, starting with one of the main reasons the Ravens are having such an issue with Jackson’s new contract:
- News that comes as a surprise to absolutely nobody, the Browns are exploring restructuring the historic fully-guaranteed contract of quarterback Deshaun Watson, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. The team is facing a challenge in getting under the salary cap and have already confirmed plans to release safety John Johnson in order to clear some space. After a first year of Watson’s contract that held a base salary of $402,500 and a cap hit of $9.40MM, Watson’s numbers in 2023 jump up to a base salary of $46MM and a record-setting cap hit of $54.99MM. Browns general manager Andrew Berry acknowledged that, with the team currently about $13.42MM over the cap, Watson’s mammoth contract could be a source of wiggle room with a restructure.
- Since the Steelers waited until after last year’s draft to replace then-general manager Kevin Colbert, new general manager Omar Khan is going through his first draft process. According to Mark Kaboly of The Athletic, Khan plans to use assistant general manager Andy Weidl much in the way Weidl was used in Philadelphia. That is to say that the Steelers will rely on Weidl to put together the team’s draft board before turning it over to the higher ups who will make the draft decisions. Weidl will utilize input from director of player scouting Mark Sadowski, director of college scouting Dan Colbert, and director of pro scouting Sheldon White, then Khan will work together with head coach Mike Tomlin and owner Art Rooney to make decisions.
NFL Draft Rumors: Young, Safeties, Skinner
Sitting pretty with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Texans are reportedly very high on Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. Despite his diminutive stature, Young has always been considered a top prospect at his position dating back to high school. How much will it affect his draft stock?
In evaluating the former quarterback of the Crimson Tide, the Texans have formed an extremely high opinion of Young in many regards. The only area that concerns Houston is a potential lack of durability due to his slight frame. While his height has been a minor concern, when combined with a reported weight at Alabama of 194 pounds, his size becomes a concern for NFL teams. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the concerns certainly are a factor but not enough so to remove him from his status as the top passer in the draft.
At the NFL Combine today, we received an official measurement. One of the first to report on the matter, ESPN’s Field Yates provided us with Young’s height (5-foot-10 and 1/8 inches), weight (204 pounds), and hand size (9 and 3/4 inches). The increased weight is seen as a big win in Young’s camp as a factor that should help bolster his projected durability.
Yates also provided us with a comparison to former No. 1 overall pick Kyler Murray. While the two are not quite alike in play, Murray measured the same height, three pounds heavier, and with hands that were a quarter of an inch smaller, effectively negating any arguments that Young’s size should be a factor that would keep him from being a top draft pick.
Here are a few other rumors from this year’s upcoming draft:
- Due to what is perceived to be a lack of safety depth in this year’s draft, the market for second-tier free agent safeties is expected to heat up when free agency opens, according to Tony Pauline of Pro Football Network. There’s an opinion that after the top three draft prospects at the position, which include Illinois’s Sydney Brown, Georgia’s Chris Smith, and the draft’s only expected first-round safety Brian Branch from Alabama, there is a large drop off in safety talent. This should result in more fervent bidding for free agent safeties who otherwise would’ve been looking at average contracts behind the top-tier earners at the position. While top free agent safeties like Jessie Bates and Jordan Poyer will be searching for top money, players like Eric Rowe, A.J. Moore, J.T. Gray, and Lamarcus Joyner should expect to compete for higher contracts than they would have if competing with a deeper draft class.
- Contributing to the lack of depth at the position, Boise State safety JL Skinner was unable to perform at the Combine this week due to a torn pectoral muscle, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. Skinner is currently projected as a Day 2 draft pick but could have improved his draft stock even more with a strong performance at the Combine, which many expected he would do. He still met with teams, but Skinner was not able to participate in any drills with the other defensive backs. He’ll have surgery next week.
NFL Coaching Updates: Vikings, Packers, Colts
The Vikings made two additions to their coaching staff this week, adding assistants on both the defense and special teams. The additions help head coach Kevin O’Connell fill a few holes that were vacant due to recent departures.
Former assistant defensive line coach A’Lique Terry departed to join Dan Lanning‘s second-year staff at Oregon. Terry will coach the Ducks’ offensive line, a position group he worked with as a graduate assistant in 2019-20. Replacing Terry as assistant defensive line coach will be Patrick Hill, according to Matt Zenitz of On3 Sports. After serving as an analyst at LSU, Hill had recently joined Deion Sanders‘s inaugural staff at Colorado as the defensive tackles coach. Instead, Hill will make his way to the NFL.
The Vikings also needed to replace assistant special teams coach Ben Kotwica who left to become Sean Payton‘s new special teams coordinator in Denver. Replacing Kotwica will reportedly be former special teams coordinator and defensive ends coach at Southern Illinois Dalmin Gibson., according to Charean Williams of NBC Sports. Gibson’s role as assistant special teams coach will be his first NFL job after college gigs at Dickinson State, Wayne State, Colorado, and Michigan State.
Here are a few more coaching updates from around the league:
- The Packers will be losing a member of their coaching staff to the college ranks next season. According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, special teams quality control coach Micheal Spurlock will be departing for a role as wide receivers coach at Western Kentucky. Spurlock, a former NFL wide receiver, has now coached two separate seasons in the NFL, spending the rest of his coaching experience at the high school, community college, and NCAA level. The Packers don’t have an immediate need to replace Spurlock, as they still retain a special teams coordinator and assistant special teams coach, but that decision will likely fall to head coach Matt LaFleur.
- New Colts head coach Shane Steichen is looking to round out his first NFL coaching staff. It appears that, in order to do so, Steichen will dip into the college coaching ranks as he is expected to hire Notre Dame special teams coordinator Brian Mason, according to Josh Alper of NBC Sports. No position has been specified for Mason, and it will be interesting to see what Steichen has in mind. Indianapolis does currently have its special teams coordinator role vacant, but Mason has never held an NFL coaching position. Mason had gone from a graduate assistant at Ohio State in 2016 to director of recruiting at Cincinnati in 2017 before becoming the Bearcats’ special teams coordinator. Last year was his first as a coordinator for the Fighting Irish, and now he’ll make his way to his first NFL job. It’s hard to see Mason immediately earning a coordinator position for his first NFL role, but with the position open, it’s certainly a possibility.
Patriots To Release QB Brian Hoyer
Longtime backup quarterback Brian Hoyer appears to be on his way out of New England, according to Sirius XM Radio’s Adam Caplan. The Patriots brought Hoyer back for the third time in 2020 but have plans to move on from him this offseason. 
Hoyer originally signed with the Patriots as an undrafted free agent out of Michigan State in 2009. The previous season had seen star passer Tom Brady lost for the year to a torn ACL and MCL and required backup quarterback Matt Cassel to lead the Patriots. Cassel’s performance in Brady’s stead would earn him a new contract as the Chief’s starter in 2009. With Cassel gone, Hoyer took over the main role as Brady’s backup.
Just prior to the 2012 season, the Patriots released Hoyer as they decided to move forward with Ryan Mallett as their primary backup passer. Hoyer signed with the Steelers following injuries to Ben Roethlisberger and Byron Leftwich but never saw the field while backing up Charlie Batch. Two days after being released by Pittsburgh, Hoyer signed with the Cardinals, with whom he earned the first start of his career in the season finale after an injury to Ryan Lindley.
The following season saw Hoyer sign with his hometown team, the Browns. In Cleveland, Hoyer would see the most success in his career. Following an injury to Brandon Weeden, the Browns passed over backup Jason Campbell and started Hoyer. After earning his first-career win, Hoyer started the next two games (both wins), before suffering an ACL tear in that third start of the year. After recovering, Hoyer was tabbed as the starter for 2014 as Weeden and Campbell departed in free agency. He competed for the job with rookie first-round pick Johnny Manziel. Hoyer had an impressive 6-3 start to the season, dropping two games in heartbreaking fashion, before losing three of the next four, prompting a move to start Manziel. Hoyer went 7-6 as a starter that year.
Following the expiration of his contract in Cleveland, Hoyer signed with the Texans, where he competed with former teammate, Mallett, for the starting job. Houston went back and forth between the two for the year as Hoyer went 5-4 as a starter and threw an impressive 19 touchdowns to seven interceptions. The Texans would release Hoyer one year into a two-year deal, and he would sign with the Bears the following year. Backing up Jay Cutler, Hoyer got five starts in Chicago, throwing for a career-high 240.8 yards per game and six touchdowns with no interceptions.
In 2017, Hoyer had his last true starting gig in San Francisco, losing six straight starts before being benched for then-rookie C.J. Beathard. He was essentially traded to the Patriots in exchange for Jimmy Garoppolo, but since the Patriots didn’t want him included in the trade for compensatory draft pick reasons, he was simply released by the 49ers and re-signed by New England.
Since then, Hoyer has served solely as a backup quarterback for the Patriots, Colts, and then back to the Patriots for a third stint. He started a game in relief of each Jacoby Brissett in Indianapolis and Cam Newton and Mac Jones in New England, but as he’s progressed into his late 30’s, Hoyer has been relegated to only backup duty.
Hoyer’s latest release comes one year into another two-year contract and is likely due to the acquisition of Bailey Zappe last offseason. Hoyer had won the primary backup position over Zappe last season, earning a start in place of Jones in a Week 4 matchup against the Packers, but was replaced by Zappe after a concussion in the first quarter. New England now likely feels comfortable moving forward with Zappe as Jones’s backup quarterback. The Patriots only save around $300,000 in cap space as Hoyer still hits them for $1.64MM in dead cap money.
Turning 38 this upcoming season, it will be interesting to see what Hoyer decides to do. He has always shown the ability to perform off the bench over the years but has also been sidelined with injuries time and time again. Will Hoyer make yet another attempt to provide a franchise with a capable backup quarterback? Or will he avoid any further harm to his body by hanging up his cleats after a fourteen-year career in the NFL?
NFC Coaching Updates: Bears, Falcons, Engram
The offseason giveth and the offseason taketh away as the Bears learned this past week with the addition and subtraction of two coaching assistants earlier in the week.
After the departure of assistant offensive line coach Austin King to join Sean Payton‘s new staff in Denver under the same title, Chicago hired longtime Titans assistant Luke Steckel to fill the role. This will be Steckel’s first time working specifically with offensive linemen in the NFL. After four years in Cleveland as an assistant to the head coach, Steckel joined the Titans in 2013 as an offensive assistant/special assistant to the head coach. He cycled through other roles with the team over the years including assistant wide receivers coach and his most recent role of the past two seasons as tight ends coach.
Steckel is credited with having contributed to the success of wide receiver A.J. Brown during his rookie season in Tennessee and quarterback Ryan Tannehill in the year that he won Comeback Player of the Year. As a tight ends coach, Steckel worked with newcomer Austin Hooper and rookie Chigoziem Okonkwo. Both finished with similar statistics, combining for 894 yards and five touchdowns. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Hooper had the 12th-best receiving grade of any tight end in the NFL while Okonkwo finished third behind only Travis Kelce and George Kittle. Steckel will now be assisting with coaching an offensive line that utilizes strong youth pieces like Teven Jenkins and Braxton Jones.
Here are a few more coaching updates from around the NFC:
- The Falcons have made some updates to their staff from last year, according to Falcons features reporter Ashton Edmunds. Steve Jackson, who shockingly was hired in the position of senior offensive assistant last year despite his years of defensive coaching experience, has rightfully returned to the defensive side of the ball as the team’s secondary coach. Another assistant expected to switch sides of the ball, Nick Perry will move from assistant defensive backs coach to assistant wide receivers coach. Former defensive assistant Lanier Goethie has been promoted to defensive front specialist. The team has also added longtime college coaching assistant Dave Huxatable into his first NFL role of senior defensive assistant. Additionally, former John Carroll offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Matt Baker has been added to the staff as special teams assistant. Lastly, the team has hired Steven King and Patrick Kramer as offensive assistants, Mario Jeberaeel as the special projects: defense coach, Shawn Flaherty as the assistant offensive line coach, Michael Gray as a football analyst, and Mateo Kambui as the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellow assigned to work with the offensive line.
- With Drew Terrell‘s departure to Arizona as passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach, the Commanders have a vacancy to fill at wide receivers coach. According to Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post, one candidate who has been interviewed for the role is former NFL wide receiver Bobby Engram. After his retirement as a player, the longtime Seahawk immediately went into coaching, signing with the rival 49ers as an offensive assistant. Since then, Engram has worked his way up, going from coaching wide receivers in the college ranks at Pitt to earning the same position in Baltimore. With the Ravens, Engram earned his paycheck putting together veteran receiver groups for quarterback Joe Flacco. In healthy years, Engram coached up impressive duos such as Steve Smith–Torrey Smith and Mike Wallace-Steve Smith. When injuries decimated the team he helped Kamar Aiken to a breakout season, pieced together what he could out of a group that included Wallace, Jeremy Maclin, and Chris Moore, and got a respectable output from a corps of John Brown, Willie Snead, and Michael Crabtree. Engram moved to tight ends coach for the Ravens in 2019 and helped in the emergence of star tight end Mark Andrews, who earned two Pro Bowl bids and a first-team All-Pro selection under Engram. Last year, Engram took the role of offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Wisconsin, but an interview with the Commanders could indicate his willingness to return to the NFL.
AFC Coaching Updates: Wayne, Raiders, Texans, Browns
Despite the change in head coach from Frank Reich to Shane Steichen, former elite wide receiver Reggie Wayne will remain as the Colts‘ wide receivers coach in 2023, according to a tweet from Wayne’s account. After a challenging first year coaching one of the league’s youngest wide receivers rooms, Wayne will be back for a second year.
Last year, many knew Wayne faced a challenge. The team returned top wideout Michael Pittman, who was coming off of a 1,082-yard, six-touchdown season. The biggest issue following Pittman’s breakout year, though, was his lack of help. Behind Pittman, the Colts’ two leading wide receivers were Zach Pascal with 384 yards and T.Y. Hilton with 331 yards. Wayne needed to coach up some help for Pittman.
Wayne’s efforts of supporting Pittman focused on a healthy season for fourth-year wide receiver Parris Campbell and a strong rookie year from second-round pick Alec Pierce. Campbell had appeared in only 15 of a possible 49 games in his first three seasons and had failed to ever surpass 200 receiving yards. In 2022 under Wayne, Campbell appeared in every game and recorded career-highs in receptions (63), receiving yards (623), and receiving touchdowns (3). Pierce backed him up with a strong rookie campaign that saw him supplement Pittman and Campbell with 41 catches for 593 yards and two touchdowns.
The Colts could certainly use some more support from the depth pieces in the receivers room, but a second year of Wayne overseeing the development of Pittman, Campbell, and Pierce should excite Colts fans. That is, as long Steichen and company can figure out a strong passing option from Nick Foles, Matt Ryan, and Sam Ehlinger.
Here are a few more coaching updates from around the AFC:
- The Raiders have hired Derius Swinton II as their new assistant special teams coach, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Las Vegas needed to fill the position after former assistant special teams coach Maurice Drayton left to accept the role of head coach at his alma mater, The Citadel. Swinton didn’t coach in the NFL last year after being fired from his job of special teams coordinator by the Chargers following the 2021 season.
- The Texans have brought on a defensive coaching assistant from the college ranks, hiring Miami (Fla.) defensive ends coach Rod Wright as a defensive assistant, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. In his first year with the Hurricanes, Wright did a strong job of getting production out of transfers and holdovers from before the era of current head coach Mario Cristobal. This will be Wright’s first position in the NFL after coaching gigs at Texas, Sam Houston State, East Carolina, and UTSA.
- We’ve covered a couple of new hires to the Browns coaching staff this offseason, but the team made a few changes to current staffers’ roles that necessitate reporting, according to Browns staff writer Anthony Polsal. Callie Brownson received the title of assistant wide receivers coach in addition to her role of chief of staff last season, and she will move into a full-time role as assistant wide receivers coach, dropping the moniker of chief of staff. Formerly an offensive quality control coach, Ashton Grant has been promoted to the role of offensive assistant with a focus on quarterbacks. After serving as a scouting assistant for the team since 2020, Riley Hecklinski has been granted the role of coordinator of coaching logistics. Former assistant defensive backs coach Brandon Lynch has been promoted to cornerbacks coach. Lastly, Kevin Rogers, who has served as a senior offensive assistant with the team since 2020, will move to the role of senior assistant/special projects.
Cowboys Plan To Either Extend Or Tag RB Tony Pollard
The thinking around the Cowboys’ running back situation has been largely counterintuitive so far this offseason. There has been a relative certainty that pending free agent Tony Pollard will remain a Cowboy, while Ezekiel Elliott, who is under contract through 2027, is not considered a guarantee to remain on the roster. A recent statement by Cowboys owner/president/general manager Jerry Jones supports one of those statements as he claims “Pollard isn’t going anywhere,” according to Jon Machota of The Athletic. 
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network was the first to report on the matter, tweeting that Dallas will franchise tag Pollard if the two parties are unable to reach a long-term agreement by the Tuesday deadline. Jones made the team’s intentions clear, confirming that, whether it’s an extension or a franchise tag, Pollard is “a big part” of the team’s plans.
Pollard has long excited Dallas with his potential as a franchise back. Since joining the team in 2019, Pollard has averaged more yards per attempt than Elliott in every season. While it felt like a possibility every year, in 2022, Pollard finally outgained Elliott 1,007 rushing yards to 876 rushing yards despite Elliott out-carrying Pollard by 38 carries. Pollard has averaged over five yards per carry in each of the past two seasons, while Elliott averaged 3.8 last year.
Elliott hasn’t been bad in Dallas while Pollard has started to reach his full potential, but after leading the league in rushing yards per game in each of his first three seasons and reaching at least 1,350 rushing yards in three of his first four years (was on pace in his sophomore season but only played 10 games), Elliott’s play has failed to reach such stellar heights as of late. After averaging a career-best 108.7 yards per game in his rookie year, Elliott has averaged 65.3, 58.9, and 58.4 yards per game in 2020, 2021, and 2022, respectively.
Despite the diminished results and the emergence of Pollard, Jones maintains that he “very much wants” Elliott to remain a Cowboy, according to Machota, stating that he believes the team can make it work financially. If that’s true, the Cowboys are likely going to need to do some financial gymnastics. Elliott is due $10.9MM in base salary next year with a cap hit of $16.72MM. A tag for Pollard would hit Dallas for another $10.1MM.
Elliott has reportedly voiced a potential willingness to take a pay cut in order to remain with the team. A new deal for Pollard would allow the Cowboys to backload the contract and make the first few years of his deal relatively affordable for the team, as well. There are many ways to make this work moving forward, but one has to wonder if it will be worth it. A pay cut for Elliott likely doesn’t relieve the Cowboys of a financial burden. Does Elliott still provide enough benefit on the field to warrant squeezing him into the salary cap?
According to Jones, the answer to that question is “yes.” The longtime Cowboys executive wants to keep both Pollard and Elliott around moving forward. He will have to work some salary cap magic in order to do so without hamstringing his franchise financially.
Texans Release Justin Britt; C Expected To Retire
After nine years as an NFL offensive lineman, Texans center Justin Britt is expected to retire after being cut by Houston today, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. Britt had spent most of the 2022 season on the team’s reserve/non-football illness list, only appearing in one game. 
Britt began his career as a second-round pick out of Missouri and would start all 16 games for the Seahawks, who drafted him, at right tackle. After moving to left guard in his sophomore season, Britt was moved a second time to center, where he would remain for the rest of his career. A serious knee injury would end Britt’s 2019 season, at the end of which the Seahawks would release him.
After spending the 2020 season in free agency getting workouts with the Packers and Chiefs, Britt eventually signed with the Texans for 2021. He was named the starting center and started 11 games during his first season in Houston as injuries nagged at him throughout the year. After a 2022 season opener that had Britt disappointed in himself, Britt was placed on the NFI list for the remainder of the season. It was reported that Britt was “working through personal issues related to football as he (contemplated) his options.” It wasn’t difficult to decipher what was implied by those comments. After only appearing in 20 of a potential 66 games from 2019 to now, many speculated that Britt was preparing to hang up his cleats.
On the Texans’ side of things, the move to release Britt clears approximately $3MM in cap space, according to ESPN’s Field Yates. After seeing Britt find the NFI list after Week 1, Houston turned to backup center Scott Quessenberry to start for the remainder of the season. Out of 36 centers that were graded for the 2022 season, Quessenberry ranked 36th in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). It wasn’t particularly close, either. With 35th ranked center Billy Price grading out with a 51.3 offensive grade, Quessenberry was a distant 36th with an offensive grade of 36.6. He held the league’s worst pass blocking grade (25.8) and run blocking grade (43.7) of any center in the league.
Quessenberry is set to hit free agency this year, leaving only Jimmy Morrissey, who began last season on the Texans’ practice squad, remaining on the roster. Houston may have to explore the free agent market for their next center. Veteran options Rodney Hudson and Jason Kelce should be hitting the open market this offseason. Kelce had a phenomenal season at 35 years old, while Hudson only played four games before being placed on IR. Both players contemplated retirement before the 2022 season. Jets center Connor McGovern had a strong contract year and Jon Feliciano, who switched to center last year for the Giants, should also be available. The Texans could also go the draft route for their next center with North Dakota State’s Cody Mauch, TCU’s Steve Avila, and Minnesota’s John Michael Schmitz ranking as college football’s best draft-eligible centers, according to Dane Brugler of The Athletic.
Britt’s time in Texas was short-lived thanks to injury. He’ll be remembered as one of football’s grittier interior linemen after his career in Seattle and Houston. He leaves a tough hole for the Texans to fill.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/3/23
Today’s minor moves:
Buffalo Bills
- Re-signed: G Ike Boettger
Houston Texans
- Signed: CB Kendall Sheffield
New England Patriots
- Waived: G Hayden Howerton
Washington Commanders
- Signed: WR Marcus Kemp
Ravens Exploring New Deal With CB Marcus Peters
The Ravens have plenty to focus on this offseason in free agency, with quarterback Lamar Jackson obviously taking up most of their attention, but the team has been working to keep another key player off the open market, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. General manager Eric DeCosta told the media that he’s been in talks with cornerback Marcus Peters and his representation about remaining in Baltimore. 
Peters has been a sparkplug defender ever since winning Defensive Rookie of the Year and leading the league in interceptions in 2015. He made key plays for the Chiefs and Rams before finding his way to Baltimore to form one of the league’s top cornerback duos with Marlon Humphrey. He’s been named a first-team All-Pro twice in his career and is a three-time Pro Bowl selection.
Peters has long been a playmaker in the league, recording at least three interceptions in every season of his career except one. Over his eight years in the league, only seven of which saw him on the field, Peters has reeled in 32 picks with an astounding 822 return yards and six return touchdowns. He has plenty of accolades throughout his career, but with free agency looming, the focus will be on the past two seasons, in which Peters has missed 20 of a possible 33 games.
There’s no denying the talent and passion that Peters possesses, but after a torn ACL sidelined him five days before the 2021 season, Peters’s return to the league in 2022 was perhaps the worst statistical year of his career. In his first season back from injury, Peters only nabbed one interception and recorded a career-low six passes defensed. He still made a number of plays for the Ravens, but on a Baltimore defense that saw a few double-digit leads disappear late in games, Peters sometimes found himself liable for big plays.
Now facing free agency, Peters enters an interesting scenario. If the two most recent years were not taken into consideration, Peters would easily be a top candidate to earn the highest new contract for a free agent cornerback this offseason. He will be competing for that honor with Giants cornerback James Bradberry and Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones. All are around the same age, but Bradberry and Jones both had much stronger seasons than Peters in 2022.
It will be interesting to see how the situation plays out between Baltimore and Peters before he even gets to free agency. The Ravens enjoyed success in the secondary when Peters, Humphrey, and safeties Chuck Clark and Marcus Williams were on the field this season. When Peters missed all of 2021, though, the Ravens allowed the most passing yards in the NFL. Their depth behind Peters and Humphrey didn’t improve much in 2022, and if Peters departs in free agency, cornerback immediately becomes a top priority for Baltimore.
The struggles the Ravens have had at cornerback behind Peters makes a new deal crucial. The team has had no issue in the past with shelling out dough on defense, much to the detriment of the offense, and at cornerback in particular. They can certainly take a chance on one of the top cornerback prospects in this year’s draft, but why take the risk if you believe Peters can return to form in 2023? The Ravens may also throw the kitchen sink at Los Angeles if Jalen Ramsey becomes available via trade, as has been rumored. Those two options provide the Ravens with the best chance to field a competent secondary, and extending Peters is likely cheaper than trading for and extending Ramsey.
There should be a mutual interest in the two parties reaching new agreement. For Peters, the Ravens will likely offer him a respectable contract due to his known chemistry and familiarity with the team, while other teams may low-ball the veteran cornerback because of his recent struggles. For the Ravens, they may get a discount, as opposed to if they went out and tried to sign Bradberry or Jones, and, in return, give Peters another chance to regain his All-Pro, ball-hawking status.
Regardless, it will be an interesting situation on which to keep an eye. Despite all the focus in Baltimore falling on the offensive side of the ball, Peters is yet another piece that the Ravens have found they struggle to win without. The team needs a top cornerback across from Humphrey, but how much are they willing to pay for one.