Ravens Re-Sign Calais Campbell
Calais Campbell is returning to Baltimore. The Pro Bowl pass rusher is re-signing with the Ravens, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). It’s a two-year deal for Campbell, and the defender is now expected to finish his career in Baltimore. Per Josina Anderson on Twitter, the deal has a max value of $16.5MM, and the deal contains $6MM in guaranteed money (Twitter link).
While Campbell left the door open to retire following the 2021 campaign, he later confirmed that he wanted to stick around for at least another season. Ravens GM Eric DeCosta later admitted that he was trying to convince Campbell to re-sign with the Ravens, and it sounds like the organization ultimately got their way.
“It just felt like the right move,” Campbell told Anderson (via Twitter). “I feel like we started something special and we have unfinished business there.”
A former Cardinals second-round pick, Campbell has excelled for three different franchises. He already rewarded the Jaguars as a 30-something free agent, spearheading the team’s “Sacksonville” D-line to the Super Bowl precipice in 2017. After three Pro Bowl seasons in Jacksonville, Campbell landed in Baltimore via trade in 2020.
In his two seasons with Baltimore, Campbell has started 26 of his 27 games while collecting 5.5 sacks. The 35-year-old delivered another strong season in 2021, helping a Ravens team that had to play without Derek Wolfe‘s for the entire year. Campbell ultimately finished the season with 49 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and 12 QB hits.
A six-time Pro Bowler, former All-Pro, Walter Payton Man of the Year winner, 2017 Defensive Player of the Year, and a member of the 2010s All-Decade Team, Campbell is also in search of his 100th career sack. He currently sits at 93.5, although he has transitioned more and more into a run-stopper than a pass rusher in recent years.
Bears To Sign CB Tavon Young
The Bears are making another addition to their secondary. According to Pro Football Network’s Aaron Wilson, the team is signing slot cornerback Tavon Young to a one-year, $1.365MM deal (Twitter link). 
[RELATED: Bears Sign DB Cruikshank]
Young, 28, had been with the Ravens since they drafted him in 2016. During his time there, he established himself as effective member of the team’s secondary. While his tenure overlapped with Pro Bowlers such as Eric Weddle, Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters, he carved out a role for himself as the slot corner.
Young’s play earned him a three-year extension in 2019. Valued at just under $26MM, the deal made him the highest-paid slot CB in the league. In the two seasons immediately following that signing, however, he played in only two games; the 2019 campaign was the second in his relatively brief career (the other being 2017) that he missed in its entirety, primarily due to knee injuries.
The former fourth rounder was able to return to full health, as he played all 17 games in the 2021 season. During his four campaigns in Baltimore, he totalled 127 tackles, four interceptions and four sacks. That tenure came to an end last month, though, as he was cut in a cost-saving move.
Young should be able to step in to the starting slot role in Chicago, where, if he can stay healthy, he will likely provide solid value relative to the modest contract. Without many experienced options behind the aforementioned Humphrey and Peters, the Ravens are expected to turn to the draft for Young’s replacement, or at least depth at the position.
Ravens To Re-Sign LB Josh Bynes
After seeing Bobby Wagner sign with the Rams, the Ravens are bringing back one of their own at linebacker. Josh Bynes will return to Baltimore, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com tweets.
Bynes agreed to a one-year deal Friday. This will continue Bynes’ third stint in Baltimore, which acquired him as a UDFA in 2011 and brought him back in 2019. After a year in Cincinnati in 2020, Bynes returned to the Ravens and started 12 games last season.
Baltimore deployed Bynes and Patrick Queen as its primary off-ball linebackers last season, using the former on 61% of their defensive snaps. Bynes played far more regularly than 2020 third-rounder Malik Harrison and, despite going into his age-33 season, will have a chance to reprise his role in 2022.
Last season, Bynes made 76 tackles (six for loss) and registered two sacks in 2021. The Auburn alum has played with four teams, also seeing time with the Cardinals and Lions, but the Ravens have been his most frequent NFL employer.
The Ravens offered Wagner a deal that included $18MM fully guaranteed in the first two years, but the Rams convinced the Los Angeles native to return home. Bynes returning may not mean Baltimore is done at inside linebacker, but this could allow the Ravens to allocate their top remaining offseason resources to other areas.
Ravens, Melvin Gordon In Talks
The Ravens are in contract talks with Melvin Gordon (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). If all goes well, the former Broncos running back wind up being a part of Baltimore’s revamped group.
[RELATED: Latest On Gordon’s Market]
Gordon, who turns 29 next week, recently changed agents, going from Fletcher Smith and Damarius Bilbo to Brian Murphy and Joe Panos of Athletes First. Recently, it was reported that Gordon was likely in line for a one-year deal worth roughly $2.5MM. That’d be a big drop-off from his two-year, $16MM deal with Denver, but the market is rarely kind to “older” running backs.
Gordon stands as one of the best free agent RBs remaining, especially since he’s posted more than 1,100 all-purpose yards in each of his last two seasons. He’s also scored exactly ten touchdowns in each of those Broncos campaigns.
The Broncos could conceivably bring him back into the fold, though they’ve got rising second-year pro Javonte Williams, and he’s ready to take on a larger role.
“I have been wanting to come back. I would love to win championship in Denver. I made a lot of great relationships with the guys. I feel like we have a really good team. To leave a talented team and go somewhere else would suck,” Gordon said in March. “It’s a job unfinished, and we need to finish the job. I talked with [GM] George [Paton]. We spoke on it. He told me he thinks highly of me. I really like the way he runs things and does things.”
Right now, it seems more likely that Gordon will join up with the Ravens, who wound up leaning on Devonta Freeman and Latavius Murray for much of 2021.
Jets, Ravens Eyeing Tackles In Draft
Joining the Giants in the historically exclusive club of holding two top-10 picks in a draft, the Jets appear to be targeting the same position as their Big Apple rivals. The Giants have done extensive work on this year’s tackle crop; the Jets are interested in bolstering that position as well.
Despite the Jets having chosen Mekhi Becton in the 2020 first round, Tony Pauline of ProFootballNetwork.com reports they are zeroing in on this position entering this draft. Jets brass has informed several players the plan is to select a tackle early. Although it is not certain the Jets will use one of their first-rounders (Nos. 4 and 10) on the position, Joe Douglas is a fan of a tackle who figures to be on the board at No. 10.
Douglas has been high on Northern Iowa tackle Trevor Penning since the Senior Bowl, Pauline adds. The 6-foot-7 Division I-FCS product slots behind Ikem Ekwonu, Evan Neal and Charles Cross on most tackle prospect rankings. ESPN’s Scouts Inc. ranks Penning 25th, while NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah slots him 22nd. It is unlikely Penning drops that far.
The Ravens are also interested in Penning, per Pauline, who adds they scheduled a visit and are aiming to exit this draft with a potential future tackle starter. Baltimore’s No. 14 overall pick should represent Penning’s floor, Pauline notes. Baltimore has Ronnie Stanley coming off another significant injury and signed ex-Jet Morgan Moses in March. Moses’ three-year, $15MM deal includes $5.5MM in guarantees, giving the Ravens flexibility after 2022.
This is not the first report to indicate the Jets using one of their first-round picks on a tackle is in play. New York is eyeing an extension with George Fant, who moved to left tackle to replace the injured Becton last year. The 363-pound lineman’s stock has nosedived since his promising rookie year. Becton’s weight has been a consistent problem, and he reported to camp out of shape last year. Becton suffered a knee injury in Week 1 and did not play again in 2021. While the Jets may try the mammoth blocker at right tackle, their patience is wearing thin. A first- or second-round tackle would crowd this position group.
ERFA Tender Decisions: 4/6/22
Here’s a look at the latest tender decisions from around the NFL:
ERFAs
Signed:
- Ravens: S Geno Stone
QB Josh Dobbs Visited Ravens, Patriots
Josh Dobbs is generating some interest around the league. The quarterback tried out for the Ravens yesterday, according to ESPN’s Field Yates (on Twitter). Meanwhile, Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com tweets that Dobbs also had an audition with the Patriots.
Dobbs entered the NFL as a fourth-round pick out of Tennessee in 2017. He spent the first two-plus seasons of his career with the Steelers, and after spending most of the 2019 campaign in Jacksonville, he returned to Pittsburgh for 2020 and 2021.
Dobbs ultimately saw time in six games for the Steelers, completing 10 of his 17 pass attempts for 45 yards and one interception. He also added 31 rushing yards on six carries. After re-signing with the organization last offseason, the QB ended up spending the entire 2021 campaign on injured reserve.
The Ravens are currently rostering only two QBs in Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley, so Dobbs would provide some depth at the position. In New England, Mac Jones has a pair of backups in Brian Hoyer and Jarrett Stidham, so Dobbs would have more of an uphill battle to make the Patriots roster.
Latest On Bobby Wagner’s Free Agency Decision
Bobby Wagner‘s Rams contract initially came in at five years and $50MM, but like most NFL deals, the actual numbers are more team-friendly. The deal is closer to a two-year, $17.5MM pact, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
The Ravens came in with a better two-year offer, per Rapoport, who notes Baltimore sent Wagner a two-year, $18MM proposal (Twitter link). Baltimore stepped up for Wagner, with Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (on Twitter) adding the $18MM offered was fully guaranteed. Incentives included in Wagner’s deal, and the future Hall of Fame linebacker’s desire to return home to Los Angeles, led to the Rams winning out. Wagner visited both the Rams and Ravens.
Los Angeles included $10MM fully guaranteed, with $3.5MM of that coming in 2023, Florio notes. Wagner will see that $3.5MM fully guaranteed Friday; the rest of his $11MM 2023 salary is nonguaranteed. Wagner being on the Rams’ roster by Day 5 of the 2023 league year will guarantee him a 2024 roster bonus worth $2.5MM, per Florio, who provides more clarity on the incentives that helped push Wagner to L.A. Wagner and the Rams appear to have agreed on names for said incentives, one of which can void the deal’s final three seasons.
The Agent Wagz Wally’s Wage Incentive can net the self-represented linebacker up to $2MM per year in incentives geared around playing time and achievements. The Wage Wagz’s Colony Coin Incentive (these are apparently very real) would pay out $1MM per year if Wagner is named a first-team All-Pro. Wagner’s six first-team All-Pro honors trail only Ray Lewis and Mike Singletary (seven apiece) among post-merger off-ball linebackers, but he did not earn such acclaim in 2021. The void incentive — officially the Agent Wagz Archibald Ranch Au Revoir Void — would allow Wagner to scrap the 2024-26 years if he plays 90% of the team’s defensive snaps and the Rams make the playoffs each year, Florio adds. With Wagner set to turn 34 during the 2024 season, which is the first of the contract’s three nonguaranteed years, the third incentive might not affect the Rams much.
Baltimore signed Marcus Williams to a five-year, $70MM deal and is looking for defensive line help. Wagner, 31, would have provided a boost on the Ravens’ defensive second level, but L.A. native will team with Ernest Jones with the Rams instead. Although Wagner expressed dissatisfaction with the Seahawks on the way out, he said it did not play into his decision to sign with an NFC West team.
“A lot of people think that it went into my decision, being able to play the Seahawks,” Wagner said, via the Associated Press’ Greg Beacham (on Twitter). “I don’t have that much hate in my heart. I really wanted to be happy, and I wanted to be close to home and stay on the West Coast. That was important to me. But playing the Seahawks twice a year was a cherry on top. I’ll make sure I’ll tell them. It won’t be a quiet game for me.”
Panthers Sign CB Chris Westry
The Panthers have made another move to add to their secondary. The team announced on Monday that they have signed cornerback Chris Westry.
[RELATED: Panthers Re-Sign CB Melvin]
Westry, 24, originally joined the Cowboys as a UDFA. Spending most of his two seasons there on the practice squad, he appeared in only two games in Dallas. Last offseason, he was signed by the Ravens; his performance in training camp in particular earned him a spot on the 53-man roster, with plenty of optimism he could establish himself as at least an effective role player.
Not long after the season started, though, Westry suffered a torn meniscus and was placed on IR. Despite the injury, he still appeared in six games in 2021, including two starts. With a number of other injuries throughout the Ravens’ CB room, the Kentucky alum played 45% of the team’s defensive snaps, totalling 17 tackles and three pass deflections.
Westry was non-tendered by the Ravens, as they begin the process of re-shaping their CB depth chart behind starters Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters. In Carolina, he will join a team that has retained the likes of Donte Jackson and Rashaan Melvin at the position. Given his age and length, he will have the opportunity to compete for a rotational role in 2022.
Ravens Notes: Wagner, Dobbins, Edwards
The Ravens tried to sign LB Bobby Wagner, the former Seahawks star who was released by Seattle last month. On March 28, we heard that Baltimore had submitted an offer that it believed was “very competitive” vis-à-vis the proposal that Wagner received from the Rams, and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported yesterday that the Ravens had offered a two-year, $18MM contract.
At first blush, that looks to be a far cry from the five-year, $50MM deal Wagner ultimately signed with Los Angeles. But we are still awaiting details on the structure of that agreement, and Florio hears that Wagner will get paid $17MM over the first two years of the deal, with “small guarantees” in the second year. If that’s the case, then the Ravens’ offer — the structure of which is also unknown — may well have been as competitive as the team thought. Perhaps Wagner, an LA native, simply wanted to stay home and play for the defending champions.
Baltimore, meanwhile, has now had near misses with Wagner and Za’Darius Smith in recent weeks, leaving the club with plenty of work still to do in the front seven.
Now for several more items out of Charm City:
- The Ravens’ 2021 fortunes were severely undermined by injury, including season-ending ACL tears suffered by running backs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards before Week 1. Head coach John Harbaugh recently told reporters, including Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic, that both players are making progress, but that they will likely start this year’s training camp on the active/PUP list (Twitter link). Given how important Dobbins and Edwards are to Baltimore’s run-oriented attack, it makes sense that the team would play it safe with the top two members of its RB depth chart.
- The Ravens have hired Kerry Dixon as their assistant quarterbacks coach, per a team announcement. This will be Dixon’s first NFL gig. The former Baylor and Hampton quarterback spent the past 15 seasons as a collegiate assistant, and he served as Georgia Tech’s wide receivers coach from 2019-21. He will team with James Urban to get the most out of star passer Lamar Jackson, whose contract status remains one of the biggest storylines in Baltimore.
- Even if Smith had followed through on his commitment to the Ravens, Baltimore may have been eyeing an edge rusher with its first-round pick (No. 14 overall) in this year’s draft. With Smith out of the picture, GM Eric DeCosta may be even more inclined to enhance his pass rush, and polarizing prospect Kayvon Thibodeaux is on the team’s radar.
- Harbaugh, now the third-longest-tenured HC in the league, recently signed an extension that will keep him on the Ravens’ sidelines through the 2025 season.