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Baltimore Ravens News & Rumors

John Harbaugh On Roman, Jackson, WRs

January 20th, 2021 at 5:38pm CST by Sam Robinson

John Harbaugh shut down the prospect of the Ravens revamping their offense on Wednesday. Greg Roman will be back for a third season as Baltimore’s offensive coordinator, Harbaugh said (via Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic).

Roman garnered interest for HC positions last year, following Lamar Jackson‘s unanimous MVP season. But Jackson’s less dominant 2020, and another Ravens playoff game involving offensive struggles, has lowered Roman’s stock. No teams reached out to him about a head coaching position this year. Nevertheless, the veteran assistant will be the team’s OC for the 2021 season. Harbaugh does not expect changes to his offensive staff, Zrebiec adds, though the Lions have interviewed QBs coach James Urban for their OC job.

The 13-year Ravens HC also said the team will extend Jackson either this year or in the 2022 offseason. Although Jackson experienced inconsistency this season, he remains in line for a monster extension.

With the Bills set to explore a Josh Allen re-up this year, Jackson would stand to benefit. The prospect of the salary cap returning to its usual growth in 2022 would increase Jackson’s earning potential as well. The Ravens will pick up Jackson’s fully guaranteed fifth-year option by May, extending his rookie contract through 2022.

The Ravens, however, are coming off another disappointing playoff loss that featured its run-centric offense unable to keep pace. (Though, Jackson’s concussion obviously affected the Ravens’ ability to do so.) The team features one of the NFL’s lowest-profile receiving corps, and although the upcoming free agency market could well include several high-end wideouts, the Ravens are not in a strong position to convince one to join their unique offense.

Still, Harbaugh said the team could target a possession-type receiver to play alongside Marquise Brown.

“I think a big, physical receiver would be awesome for us. We can use anybody who is talented and good,” Harbaugh said. “… I’m not going to beg anybody to be here. I’m not a college coach and I don’t have to recruit anybody. If you want to win, if you want to be part of a great organization and you want to be part of a team, you want to love coming to work every single day and you love football, playing in the AFC North, come here.

“If you don’t, if you’re all worried about stats and numbers and your stat line and how many balls you catch necessarily and that’s all you care for, then there’s a lot of other teams you can play for and we’re looking forward to lining up against you.”

Brown led the Ravens in receiving, with 769 yards, this season. The team has featured just one receiver (Brown) surpass 500 yards in each of the past two seasons. Willie Snead is not under contract for the ’21 season.

Lions Interview James Urban For OC Job

January 20th, 2021 at 4:43pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Lions are moving forward with their offensive coordinator search. Under new HC Dan Campbell, the team is interviewing Ravens quarterbacks coach James Urban for its OC post, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.

An NFL position coach for the past 12 seasons, Urban has been in charge of Baltimore’s QBs since 2018. The former Eagles and Bengals assistant was in place when the Ravens transformed their offense midway through the ’18 season, upon moving from Joe Flacco to Lamar Jackson, and has generated OC interest in the past.

The Eagles were interested in Urban last year but did not end up filling their OC position. However, this marks the first known interview Urban has received for an offensive coordinator role. Prior to helping Marty Mornhinweg and then Greg Roman change up the Ravens’ offense for their soon-to-be MVP quarterback, Urban spent seven seasons as the Bengals’ wide receivers coach. Urban, 47, coached five-year Lions wideout Marvin Jones throughout his Cincinnati tenure, though Jones is a free agent this year.

While the Lions interviewed OC-turned-interim HC Darrell Bevell for their HC job, Campbell landing the position signals the franchise will go in a new direction on offense. More OC candidates will soon emerge.

Ravens Waive QB Robert Griffin III

January 19th, 2021 at 10:41am CST by Zachary Links

The Ravens have officially waived quarterback Robert Griffin III. The team will also cut defensive backs Davontae Harris and Tramon Williams, plus wide receiver De’Anthony Harris. 

[RELATED: Ravens Cut Ingram]

The Ravens got a jump start on their spring cleaning this week by releasing Griffin & Co, plus running back Mark Ingram. It all amounts to a professional courtesy, since the Ravens were eliminated by the Bills on Saturday.

Griffin first joined the Ravens as a backup for Joe Flacco and stuck around to be Lamar Jackson‘s primary backstop. In three years, RG3 started twice and threw one touchdown against four interceptions. One of those starts came this year, a 19-14 loss to the rival Steelers.

The former No. 2 overall pick tweeted that “the best is yet to come,” an indication that he’ll seek another job in 2021. Griffin, who won the Heisman Trophy in 2011, turns 31 in February.

Ravens To Release Mark Ingram

January 18th, 2021 at 9:18pm CST by Zachary Links

The Ravens are cutting Mark Ingram, as Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. The move will save the Ravens $5MM against the 2021 cap. 

[RELATED: Ravens To Explore Extension For Lamar Jackson]

Ingram, who now has an early jump on free agency, believes he still has plenty of football left in the tank. The Ravens did not agree, making him a healthy scratch in both of their playoff games this year.

Ingram, 31, is coming off of his worst statistical season. Limited to nine games, he finished out with just 72 carries for 299 yards — both career lows. For what it’s worth, he was still rather efficient, running for 4.2 yards per carry in the Ravens’ high-powered offense. He also has a solid track record with 9,200+ career all-purpose yards. The bulk of those yards came with the Saints, where he topped 7,500 total yards across eight years.

The vet made a mark in his first Ravens season, rushing for 1,018 yards and ten touchdowns, plus a 26/257/5 receiving line. This year, he lost his spot in the pecking order to rookie J.K. Dobbins, who projects as Baltimore’s top back for 2021. Gus Edwards also shined in Ingram’s stead, managing 700+ rushing yards in the regular season.

Ingram’s release will leave $1.3MM in dead money against the Ravens’ 2021 cap, the balance of his prorated bonus.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/18/21

January 18th, 2021 at 4:38pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

With the Ravens, Browns, and Rams getting eliminated from the playoffs over the weekend, both teams announced their slew of reserve/futures deals on Monday. As a reminder, these are all non-guaranteed deals, usually for practice squad type players, to help teams flesh out their 90-man offseason rosters.

Baltimore Ravens

Cleveland Browns

Los Angeles Rams

Updated 2021 NFL Draft Order

January 18th, 2021 at 11:08am CST by Zachary Links

With the Divisional Round in the books, the 2021 NFL Draft order is mostly complete. The Rams, Browns, Ravens, and Saints now have their draft spots locked in, though the Rams’ first-round pick belongs to Urban Meyer and the Jaguars. The Rams traded those rights to Jacksonville as a part of the Jalen Ramsey blockbuster.

Here’s the updated draft order, through the top 28:

1. Jacksonville Jaguars
2. New York Jets
3. Miami Dolphins (via Texans)
4. Atlanta Falcons
5. Cincinnati Bengals
6. Philadelphia Eagles
7. Detroit Lions
8. Carolina Panthers
9. Denver Broncos
10. Dallas Cowboys
11. New York Giants
12. San Francisco 49ers
13. Los Angeles Chargers
14. Minnesota Vikings
15. New England Patriots
16. Arizona Cardinals
17. Las Vegas Raiders
18. Miami Dolphins
19. Washington Football Team
20. Chicago Bears
21. Indianapolis Colts
22. Tennessee Titans
23. New York Jets (via Seahawks)
24. Pittsburgh Steelers
25. Jacksonville Jaguars (via Rams)
26. Cleveland Browns
27. Baltimore Ravens
28. New Orleans Saints

Ravens To Explore Extension For Lamar Jackson

January 17th, 2021 at 8:48am CST by Rory Parks

The Ravens were eliminated from the playoffs last night in a game that raised more questions than it answered about quarterback Lamar Jackson‘s ability to win in the playoffs. Although it appeared that Jackson had put that narrative to bed with his team’s victory over the Titans in last week’s wildcard round, the naysayers are back in full force following Baltimore’s loss to the Bills, which included a Jackson pick-six that turned what could have been a tied score or a 10-6 deficit into a 17-3 game.

Never mind that the game also featured a plethora of bad snaps from center Patrick Mekari, poor pass-blocking from the Ravens’ O-line, two missed field goals by the normally automatic Justin Tucker, and a dropped pass that set up the Bills’ first score. Never mind that offensive coordinator Greg Roman, whose passing game concepts and questionable play-calling undermine his strengths in the run game, seems to get outcoached against good teams. Never mind that Jackson’s best skill-position players are also playing on their rookie deals, and that Peyton Manning didn’t win his first playoff game until his sixth professional season.

Yes, Jackson still needs to improve as a passer. The pick-six was on him and was a devastating blow. But he won the league MVP last year, his age-22 season. He is a dynamic playmaker who has shown plenty of flashes of top-tier ability throwing the ball, even if he never becomes Manning in that regard. He posted nearly a 3:1 TD-to-INT ratio this year en route to a 99.3 quarterback rating, and he became the first QB in league history to rush for 1,000 yards in multiple seasons. He is also a high-character leader who has the full respect of his teammates, and there is reason to believe he will continue polishing his right arm.

The Ravens appear to agree, as they are expected to explore an extension for their young signal-caller this offseason, according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network (video link). That would seem to fall under the “no duh” category of NFL reports, but it’s worth noting nonetheless. Baltimore GM Eric DeCosta has made it a point to be proactive with extensions for key players, and locking up Jackson in a year when the salary cap will decrease or remain the same could be to the Ravens’ advantage.

As Rapoport notes, Jackson represented himself when negotiating his rookie deal, and it remains to be seen if he will hire an agent before discussions about his second contract commence. One way or another, it would seem that Deshaun Watson‘s re-up with the Texans is the best comp. Watson’s extension was a four-year add-on worth $156MM (a $39MM AAV) and featured $73MM guaranteed at signing. Look for Jackson’s new deal to include similar figures.

Assuming player and team do not have an extension in place by the deadline to exercise fifth-year options in May, that will obviously be a no-brainer decision for the Ravens. Jackson’s fifth-year option, which would go into effect for the 2022 season, would be fully guaranteed — since he is a member of the 2018 draft class — and would be worth about $25MM (as Albert Breer of SI.com notes on Twitter). But that will almost certainly be more of a placeholder than anything else, as a new deal should be consummated prior to the 2022 campaign.

The Ravens will have plenty of other contractual issues to hash out in the coming months. Pass rushers Matt Judon and Yannick Ngakoue are eligible for unrestricted free agency, and TE Mark Andrews and OT Orlando Brown may be seeking extensions of their own.

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/15/21

January 15th, 2021 at 4:56pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are the latest NFL minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Green Bay Packers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/15/21

January 15th, 2021 at 3:06pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are the latest reserve/futures contracts given out:

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Las Vegas Raiders

  • QB Kyle Sloter

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

2021 NFL Head Coaching Search Tracker

January 15th, 2021 at 1:24pm CST by Sam Robinson

Exiting the regular season, six teams are searching for new head coaches. That number is up from last season but not quite as high as 2019, though there may well be more vacancies that emerge during the playoffs.

Listed below are the head coaching candidates that have been linked to each of the teams with vacancies, along with their current status. If and when other teams decide to make head coaching changes, they’ll be added to this list. Here is the current breakdown:

Updated 1-27-21 (7:05pm CT)

Atlanta Falcons

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

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