Ravens’ Matt Judon Signs Franchise Tender
Nearly half the league’s teams used their respective franchise tags this year, and one of the tagged pass rushers signed his tender Thursday.
Matt Judon signed his Ravens tender, per Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). Judon was tagged as a linebacker and therefore would have been attached to a $15.8MM salary, though he could have filed a grievance to be tagged as a defensive end in order to bump that number up to $17.8MM. Pelissero subsequently reported that the two sides met in the middle to avoid further dispute, and that Judon stands to earn $16.8MM in 2020 if no long-term deal is reached (Twitter link).
The Ravens have begun extension discussions with Judon but have also initiated talks with Ronnie Stanley. Judon could come first due to the July 15 deadline for franchise-tagged players to sign extensions. The former Division II standout has become Baltimore’s top edge defender, having functioned in a key role for the Ravens throughout his career. Judon registered 33 quarterback hits last season — the most by a Raven over the past 14 years — and has 24.5 sacks in the past three years.
Tag-and-trade rumors surfaced in this situation earlier this offseason. By signing the tag, Judon can now be traded. Although the Ravens have let a few key edge rushers go after big contract-year performances in recent years, they did not draft an outside linebacker and would be incredibly thin at the position if they opted to trade him.
Ravens LT Ronnie Stanley On Contract Talks
The Ravens have started discussing an extension for left tackle Ronnie Stanley, but Stanley himself does not seem overly concerned about the process. “I’m in no rush. I’m not really worried about it,” he said (Twitter link via Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic).
Baltimore was surely unhappy to see Texans head coach/GM Bill O’Brien hand LT Laremy Tunsil the key to the city and a three-year, $66MM extension last month. As Joel Corry of CBS Sports observes, the Ravens generally aren’t fans of short-term deals for premium players — unless that player cedes some money in exchange for the shorter term — so the fact that Tunsil got a three-year pact while also resetting the left tackle market in terms of AAV ($22MM) and full guarantees ($40MM) could make things tough for the Ravens.
That is especially true when considering that Stanley is probably the better player. Though both Stanley and Tunsil received their first Pro Bowl nods in 2019, Stanley took home First Team All-Pro honors, and he graded out as Pro Football Focus’ top pass blocker last season. The Notre Dame product is also a force in run-blocking, and his performance was instrumental in the Ravens’ offensive explosion during Lamar Jackson‘s first full year at the helm.
However, perhaps Stanley will not try to top Tunsil’s pact. While the 26-year-old of course wants to be paid what he is worth, he also said, “at the end of the day, I don’t think money is the most important thing to me” (Twitter link via Zrebiec). One way or another, Stanley will be incredibly rich in fairly short order, and perhaps resetting the market is not as meaningful as protecting Jackson’s blindside for the foreseeable future and remaining with a well-respected organization that appears to have a championship-caliber foundation.
According to Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com, though, the expectation is that Stanley’s next contract will exceed Tunsil’s. Stanley is presently slated to earn $12.8MM in 2020 under the fifth-year option of his rookie deal.
NFL To Vote On Major Rule Changes
The NFL figures to look mighty different in 2020. On Tuesday, owners will vote on the following rule proposals, per a press release from the league office: 
- From the Eagles: An alternative to the onside kick, that would allow the trailing team a chance to keep the ball after scoring by going for it on a 4th-and-15 play from the kicking team’s 25-yard line. As Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter) notes, this is similar to the rule used by the now-defunct Alliance of American Football.
- From the Eagles: A permanent expansion of automatic replay to including “scoring plays and turnovers negated by a foul, and any successful/ unsuccessful try attempt.”
- From the Dolphins: Give the defense the option to have the clock to start on the referee’s signal, if the defense declines an offensive penalty late in the first or second half.
- From the Ravens and Chargers: The addition of a “booth umpire” as well as the addition of a “Senior Technology Advisor to the Referee” to assist officials.
- Increased “defenseless player protection” for a kick or punt returner who is “in possession of the ball but who has not had time to avoid or ward off the impending contact of an opponent.” (from the Competition Committee)
- Cutting down on game clock manipulation by disallowing “multiple dead-ball fouls while the clock is running.” (from the Competition Committee)
The Eagles’ proposed amendment to the league’s onside kick is the boldest of the bunch, and support is growing among owners, Pelissero hears (on Twitter). Meanwhile, the Ravens/Chargers idea for a “sky judge” also has momentum (Twitter link). Either way, Pelissero gets the sense that some version of that concept will be tested in the preseason.
Longest-Tenured GMs In The NFL
When we ran down the longest-tenured head coaches in the NFL, we found that less than half of the league’s current coaches have been in their positions for more than three years. That’s not quite the case with general managers, but there have been plenty of changes in recent years.
A handful of general managers have gotten to take their coats off and stay for a long while. Among coaches, Bill Belichick had joined his team prior to 2003. Here, you’ll see that five GMs have been with their teams since before ’03 (Belichick, of course, is also on this list). Two of those five – Jerry Jones and Mike Brown – are outliers, since they’re team owners and serve as de facto GMs. But the Patriots, Steelers, and Saints, have all had the same general managers making their roster decisions for well over a decade.
Here’s the complete list of the NFL’s longest-tenured GMs, along with the date they took over the job:
- Jerry Jones (Dallas Cowboys): April 18, 1989[1]
- Mike Brown (Cincinnati Bengals): August 5, 1991[2]
- Bill Belichick (New England Patriots): January 27, 2000[3]
- Kevin Colbert (Pittsburgh Steelers): February 18, 2000[4]
- Mickey Loomis (New Orleans Saints): May 14, 2002
- Rick Spielman (Minnesota Vikings): May 30, 2006[5]
- Thomas Dimitroff (Atlanta Falcons): January 13, 2008
- John Schneider (Seattle Seahawks): January 19, 2010[6]
- Howie Roseman (Philadelphia Eagles): January 29, 2010
- John Elway (Denver Broncos): January 5, 2011[7]
- Les Snead (St. Louis Rams): February 10, 2012
- David Caldwell (Jacksonville Jaguars): January 8, 2013
- Steve Keim (Arizona Cardinals): January 8, 2013
- Tom Telesco (San Diego Chargers): January 9, 2013
- Jason Licht (Tampa Bay Buccaneers): January 21, 2014
- Ryan Pace (Chicago Bears): January 8, 2015
- Chris Grier (Miami Dolphins): January 4, 2016
- Bob Quinn (Detroit Lions): January 8, 2016
- Jon Robinson (Tennessee Titans): January 14, 2016
- John Lynch (San Francisco 49ers): January 29, 2017
- Chris Ballard (Indianapolis Colts): January 30, 2017
- Brandon Beane (Buffalo Bills): May 9, 2017
- Brett Veach (Kansas City Chiefs): July 11, 2017
- Marty Hurney (Carolina Panthers): July 19, 2017
- Dave Gettleman (New York Giants): December 28, 2017
- Brian Gutekunst (Green Bay Packers): January 7, 2018
- Mike Mayock (Oakland Raiders): December 31, 2018
- Joe Douglas (New York Jets): June 7, 2019
- Eric DeCosta (Baltimore Ravens): January 7, 2019[8]
- Ron Rivera (Washington Redskins): January 1, 2020[9]
- Andrew Berry (Cleveland Browns): January 27, 2020
- Bill O’Brien (Houston Texans): January 28, 2020
Footnotes:
- Jones has been the Cowboys’ de facto general manager since former GM Tex Schramm resigned in April 1989.
- Brown has been the Bengals’ de facto GM since taking over as the team’s owner in August 1991.
- Belichick has been the Patriots’ de facto GM since shortly after being hired as the team’s head coach in January 2000.
- Colbert was initially hired as the team’s director of football operations and received the newly-created general manager title in 2011.
- Spielman was initially hired as the team’s VP of player personnel and received the GM title in 2012.
- While Schneider holds the title of GM, head coach Pete Carroll has the final say on roster moves for the Seahawks.
- Elway was initially hired as the team’s executive VP of football operations and received the GM title in 2014.
- In 2018, the Ravens announced that DeCosta would replace Ozzie Newsome as GM for Ozzie Newsome after the conclusion of the season. The Ravens’ ’18 season ended with their Wild Card loss to the Chargers on 1/6/19.
- Technically, the Redskins do not have a GM, as of this writing. Rivera is, effectively, their GM, working in tandem with Vice President of Player Personnel Kyle Smith. Smith may receive the GM title in the near future.
Ravens To Consider Out-Of-State Training Camp
The Ravens hope to hold their training camp at their team facility but will consider relocating due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Several teams have joined the Ravens in discussing relocation measures. Although Maryland lifted its stay-at-home order Friday, it marks an early phase of a gradual reopening plan. Gatherings of more than 10 people will remain restricted, per Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan.
“We’ll consider all options,” Ravens president Dick Cass said, via the Baltimore Sun’s Jonas Shaffer. “I think when we think about the option of trying to move our training camp outside Maryland, we don’t like that option. We think that we can conduct training camp safely in Maryland. We know that our building will be absolutely pristine, and I think the safest place to conduct our training camp will be in Maryland, at our facility.
“But if circumstances don’t allow that, we will explore the options that are available to us. We have to.”
Cass does not expect Ravens players at the team facility until training camp. Last week, the NFL announced its first phase in what it hopes will be a successful reopening. Certain staffers may return to team facilities in states where no stay-at-home order exists, but coaches and non-injured players remain barred from team headquarters. In addition to teams’ 90-man rosters being present at training camp, dozens of additional coaches and other personnel are on hand for camp in a normal year. But social-distancing measures will make holding camp a challenge for teams. For some in states more affected by the coronavirus, relocations may be imminent.
The Ravens have never held a training camp outside of Maryland. They have convened each summer at their facility in Owings Mills since 2011. In the franchise’s first 15 years, McDaniel College in Westminster served as the camp site.
Longest-Tenured Head Coaches In The NFL
Things move fast in today’s NFL and the old adage of “coaches are hired to be fired” has seemingly never been more true. For the most part, teams change their coaches like they change their underwear. 
A head coach can take his team to the Super Bowl, or win the Super Bowl, or win multiple Super Bowls, but they’re never immune to scrutiny. Just ask Tom Coughlin, who captured his second ring with the Giants after the 2011 season, only to receive his pink slip after the 2015 campaign.
There are also exceptions. Just look at Bill Belichick, who just wrapped up his 20th season at the helm in New England. You’ll also see a few others on this list, but, for the most part, most of today’s NFL head coaches are relatively new to their respective clubs. And, history dictates that many of them will be elsewhere when we check in on this list in 2022.
Over one-third (12) of the NFL’s head coaches have coached no more than one season with their respective teams. Meanwhile, less than half (15) have been with their current clubs for more than three years. It seems like just yesterday that the Cardinals hired Kliff Kingsbury, right? It sort of was – Kingsbury signed on with the Cardinals in January of 2019. Today, he’s practically a veteran.
Here’s the list of the current head coaches in the NFL, ordered by tenure, along with their respective start dates:
- Bill Belichick (New England Patriots): January 27, 2000
- Sean Payton (New Orleans Saints): January 18, 2006
- Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers): January 27, 2007
- John Harbaugh (Baltimore Ravens): January 19, 2008
- Pete Carroll (Seattle Seahawks): January 9, 2010
- Andy Reid (Kansas City Chiefs): January 4, 2013
- Bill O’Brien (Houston Texans): January 2, 2014
- Mike Zimmer (Minnesota Vikings): January 15, 2014
- Dan Quinn (Atlanta Falcons): February 2, 2015
- Doug Pederson (Philadelphia Eagles): January 18, 2016
- Sean McDermott (Buffalo Bills): January 11, 2017
- Doug Marrone (Jacksonville Jaguars): December 19, 2016 (interim; permanent since 2017)
- Anthony Lynn (Los Angeles Chargers): January 12, 2017
- Sean McVay (Los Angeles Rams): January 12, 2017
- Kyle Shanahan (San Francisco 49ers): February 6, 2017
- Matt Nagy (Chicago Bears): January 7, 2018
- Matt Patricia (Detroit Lions): February 5, 2018
- Frank Reich (Indianapolis Colts): February 11, 2018
- Jon Gruden (Las Vegas Raiders): January 6, 2018
- Mike Vrabel (Tennessee Titans): January 20, 2018
- Kliff Kingsbury (Arizona Cardinals): January 8, 2019
- Zac Taylor (Cincinnati Bengals): February 4, 2019
- Vic Fangio (Denver Broncos): January 10, 2019
- Matt LaFleur (Green Bay Packers): January 8, 2019
- Brian Flores (Miami Dolphins): February 4, 2019
- Adam Gase (New York Jets): January 11, 2019
- Bruce Arians (Tampa Bay Buccaneers): January 8, 2019
- Ron Rivera (Washington Redskins): January 1, 2020
- Matt Rhule (Carolina Panthers): January 7, 2020
- Mike McCarthy (Dallas Cowboys): January 7, 2020
- Joe Judge (New York Giants): January 8, 2020
- Kevin Stefanski (Cleveland Browns): January 13, 2020
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/12/20
Here are Tuesday’s minor moves, with the list being updated throughout the day:
Baltimore Ravens
- Waived: WR Sean Modster
Arizona Cardinals
- Re-signed: CB Kevin Peterson
- Waived: CB Andre Chachere
Ravens Notes: Running Game, Salary Cap
After the Ravens added Ohio State’s J.K. Dobbins in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, Mark Ingram believes his team officially has the best running game in the league.
- Sticking with Baltimore, Ravens GM Eric DeCosta told season ticket holders that the team doesn’t have a whole lot of salary cap flexibility (via The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec on Twitter). DeCosta noted that if the front office did open up space, they’d likely pursue a pass rusher/linebacker or a veteran offensive lineman.
Ravens Sign 20 UDFAs
The Ravens’ class of undrafted rookies keeps getting bigger and bigger. This week, the Ravens announced the signings of six more UDFAs, bringing their official grand total to eleven, though they’ve actually agreed to take on 19 in total. Here’s the full rundown:
- Evan Adams, OL (Syracuse)
- Jacob Breeland, TE (Oregon)
- Trystan Colon-Castillo, C (Missouri)
- Aaron Crawford, DT (UNC)
- John Daka, DE (JMU)
- Daishawn Dixon, OL (San Diego State)
- Khalil Dorsey, DE (NAU)
- Jeff Hector, DB (Redlands)
- Tyler Huntley, QB (Utah)
- Dom Maggio, P (Wake Forest)
- Jaylon Moore, WR (UTM)
- Sean Pollard, OL (Clemson)
- Bronson Rechsteiner, FB (Kennesaw State)
- Chauncey Rivers, RB (Mississippi State)
- Ty’Son Williams, RB (BYU)
- Kristian Welch, LB (Iowa)
- Nigel Warrior, S (Tennessee)
- Eli Wolf, TE (Georgia)
- Marcus Willoughby, DE (Elon)
- Nick Vogel, K (UAB)
Huntley, a 6’1″ quarterback out of Utah, played against Lamar Jackson as a high schooler in Florida. With the Utes, Huntley started 33 games in total and finished 2019 with a 19/4 TD/INT ratio.
Rechsteiner, a hard-nosed fullback, is a natural bruiser – he’s the son of former WCW/WWF wrestler Rick Steiner and the nephew of Scott Steiner, a.k.a. Big Poppa Pump. At Division III Kennesaw State, he averaged 8.1 yards per carry. With the Ravens, he’ll face an uphill battle in making the roster with Patrick Ricard already occupying the position.
There are also a few notable guarantees in this UDFA class, including Wolf, who received $65K between his $50K base salary and $15K signing bonus (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle).
Ravens Won’t Void Earl Thomas’ Deal
This week, the Ravens were said to be internally discussing Earl Thomas‘ strange incident in Texas and whether it would classify as a violation of his existing contract. Even if they want to penalize or void a portion of Thomas’ deal, they won’t be able to, according to a source with knowledge of the contract who spoke with Mike Florio of PFT. 
[RELATED: Ravens Sign J.K. Dobbins]
Thomas signed with the Ravens on a four-year, $55MM deal last year. That pact calls included substantial guarantees, including a guaranteed salary of $10MM for 2020. The Ravens can’t back out of it, and that’s no real surprise. According to the police report, Thomas’ wife allegedly pointed a gun at him and chased him with a knife after she – allegedly – caught him in the act of cheating. Had it been the other way around, the Ravens would have a case for terminating the contract. But, with Thomas on the other end of it, they have no real case.
According to that anonymously-sourced report from earlier this week, the Ravens have been less-than-thrilled with Thomas’ conduct and ability to grasp the playbook. Even if that’s true, the strange events in Austin, TX won’t allow Baltimore to back out of the deal.
Thomas, 31, registered 49 tackles, two sacks, two interceptions, and four passes defensed in his first season with the Ravens.