Latest On Ravens, Lamar Jackson
- Lamar Jackson‘s second offseason of extension eligibility has been quieter than his first, and although the consensus thus far appears to be the Ravens quarterback will exit 2022 without a new deal, Albert Breer of SI.com envisions the parties coming to an agreement. Noting the trust between Jackson and the team remains strong, despite the QB’s OTAs absence and the three Ravens power brokers confirming the former MVP has not shown extension interest, Breer points to this and the fifth-year veteran’s desire to stay a Raven as reasons a deal will happen. Deshaun Watson‘s fully guaranteed deal undoubtedly complicates matters for the Ravens, who have Jackson on a $23MM cap number in his fifth-year option season.
Ravens Sign Round 1 C Tyler Linderbaum
The second of the Ravens’ two 2022 first-round picks signed his rookie contract Thursday. Tyler Linderbaum is now under contract through 2025, with his fifth-year option giving Baltimore a chance to keep him on this deal through 2026.
Baltimore obtained a second first-round selection by trading Marquise Brown to Arizona during the draft’s first night and traded down from No. 23 to No. 25 overall, allowing Buffalo to climb up for cornerback Kaiir Elam. Soon after, the Ravens drafted Linderbaum, the first center off the 2022 board.
Linderbaum’s agreement leaves fellow Ravens first-rounder Kyle Hamilton, Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett and Patriots guard Cole Strange as the only unsigned first-round picks.
The Iowa product will be expected to take over Ravens pivot responsibilities immediately. The team let 2021 snapper Bradley Bozeman sign with the Panthers. Baltimore will replace Bozeman with last year’s first-team All-American center. While Linderbaum received countless accolades last season, he was also a Rimington Trophy finalist in 2020. The Hawkeyes used Linderbaum as their starting center in 2019 as well, deploying an offensive line that featured two eventual first-round picks — Linderbaum and Tristan Wirfs.
Baltimore had not drafted an interior offensive lineman in the first round since Ben Grubbs 15 years ago. Linderbaum is the first center the Ravens have drafted in Round 1, providing a runway to a long career. Linderbaum joins Ronnie Stanley as Ravens first-round O-linemen, with veterans Kevin Zeitler and Morgan Moses set to accompany them up front.
Contract Details: Njoku, Addison, Fuller
Here are some details on deals recently signed around the NFL:
- David Njoku, TE (Browns): Four-year, $54.75MM. The contract, according to Mike Florio of NBC Sports, has an amount guaranteed at signing of $17MM consisting of a signing bonus of $11.47MM, the 2022 base salary of $1.04MM, and the 2023 base salary of $4.5MM. Unless the Browns release Njoku by the third league day in March of 2023, Njoku will receive an additional guaranteed bonus of $11MM consisting of an $8MM 2023 option bonus and $3MM of the 2024 base salary. The additional $11MM is only dependent on roster status, being guaranteed for injury at signing. The full amount of the 2024 base salary, including the guaranteed amount of $3MM, is $13MM. The 2025 base salary is worth $14.25MM. There are two automatically voided years built in for 2026 and 2027 meant to spread around the bonuses and cap hits. In 2024, Njoku will receive a per game active bonus of $88,235 for a potential total of $1.5MM. In 2025, Njoku will receive a per game active bonus of $58,823 for a potential season total of $1MM. The deal also includes annual incentives of $250,000 if Njoku is named first- or second-team All-Pro and $500,000 if he’s named All-Pro and the Browns make the playoffs.
- Mario Addison, DE (Texans): Two-year, $7.7MM. The deal, according to Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network, has a total guaranteed amount of $4.6MM consisting of a signing bonus of $2MM, the 2022 base salary of $1.5MM, and $1.1MM of the 2023 base salary. The 2023 base salary, including the guaranteed amount, is worth $3MM in total. Wilson reports an annual per game active bonus of $35,294 for a potential per season total of $600,000.
- Kyle Fuller, CB (Ravens): One-year, $2.5MM. The contract, according to Field Yates of ESPN, is fully guaranteed with a signing bonus of $1.38MM and a base salary of $1.12MM.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/31/22
Today’s minor moves around the NFL:
Arizona Cardinals
- Released: RB Jaylen Samuels
Baltimore Ravens
- Released: OT Aron Johnson
Houston Texans
- Released: WR Damon Hazelton
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: TE Joe Fortson (ERFA tender)
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Released: DT Trevon Mason
Ravens’ Marlon Humphrey, Marcus Peters Recovering From Season-Ending Injuries
The Ravens’ 2021 season was derailed by injuries on both sides of the ball. A large part of the reason for the team’s late-season collapse was the loss of Marlon Humphrey mid-year, after Marcus Peters was injured before the campaign began. 
Things are looking up for both of them on the injury front, though, as noted by Coral Smith of NFL.com. Head coach John Harbaugh relayed last week that the former had returned to practice during OTAs. He suffered a torn pectoral muscle towards the end of the season, marking another significant blow to Baltimore’s secondary. The team lost six straight contests to close out the campaign, and ranked last in the league against the pass.
The loss of Humphrey was of course exacerbated by the fact that Peters tore his ACL during practice in the preseason. Harbaugh said, however, that his rehab is “coming along really well”. The return of both Pro Bowlers to the lineup – let alone to the form they have both showed in recent years – would complement the various moves the team has made on the backend of its defense.
Baltimore’s top free agent signing was safety Marcus Williams, who is set to spend plenty of time alongside first-rounder Kyle Hamilton. While the presence of those two has led to teams calling about veteran Chuck Clark, the team has made no indication they intend to move him. As for the CB room, Baltimore added mid-round depth in the draft, and signed veteran Kyle Fuller last week.
That overhaul of the unit is cause for optimism at this point, but the health of Humphrey and Peters remains the most important question to be answered. Given the team’s investment in the pair (the former ranks fourth in the league in average salary amongst corners, while the latter sits 12th), they will play a crucial role in its ability to rebound in 2022. At the moment, at least, they are on track to resume their status as integral pieces to Baltimore’s roster.
NFL Staff Notes: Texans, Ravens, Falcons, Panthers
The Texans hired D.J. Debick away from the Patriots this weekend, according to Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network. Debick served in New England as a Midwest area scout, but, in Houston, he’ll have a bit more responsibility in the role of assistant director of pro scouting.
Debick is likely a replacement for former co-assistant of director of player personnel Matt Bazirgan, who departed earlier this month to join the Bills as a senior personnel executive.
Here are a few other staff moves from around the NFL, starting with a promotion up in Charm City:
- The Ravens recently announced the promotion of David Blackburn, according to Wilson. Blackburn joined the Ravens in 2007 as an area scout, getting promoted to national scout in 2020. Blackburn’s most recent promotion places him in the position of director of college scouting, a huge move from where he started 15 years ago with Baltimore.
- ESPN’s Seth Walder reports that John Taormina is no longer with the Falcons. Taormina joined Atlanta back in 2015 as a football analyst, working his way through a few promotions to his most recent position of director of football data & analytics. Taormina had served in the position for 11 months before parting ways with the team earlier this week.
- The Panthers made an interesting staff move this week, according to Joseph Person of The Athletic, moving former-communications assistant Jordan Trgovac into a role in the team’s scouting department. Her role will assist with both college and pro scouting. Jordan is the daughter of former Panthers defensive coordinator Mike Trgovac, who has been a senior defensive assistant with the Raiders for the last three years.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/26/22
Here are the latest minor moves from around the NFL:
Baltimore Ravens
- Waived: CB Kevin Toliver
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived: DT Dion Novil
New Orleans Saints
- Released from IR: TE Ethan Wolf
New York Giants
- Released from IR: DB Jordan Mosley
Ravens Sign QB Brett Hundley
The Ravens are adding some training camp depth at the quarterback position. The team announced on Thursday that they have signed veteran Brett Hundley. 
The soon-to-be 29-year-old was originally a fifth-round pick of the Packers in 2015. He made his Green Bay debut the following year, but didn’t register any starts until 2017. He went 3-6 during that campaign, but that remains the only time where he operated as a No. 1.
After one season as the backup in Seattle, he signed with the Cardinals in 2019. The three appearances he made that year remain the last regular season action he saw. He stayed with Arizona for one more season, though the team looked elsewhere when Kyler Murray needed replacing in-game late in the year. He then spent 2021 bouncing on and off of the Colts’ roster, and recently had a visit with the Vikings which didn’t end in a contract offer.
At the most, Hundley would be in line to compete for the No. 3 role in Baltimore. The Ravens have starter Lamar Jackson under contract for one more season, but his absence from OTAs has left the team thin at the position right now. The Ravens also have backup Tyler Huntley available; the former UDFA filled in for Jackson at the end of last season after his injury, and did enough during that span to secure the No. 2 role.
Baltimore also currently has Anthony Brown, a member of this year’s UDFA class, to take practice reps. In the absence of veteran Josh Johnson, who made one appearance for the Ravens last year, both he and, now, Hundley could find themselves in a competition to land on at least the team’s practice squad.
Lamar Jackson Absent From Ravens’ OTAs
Lamar Jackson has been the source of much debate and speculation this offseason as a result of his contract situation. Another talking point has emerged, however, due to the fact that he is absent from the team’s OTAs. 
[RELATED: Latest On Jackson, Stalled Contract Talks]
As detailed by the Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec (subscription required), Jackson’s pattern of attendance for voluntary on-field work makes his decision to stay away from the team newsworthy. He also notes, however, the fact that the 25-year-old has already done private work with the team’s receivers this offseason. As a result, the team “maintain[s] they are fine with” the current situation.
When asked about the two-time Pro Bowler’s decision to stay away, head coach John Harbaugh said, “We’ve been down this road many times through the years” via ESPN’s Jamison Hensley. “It’s not for me to speak for somebody else on that. It’s up to him to speak for himself on that.”
The Ravens have repeatedly tried to work out a long-term deal with Jackson, but his own willingness to do so is widely seen as the primary obstacle to an extension. He is due $23MM this season on the fifth-year option, and would be in line for sizeable raises in the two seasons after that through franchise tags, should the situation reach that point.
Jackson’s absence is further amplified by the fact that he missed the end of the 2021 campaign due to an ankle injury, and that the team has one of the least experienced receiving corps in the league. With little to no expectation that a contract will be forthcoming during the upcoming season, it is possible he remains absent until mandatory minicamp in June.
Ravens Sign CB Kyle Fuller
The Ravens have made a noteworthy addition to their secondary. The team announced on Tuesday that they have signed veteran cornerback Kyle Fuller to a one-year contract. 
The deal represents a homecoming for Fuller. The 30-year-old is from Baltimore, and attended high school locally. From a business perspective, it is also a fresh start him, after an up-and-down tenure in Denver.
The Broncos signed him last March to a one-year, $9.5MM deal. The move reunited him with Vic Fangio, and was a significant part of the overall cause for optimism surrounding the Broncos’ secondary. He was a starter from the onset of the season, but he struggled to replicate the success he enjoyed under Fangio in Chicago. As a result, he was benched for a stretch of the campaign, and ultimately put on the trade block.
While the Virginia Tech product did end up back on the field playing in the slot for the first time in his career after injuries, his time in Denver came up short of expectations. With the Bears, who selected him in the first round in 2014, he was an immediate starter and impact defender. He was named a Pro Bowler in 2018 and 2019, leading the league in interceptions during the former campaign.
In Baltimore, Fuller will look to return to his previous form. He joins a CB room which still features starters Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters, but was lacking in depth after the departures of Anthony Averett and Tavon Young. At a minimum, Fuller should serve as an experienced backup, but if the position is hit by injuries like it was last season, he could once again find himself in a starting role.