Ravens Sign WR Demarcus Robinson
TODAY, 6:05pm: Robinson has officially signed his contract with the Ravens, according to Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com (on Twitter). It’s a one-year deal for the receiver worth $1.035MM, including $895K in guaranteed money. This is a significant bump on the $320K guarantee Robinson got from the Raiders, who ended up releasing him last week.
August 19, 3:35pm: Demarcus Robinson‘s stay on the open market appears to have been very short-lived. The veteran wideout met with the Ravens earlier today, and is expected to sign with them, reports NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (Twitter link). 
Robinson signed with the Raiders in March, remaining in the AFC West after playing in Kansas City for the first six years of his career. Over that time, he saw a regular role in the team’s passing game (with the exception of his rookie season), seeing the field for between 40% and 70% of offensive snaps.
His most productive campaign came in 2020, when he hauled in 45 catches for 466 yards and three touchdowns. That contrasted with quieter seasons like 2021, though, which resulted in just 264 receiving yards. Nevertheless, the Florida alum was expected to somewhat comfortably make Las Vegas’ roster as a secondary piece to the team’s passing attack. Instead, he was among the Raiders’ first round of cuts earlier this week.
In Baltimore, Robinson will provide a veteran presence to one of the least experienced receiver rooms in the league. Baltimore has long been considered a landing spot for at least one veteran wideout, after the team lost Marquise Brown, Sammy Watkins and Miles Boykin this offseason and declined to draft any replacements. 2021 first-rounder Rashod Bateman is set to take on the No. 1 role, but the rest of the depth chart consists of unproven recent draftees Devin Duvernay, James Proche and Tylan Wallace – the latter two of whom are currently dealing with injuries.
Robinson should therefore have a relatively clear path to a roster spot and a rotational role with the Ravens. He might not start on a full-time basis, but he should provide the team with insurance behind Duvernay and Proche in particular. The Ravens entered the day with just under $9.5MM in cap space, leaving plenty of room for an addition such as this one. Given Robinson’s recent release, the deal likely won’t eat too much into that total, but it could prove to be worthwhile in filling a widely-perceived roster hole on a potential AFC contender.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/22/22
Teams have until 3pm CT Tuesday to cut their rosters from 85 to 80 players. Many franchises have started doing that early. Here are Monday’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Waived: RB T.J. Pledger
Baltimore Ravens
- Waived: WR Jaylon Moore
Carolina Panthers
- Waived: T Austen Pleasants, LB Khalan Tolson
Cincinnati Bengals
- Waived: WR Jaivon Heiligh, WR Jack Sorenson, TE Scotty Washington
Cleveland Browns
- Waived: P Joseph Charlton, S Luther Kirk IV, T Wyatt Miller, CB Parnell Motley, TE Marcus Santos-Silva
Denver Broncos
- Claimed (from Saints): RB Devine Ozigbo
- Waived/injured: DE Marquiss Spencer
Green Bay Packers
- Released from IR via injury settlement: TE Dominique Dafney
Indianapolis Colts
- Waived: WR D.J. Montgomery, DT Caeveon Patton
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Released: WR Marvin Hall
- Waived: OL Beau Benzschawel, CB Shabari Davis, TE Grayson Gunter, OLB Wyatt Ray, WR Lujuan Winningham
- Released from IR via injury settlement: DT Jeremiah Ledbetter
Kansas City Chiefs
- Waived: CB Brandin Dandridge, DB Nasir Greer, OL David Steinmetz
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: LB Tae Davis
- Placed on IR: DE Jordan Jenkins (story)
Los Angeles Chargers
- Waived: G Cameron Hunt, K James McCourt
New Orleans Saints
- Released from IR via injury settlement: CB Jordan Brown
Philadelphia Eagles
- Waived/injured: WR Lance Lenoir
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: T Adrian Ealy
- Waived: T Jordan Tucker
San Francisco 49ers
- Waived/injured: WR Austin Mack
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Placed on IR: LB Cam Gill, G Aaron Stinnie (story)
Tennessee Titans
- Released: OLB Justin Lawler
- Waived: WR Terry Godwin
- Waived/injured: CB Shakur Brown, DB Shyheim Carter
Ravens Facing Uphill Battle To Extend Lamar Jackson?
We are in Lamar Jackson‘s 20th month of extension eligibility, and unless the Ravens can lock down their quarterback by Week 1, this saga will pass the two-year point. Jackson is not planning to negotiate in-season.
More information regarding terms has come out in this process. The Ravens are believed to have offered Jackson more than Kyler Murray is making, Jay Glazer of Fox Sports said during a TV appearance Sunday night (via Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio). The Cardinals gave Murray a five-year, $230.1MM extension in July.
While accepting this contract would make Jackson the NFL’s second-highest-paid passer, on average, Glazer added that Deshaun Watson‘s deal is complicating this process — one he deems an uphill battle for the Ravens. This marks the second report to link Watson’s outlier Browns contract, guarantee-wise, to the Ravens’ talks with Jackson. The former MVP was connected to pursuing a fully guaranteed deal surpassing Watson’s $230MM guarantee. Considering Watson’s full guarantee is nearly $130MM north of any other NFLer’s, Jackson trying to secure such terms obviously represents an issue in these complex negotiations.
The Ravens were believed to have offered a contract matching Josh Allen‘s $43MM-per-year pact during the sides’ 2021 negotiations, but the agent-less quarterback did not sign. It is unknown what the precise terms were in that proposal, beyond the AAV, just as it is unknown how the Ravens have structured their latest offer. But Murray, Watson and Aaron Rodgers have surpassed Patrick Mahomes‘ $45MM high-water AAV mark this offseason, raising the bar for Jackson. Baltimore’s three-time Pro Bowler, whose 2018 starter debut keyed a stretch that produced three straight playoff berths, targeting more than what Murray is making is unsurprising. With Rodgers’ $50.3MM figure — albeit on a shorter-term deal — more than $4MM north of Murray’s, a sizable gap for a potential Jackson deal exists.
If Jackson and the Ravens cannot agree on a deal by Week 1, the franchise tag scenario enters the equation. The team would have until the March 2023 deadline to tag Jackson. With the exclusive tag amount expected to come in north of $40MM for quarterbacks next year, that would represent a significant cap hold for the Ravens entering free agency. Dallas navigated around a tagged quarterback salary in 2020, extending Dak Prescott in 2021, but Washington did not, losing Kirk Cousins after two tagged seasons (2016-17).
Latest On Ravens, Lamar Jackson
Lamar Jackson‘s Ravens negotiations have not produced much in the way of prices, but the team looks to be prepared to pay the former MVP a top-market deal. Well, they were nearly there last year.
Patrick Mahomes‘ $45MM-per-year deal topped the quarterback market when the 2021 season ended, with Josh Allen‘s $43MM-AAV accord being second. During talks last year, the Ravens were prepared to hit the Allen threshold for Jackson, with Albert Breer of SI.com noting the team matched that AAV in a 2021 offer.
[RELATED: How Will Ravens’ Jackson Talks Conclude?]
It is not known how many years the Ravens proposed at the $43MM-per-year price or how the offer was structured, but Jackson did not budge. The Ravens were willing to concede Jackson was a $40MM-per-year QB during their 2021 negotiations, though the agent-less quarterback’s price has undoubtedly risen since. Aaron Rodgers, Kyler Murray and Deshaun Watson have since bumped Mahomes and Allen down, AAV-wise, to Nos. 4 and 5 among NFL earners.
Jackson, 25, has obviously been patient here. Despite being extension-eligible since January 2021, the three-time Pro Bowler is less than a month away from his fifth-year option season. Jackson has also set a firm Week 1 deadline for negotiating with the Ravens — something he did not do last year. This raises the stakes for Baltimore’s negotiations, which seem to have picked up in recent weeks. This process has gone from Ravens decision-makers admitting the quarterback did not seem interested in a deal to Jackson indicating he hopes a contract comes to pass before Week 1.
The dual-threat QB has also been connected to wanting Watson-level guarantees. While Jackson is not in as strong a position to command that historic structure ($230MM fully guaranteed — $120MM north of any other NFLer’s guarantees), Watson’s contract has worked his favor. Jackson forcing this issue to the 2023 March franchise tag deadline runs the risk of his value dropping, via another injury or a decline in performance, but it also could prompt the Ravens to apply an exclusive tag. An injury also may not damage Jackson’s value at all, given how the Cowboys’ negotiations with Dak Prescott played out. Staring at a second Prescott tag clogging their cap sheet, the Cowboys came in with a big offer just before a tag needed to be applied in 2021.
An exclusive Jackson tag in 2023 would be worth around $45MM, Breer adds. A second tag in this scenario would top $50MM in 2024. While the Browns are evidently prepared to have Watson on their 2023 cap sheet at $54.9MM, no team has gone into a season with a player tied to a $45MM cap hit. The Ravens using the exclusive tag, which prevents offer sheets coming in, next year would leave a monster Jackson cap hold on the team’s books and hurt the organization in terms of adding talent in free agency.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/16/22
With the NFL dropping the roster limit to 85 players today, we’ve got a long list of minor moves to pass along:
Atlanta Falcons
- Released: TE Tucker Fisk, LB Rashad Smith, DB Tre Webb, P Seth Vernon
- Placed on IR: CB Cornell Armstrong
Baltimore Ravens
- Released: QB Brett Hundley
- Placed on IR: LB Trent Harris
Buffalo Bills
- Released: CB Tim Harris, LB Marquel Lee
Carolina Panthers
- Released from IR: DE Jacob Tuioti-Mariner
Chicago Bears
- Signed: S Jon Alexander, OL Corey Dublin
- Waived: LB Noah Dawkins, TE Rysen John
- Waived/injured: S Michael Joseph, CB Jayson Stanley, LB Javin White
- Placed on IR: C Doug Kramer
Cleveland Browns
- Claimed off waivers (from Saints): WR Easop Winston
- Released: DT Sheldon Day
- Waived/injured: OT Elijah Nkansah
- Placed on IR: C Dawson Deaton, C Nick Harris (story)
- Released from IR: LB Silas Kelly
Dallas Cowboys
- Activated from PUP: LB Anthony Barr
- Placed on IR: FB Ryan Nall
Denver Broncos
- Waived: RB Max Borghi, WR Kaden Davis, WR Travis Fulgham, S Jamar Johnson, TE Rodney Williams
- Released from IR: RB Tyreik McAllister
Detroit Lions
- Waived: WR Josh Johnson
- Waived/injured: S Brady Breeze
Green Bay Packers
- Claimed off waivers (from Panthers): TE Nate Becker
- Released: RB BJ Baylor, LB Ellis Brooks, TE Dominique Dafney, G George Moore, LB Randy Ramsey
Houston Texans
- Waived: DL Damion Daniels
Indianapolis Colts
- Released: Isaiah Ford
- Waived: OT Brandon Kemp, CB Alexander Myres, WR Michael Young
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Released from IR: RB Nathan Cottrell
Kansas City Chiefs
- Waived: DL Austin Edwards, WR Devin Gray
- Reverted to IR: WR Gary Jennings
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived: P Cameron Dicker, OT Adrian Ealy, QB Luis Perez, TE Jamal Pettigrew, DB Caesar Dancy-Williams
Las Vegas Raiders
- Waived: CB Nate Brooks, DE Gerri Green, OT Tyrone Wheatley
Miami Dolphins
- Waived: OL Cole Banwart, WR DeVonte Dedmon, DL Jordan Williams
- Waived/injured: CB Tino Ellis
- Placed on IR: TE Adam Shaheen
Minnesota Vikings
- Released: CB Tye Smith
- Waived: FB Jake Bargas, LB Andre Mintze
- Waived/injured: WR Thomas Hennigan, DL Tyarise Stevenson
New York Giants
- Waived: TE Jeremiah Hall, DB Gavin Heslop
- Waived/injured: WR Austin Proehl
New York Jets
- Released: DB Luq Barcoo, WR Rashard Davis, OL Derrick Kelly, DE Timmy Ward
Philadelphia Eagles
- Waived/injured: WR Lance Lenoir, S Jared Mayden, CB Jimmy Moreland
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: G William Dunkle
- Claimed off waivers: C Ryan McCollum
- Waived: DT Doug Costin, OT Jake Dixon, C Nate Gilliam, P Cameron Nizialek, C Chris Owens
- Placed on IR: S Karl Joseph
- Released from IR: WR Javon McKinley
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Released: DB Ross Cockrell
- Waived: TE Ben Beise, OL Curtis Blackwell, WR Kameron Brown
- Waived/injured: OL Jonathan Hubbard, OLB JoJo Ozougwu
Washington Commanders
- Released: CB Troy Apke, CB De’Vante Bausby, G Deion Calhoun
- Placed on IR: FB Alex Armah, TE Sammis Reyes
- Released from IR: WR Jequez Ezzard
Ravens CB Marcus Peters Activated Off PUP
Baltimore finally saw one-half of their feared cornerback tandem return to practice today as Marcus Peters was activated off the physically unable to perform list. After passing his physical, Peters was back out on the practice field for the first time since September of last year. 
Peters suffered a torn ACL just four days before the Ravens’ season opener last year, filing into a line of falling dominos that took out much of the Ravens’ running back and cornerback rooms. He would miss the entire season after only sitting out five games in his previous six seasons.
The Ravens will be ecstatic at the return of their ball-hawk safety. While opposite-side starter Marlon Humphrey excels at separating ball-carriers from the football with forced fumbles, Peters is a dying breed of cornerback that excels in making sure the ball never gets to the receiver. He has seven interceptions in 24 games with the Ravens and, even though he missed all of last season, no one in the league has more interceptions since Peters entered the league than his own 31 picks.
Baltimore also announced the return of second-year safety Ar’Darius Washington from the PUP list. Washington impressed as an undrafted player out of TCU last year by making the Ravens’ final 53-man roster. He appeared in three games before a broken foot ended his season prematurely. Washington will return to an extremely deep safety room that currently houses Marcus Williams, Chuck Clark, first-round rookie Kyle Hamilton, Tony Jefferson, and Geno Stone.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/15/22
Today’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Released: RB Corey Clement
- Waived: CB Robert Jackson
Carolina Panthers
- Placed on IR: LB Kamal Martin
- Waived (injury settlement): CB Devin Jones
Chicago Bears
- Waived: DE Carson Taylor
Cincinnati Bengals
- Placed on IR: C Ben Brown
Cleveland Browns
- Waived: WR Derrick Dillon
Dallas Cowboys
- Waived: DT Austin Faoliu
- Waived (injury designation): TE Ian Bunting, FB Ryan Nall, WR Ty Fryfogle, CB Kyron Brown
Denver Broncos
- Waived (injury designation): OL Ben Braden
Detroit Lions
- Released: TE Garrett Griffin
- Waived: TE Nolan Givan, C Ryan McCollum
Green Bay Packers
- Claimed off waivers (from Panthers): TE Nate Becker
- Waived: LB Randy Ramsey, C Cole Schneider, CB Donte Vaughn
Houston Texans
- Waived: LS Harrison Elliott, RB B.J. Emmons
- Released: WR Chad Beebe
Indianapolis Colts
- Activated from PUP list: WR Mike Strachan
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Waived (injury designation): K Elliott Fry
- Waived: RB Matt Colburn, QB Jake Luton, WR Ryan McDaniel, DE Wyatt Ray
Los Angeles Chargers
- Waived (injury designation): DT Forrest Merrill, OC Isaac Weaver
- Waived: WR Maurice Ffrench, QB Brandon Peters, S Skyler Thomas
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: NT Niles Scott
- Placed on IR: CB Trill Williams (story)
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DE Niko Lalos, DT Jaleel Johnson
- Placed on IR: OT Ethan Greenidge
- Waived (injury settlement): DB Bryce Thompson
- Waived (injury designation): DB Jordan Brown, S Isaiah Pryor
- Waived: DE T.J. Carter, S Jack Koerner, DE Scott Patchan, K John Parker Romo, WR Easop Winston
New York Giants
- Claimed off waivers (from Bills): CB Olaijah Griffin
New York Jets
- Waived: WR Keshunn Abram
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: LB James Vaughters
- Waived (injury designation): LB Tuzar Skipper
San Francisco 49ers
- Waived: DT Tomasi Laulile, WR KeeSean Johnson, RB Josh Hokit
Seattle Seahawks
- Activated from active/PUP list: OT Liam Ryan
- Placed on IR: WR Cody Thompson
- Waived: CB Josh Valentine-Turner, DT Antonio Valentino, OL Eric Wilson, WR Deontez Alexander
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: RB Patrick Laird
- Placed on IR: RB Kenjon Barner
- Waived: TE Ben Beise
Washington Commanders
- Activated from active/PUP list: OT Cornelius Lucas
Lamar Jackson Won’t Negotiate Extension During Regular Season
For the second day in a row, there has been an important development with respect to Lamar Jackson‘s extension efforts. ESPN’s Jamison Hensley reports that the Ravens quarterback won’t negotiate a new contract once the regular season begins. 
[RELATED: Jackson Seeking Fully Guaranteed Deal?]
When asked about a firm deadline approaching in the form of Week 1, Jackson said, “We’re coming up to it. It’s coming up. The season’s coming up. We’re going to be good for the season.”
The 25-year-old also repeated his desire to finalize a new contract in time for the season, which is in line with remarks he made in the build-up to training camp last month. Jackson is currently set to play on the fifth-year option this season, which will pay him just over $23MM.
One (or two) subsequent seasons played on the franchise tag remains an option if a deal can’t be finalized by next July, a path which this situation seemed to be headed towards for much of the offseason. With negotiations – which at all times have been conducted personally between Jackson and Ravens GM Eric DeCosta – potentially becoming more urgent, the lack of leverage the former has relative to Deshaun Watson as his trade market led to a fully guaranteed pact contrasts with the significant toll a franchise tag would take on the Ravens’ 2023 cap situation.
“I’m very confident that it will get done when it gets done,” head coach John Harbaugh said. “You can’t really rush it. I don’t think either side wants to rush anything.”
With just under one month remaining until the regular season, there is still time for both sides to finalize a deal which would all-but assuredly place Jackson at or near the top of the QB market. In the absence of an extension coming together in the immediate future, though, this situation will be set to drag on for several more months.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/13/22
Today’s minor moves around the league:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: DL Trent Harris
- Waived: S Denzel Williams, WR Devon Williams
Cincinnati Bengals
- Placed on reserve/retired list: DE Wyatt Hubert (story)
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: WR Deante Burton, TE David Wells
- Waived: DB Terrell Bonds, WR Brandon Lewis
AFC North Rumors: Pickett, Ravens, Boykin
It appears that the Steelers‘ quarterback job is Mitchell Trubisky‘s to lose and, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, rookie first-round pick Kenny Pickett is not quite ready to push Trubisky for the role.
Pittsburgh has been riding with Trubisky as the first-team quarterback for much of the offseason with incumbent backup Mason Rudolph as the primary second stringer. While it’s become quite trendy for rookie quarterbacks to start from Day 1, Pittsburgh has stayed patient with Pickett with no plans of rushing him into the starting role.
Rudolph has proven to be better competition for Trubisky early in the preseason and has truly made things interesting. In order for him to overtake Trubisky on the depth chart, though, he’d likely have to be near perfect this preseason and will need Trubisky to fall off.
Pickett in the meantime will have this time to grow and mature at the NFL level. He still may be the quarterback of the future in Pittsburgh, but he’ll have to take the old-fashioned route of sitting and learning before he gets his opportunity on the field.
Here are a few other rumors from around the AFC North, starting with a rumor from the rival Ravens:
- When considering Baltimore’s weakest position groups, wide receiver and pass rusher are the two most often mentioned. But the Ravens‘ lack of depth at inside linebacker could cause them to reach out for some help, according to Jeff Zrebiec at The Athletic. With Patrick Queen and Josh Bynes sitting out the team’s first preseason game last night, Malik Harrison and Kristian Welch saw initial snaps with the defense. Several undrafted rookies came in after that. Without even considering that the combination of Queen and Bynes is not the scariest inside linebacker duo, that depth is concerning. Zrebiec suggests the easy answer is a reunion with free agent L.J. Fort who has spent most of the last three seasons with Baltimore. If things look desperate, though, a call could always be made for a price-check on Bears’ disgruntled linebacker Roquan Smith.
- In a question and answer this week, The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly addressed the potential roster outlook at receiver for the Steelers this year. With the depth chart topped by Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, George Pickens, and Calvin Austin III, the question was brought up who slots in as the team’s fifth-receiver. Kaboly threw out an idea suggesting that if Austin can serve double-duty as a return-man, that could affect the roster status of Anthony Miller, Cody White, or Gunner Olszewski. But he was adamant that offseason waiver claim Miles Boykin would not be making the final roster. While Kaboly states there in an array of reasons for this certainty, he points to salary as the main one. The Steelers picked up Boykin with his rookie contract from the Ravens. The final year of that deal is set to pay Boykin $2.54MM with a $2.75MM cap hit.