Latest On Contract Talks Between Ravens, Ronnie Stanley
It does not sound like the Ravens and left tackle Ronnie Stanley have made much progress in contract talks, as Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com observes (Twitter link). Stanley is currently playing under the fifth-year option of his rookie deal, and the last we heard, he is looking to top the massive $22MM/year deal that Laremy Tunsil signed with the Texans.
The Tunsil pact was viewed as an unnecessary overpay by Bill O’Brien, a head coach who appears miscast as a GM, but the market is the market, so it makes sense that Stanley — who earned a First Team All-Pro bid last season — is shooting for the stars. However, Baltimore knows it will soon have to pony up major cash for a new deal for quarterback Lamar Jackson, and it just committed a ton of money to CB Marlon Humphrey.
Still, Stanley has a lot of leverage. The Ravens’ O-line does not look as sharp as it did last year, as the team had to replace a future Hall-of-Fame right guard in Marshal Yanda with rookie Tyre Phillips, and right tackle Orlando Brown Jr. has regressed a bit. Losing one of the best LTs in football is not something Baltimore will allow to happen, especially with Jackson under center.
Stanley has dealt with injuries throughout his first four years in the league, though he has never played fewer than 12 games in a season. He will miss today’s contest against Washington with a shoulder ailment, but the team hopes he will return in Week 5. As of now, durability will not be a huge factor in negotiations.
Fowler says that player and team have explored multiple scenarios, including a short-term contract that would keep Stanley under club control for a couple more seasons while allowing him to be eligible for free agency again before he turns 30. Apparently, though, those talks have not been especially productive, and the franchise tag is looking more and more likely.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/3/20
Here is Saturday’s bevy of minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Promoted: RB Jonathan Ward, CB Jace Whittaker
Baltimore Ravens
- Promoted: CB Khalil Dorsey
Buffalo Bills
- Waived: RB Antonio Williams
Carolina Panthers
- Activated from IR: CB Eli Apple
- Promoted: RB Reggie Bonnafon, LB Chris Orr
- Waived: DE Shareef Miller
Chicago Bears
- Promoted: QB Tyler Bray
Dallas Cowboys
- Promoted: LB Francis Bernard
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Promoted: OL K.C. McDermott, S Doug Middleton, K Aldrick Rosas
Las Vegas Raiders
- Promoted: WR Keelan Doss, RB Theo Riddick
Los Angeles Chargers
- Promoted: WR Tyron Johnson, OL Cole Toner
Los Angeles Rams
- Promoted: S JuJu Hughes
Minnesota Vikings
- Promoted: S George Iloka
New Orleans Saints
- Promoted: OL Will Clapp, CB Ken Crawley, TE Garrett Griffin
- Placed on IR: LB Chase Hansen
New York Giants
- Promoted: WR Austin Mack
New York Jets
- Claimed (from Lions): RB Ty Johnson
Philadelphia Eagles
- Promoted: DB Grayland Arnold, WR Deontay Burnett, WR Travis Fulgham, C Luke Juriga, RB Adrian Killins
- Placed on IR: CB Trevor Williams
San Francisco 49ers
- Promoted: LB Joe Walker
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted: RB Kenjon Barner
Washington Football Team
- Promoted: G Joshua Garnett
Ravens, Marlon Humphrey Agree To $98MM+ Deal
The Ravens have agreed to a brand new five-year, $98.75MM extension with star cornerback Marlon Humphrey (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter). The deal, which includes $66MM in total guaranteed cash, makes him one of the league’s highest paid players at his position. The Ravens have also confirmed the extension via social media.
[RELATED: Ravens CB Tavon Young Done For The Year]
“Marlon is the type of player we want in Baltimore,” Ravens GM Eric DeCosta said. “Besides his obvious talents as a playmaking corner, he’s a passionate competitor who craves winning. We are excited that he’s going to remain with us for seven seasons.”
Humphrey, the No. 16 overall pick in the 2017 draft, was previously cuffed through the 2021 season via the fifth-year options. Per league rules for the fifth-year option on first-round picks, he was in line for the average salary of the league’s No. 3 – No. 25 highest-paid CBs, which came out to just over $10MM. His new pact will give him $19.5MM per annum, and $37MM paid out by March of 2021.
Humphrey, 24 in July, started nearly every game for the Ravens last year en route to his first career Pro Bowl selection and first ever First-Team All-Pro nod. Along the way, he notched three interceptions, recovered three fumbles, returned two of them for touchdowns. In the interest of equal time: the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus ranked him as the 37th best cornerback in the NFL; solid standing, though most evaluators and fans would probably rank him higher.
Humphrey is just the latest corner to hit the jackpot this year, following extensions for Jalen Ramsey (five-year, $105MM deal), Byron Jones (five years, $82.5MM), Tre’Davious White (four years, $70MM), and Darius Slay (three years, $50.05MM). After losing slot corner Tavon Young for the season, the Ravens will be banking on Humphrey more than ever in 2020.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/30/20
Today’s practice squad moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: S T.J. Green
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: S Marcus Gilchrist
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: G Deion Calhoun, LB Kendall Donnerson
- Released: OT Josh Knipfel
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: WR Krishawn Hogan
- Released: QB Chad Kelly
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: WR Chad Williams
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: LB B.J. Bello
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: S Damarious Randall, LB Tim Williams
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: WR Malik Henry
- Placed on PS-IR: Lil’Jordan Humphrey
NFL Workout Updates: 9/29/20
Here are some of the key developments from the NFL’s workout circuit as of Tuesday:
Atlanta Falcons
- K Kai Forbath, K Elliott Fry
Baltimore Ravens
- S Marcus Gilchrist, CB Jamar Taylor, DB Mazzi Wilkins
Cleveland Browns
- WR Ryan Switzer (visit)
Detroit Lions
- WR Gary Jennings, QB Kyle Lauletta, WR Damion Willis
Houston Texans
- WR Trevor Davis
Miami Dolphins
- CB Teez Tabor
San Francisco 49ers
- LS Andrew DePaola, LS Taybor Pepper, LS Drew Scott, LS Garrison Sanborn
Seattle Seahawks
- LB Tim Williams
Washington Football Team
- LB Nigel Harris
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/28/20
Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Activated off suspension list: DB Jordan Miller
Baltimore Ravens
- Placed on IR: CB Tavon Young (story)
- Promoted: CB Terrell Bonds, CB Khalil Dorsey, S Jordan Richards
Cleveland Browns
- Waived: LB Montrel Meander
- Placed on IR: WR JoJo Natson
Cincinnati Bengals
- Promoted: OL Keaton Sutherland
- Waived: OL Shaq Calhoun
Denver Broncos
- Placed on IR: LB Austin Calitro
Houston Texans
- Placed on IR: S A.J. Moore (story)
- Promoted: RB C.J. Prosise
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/22/20
We’ll keep track of today’s taxi squad moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: OL Rick Leonard
Atlanta Falcons
- Released: DB Tyler Hall, QB Kyle Lauletta, DT David Moa
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: TE Sean Culkin
- Placed on practice squad IR: Xavier Grimble
Chicago Bears
- Signed: DB Marqui Christian
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: G Alex Redmond
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: DE Jalen Jelks, K Matthew McCrane
- Released: DT Tanzel Smart
Denver Broncos
- Signed: LB Deyon Sizer
Detroit Lions
- Released: RB Jonathan Williams
Green Bay Packers
- Released: LB Greg Roberts
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: TE Hale Hentges, TE Ethan Wolf
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: DB Josh Nurse
- Released: RB Craig Reynolds
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: S Jahleel Addae
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: DB Nate Meadors
New York Giants
- Signed: LB Jermaine Grace
- Released: OL Tyler Haycraft
New York Jets
- Released: LB Paul Worrilow
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: DL Alex Barrett
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: TE Daniel Helm
Ravens CB Tavon Young Done For The Year
The Ravens picked up a big win over the Texans to move to 2-0 Sunday, but they’ll be without a big piece of their defense moving forward. Cornerback Tavon Young will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, head coach John Harbaugh announced after the game. 
This will be the second year in a row that Young is on the shelf, as the Temple product missed all of last season with a neck injury. He also missed the entire 2017 season with a torn ACL, so his injury history is now pretty extensive. He started 11 games as a rookie in 2016, then played a big role in 2018 again while making six starts.
His contributions as the team’s slot corner earned him a three-year, $25.8MM extension in February of 2019. He’ll now have played just two games since that deal, which runs through the 2022 season.
Young played a big role in Baltimore’s opener, playing around half of the defensive snaps against Houston. Depending on the severity of the latest injury, it’s fair to wonder whether the Ravens will count on him to be in their plans in 2021 and beyond.
Ronnie Stanley Eyeing Laremy Tunsil Money?
The Ravens and Ronnie Stanley began discussing an extension in February, but after taking a long break prior to an August negotiation resumption, the sides remain without a deal. An understandable reason may be holding up the talks. Buzz has emerged that Stanley is seeking a contract that pays him north of Laremy Tunsil‘s market-reshaping $22MM-per-year pact, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com notes (Insider link). Stanley has been diplomatic about the talks, but he is poised to cash in soon. Tunsil, of course, carried unique leverage after the Texans dealt two first-round picks to land him. Stanley, however, is Baltimore’s top lineman and became a top-tier tackle ahead of his contract year. The Ravens will have the option of a pricey franchise tag, in a year when the cap could plummet by a record margin, if they cannot extend Stanley by the March tag deadline.
2020 NFL Cap Space, By Team
Cap management has been extra complicated in the NFL this year. After ~70 NFL players opted out of the 2020 season, teams were left with holes and plenty of available dollars to fill the gaps. At first, the ongoing uncertainty over next year’s salary cap had teams nervous about large-scale commitments. Now, it seems like we’re getting back to business as usual.
Recent deals for Saints star Alvin Kamara, Vikings running back Dalvin Cook, Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey, and others demonstrate the league’s long-term confidence. In turn, we’ve seen cap figures change dramatically in September.
Here’s the rundown of each team’s estimated cap space for the 2020 season, via Over The Cap:
- Cleveland Browns – $33.4MM
- New York Jets – $28.6MM
- Dallas Cowboys — $27.5MM
- New England Patriots – $26.3MM
- Washington Football Team – $25.8MM
- Denver Broncos – $25.7MM
- Jacksonville Jaguars – $25.2MM
- Philadelphia Eagles – $20MM
- Detroit Lions – $18MM
- Miami Dolphins – $16.7MM
- Baltimore Ravens – $14.2MM
- Los Angeles Chargers – $11.8MM
- Cincinnati Bengals – $11.6MM
- Arizona Cardinals – $11.4MM
- Indianapolis Colts – $11.3MM
- San Francisco 49ers – $11.2MM
- Pittsburgh Steelers – $10.9MM
- Chicago Bears – $9.9MM
- New York Giants – $9.6MM
- Houston Texans – $9.6MM
- Tennessee Titans – $9.4MM
- New Orleans Saints – $8.8MM
- Green Bay Packers – $8.7MM
- Los Angeles Rams – $7.7MM
- Las Vegas Raiders – $7.4MM
- Carolina Panthers – $6.9MM
- Kansas City Chiefs – $6.6MM
- Buffalo Bills – $6.5MM
- Seattle Seahawks – $6.2MM
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers – $3.7MM
- Atlanta Falcons – $3.3MM
- Minnesota Vikings – $2MM