Analytics Exec Aids Ravens During Games
- A young staffer has John Harbaugh‘s ear during Ravens games. Football analyst Daniel Stern communicates win probabilities to the 12th-year Baltimore coach from the booth, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic (subscription required). Current running backs coach Matt Weiss previously held this role, but Stern, a 25-year-old Yale graduate, is now tasked with aiding some of Harbaugh’s key game-management decisions. Be it the fourth-and-2 touchdown against the Seahawks or two-point conversion attempts against the Chiefs, the Ravens have been noticeably more aggressive this season.
Earl Thomas On Free Agency, Call With Bill O’Brien
Earl Thomas ended up landing a massive payday from the Ravens, but he was apparently disappointed with the offers he was getting. We heard that Thomas nearly signed a one-year deal with the Chiefs before Baltimore came through, and that the Texans were interested at one point, but Thomas pulled back the curtain on the whole process in a recent interview with Dan Pompei of The Athletic.
Thomas was coming off a season-ending leg injury when he entered free agency this past March, and three other safeties got signed before he did. “I thought I’d come off the board first,” Thomas said. “I thought I’d be the highest-paid safety. … It made me kind of reevaluate. You give your all for the game, and they still devalue you. I got hurt going full speed for my team.”
Thomas even revealed that he personally called Texans head coach Bill O’Brien at the urging of quarterback Deshaun Watson. “He was at the rodeo at the time,” Thomas said. “Our conversation was not what I thought it was going to be. It was him not believing I still wanted to play football.”
He also talked about his decision to sign with Baltimore, saying that he didn’t speak to a single member of the coaching staff or go to visit the facility. “You know what that means?” he said. “It was a big enough offer. The money was really good, bro. They really saw my value. And then I started to think about the greats that played before me like Ray (Lewis) and Ed (Reed). I definitely wanted to bring that type of leadership and playmaking ability to the team.”
Thomas said he had agreed a one-year deal worth around $12MM with Kansas City before Ravens GM Eric DeCosta placed a last-minute call to his agent. Thomas ended up getting $55MM over four-years with $32MM guaranteed, so it’d be hard to say it didn’t work out in the end. That being said, he didn’t achieve his goal of becoming the league’s highest-paid safety. Tyrann Mathieu and Landon Collins received slightly higher average salaries from the Chiefs and Redskins respectively.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/21/19
Today’s minor moves:
Detroit Lions
- Waived: OL Dan Skipper
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed off Ravens’ practice squad: DE Demone Harris
- Waived: DT Joey Ivie
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Promoted from practice squad: C Patrick Morris
AFC Notes: Jackson, Miller, Fitzpatrick
Former Ravens offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg and the Ravens released a statement denying a report by Michael Lombardi of The Athletic claiming Mornhinweg wanted to move Lamar Jackson to wide receiver. Jackson, of course, was the subject of much debate as a draft prospect with many pundits, including ESPN’s Bill Polian, calling for a position change to wide receiver.
Jackson, however, remained adamant that he was a quarterback, was selected in the first round by Baltimore and has taken the NFL by storm over the past two seasons. Mornhinweg, who was replaced by Greg Roman as the team’s offensive coordinator entering this season, made clear in his statement that “My thoughts before the draft, and even more when we started working with Lamar, was that this young man was going to be a special quarterback.” Regardless of what his opinions were at the time, Jackson has proven he is an NFL signalcaller.
Here’s more notes from around the AFC:
- The Broncos were deflated after blowing a 20-0 lead in their 27-23 loss to the Vikings on Sunday. To try and help team moral, all-pro linebacker Von Miller organized a team dinner just a couple hours after landing back in Denver, according to Kyle Newman of the Denver Post. Per Newman’s report, the dinner was a resounding success. Players brought their family members and seemed to rebound from their loss and get ready for another week.
- Dolphins head coach Brian Flores told reporters that Ryan Fitzpatrick will remain Miami’s starting quarterback this week against the Browns, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Flores, however, would not rule out the possibility of backup quarterback Josh Rosen retaking the job from Fitzpatrick at some point this season.
Eric DeCosta On Lamar Jackson Pick
The second of the Ravens‘ two 2018 first-round picks has changed the course of their franchise, with Lamar Jackson becoming an MVP candidate barely a year after he made his first NFL start. Ravens brass took extensive measures to keep their Jackson interest secret. While John Harbaugh has said he discussed Jackson at length with his staff and scouts leading up to the 2018 draft, Eric DeCosta said he and previous Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome did not mention their interest in Jackson to the team’s scouts or coaching staff, according to Peter King of NBC Sports. Nor did the Ravens interview Jackson at the Combine, with Newsome and DeCosta wanting to keep what turned out to be an important secret. The Ravens, however, took a risk on losing Jackson by trading back twice in Round 1. Baltimore selected Hayden Hurst at No. 25 before trading back into the first round, via Philadelphia, for No. 32.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/14/19
Today’s practice squad updates:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: DE Ufomba Kamalu
- Released: OL Marcus Applefield
Indianapolis Colts
- Waived from PS-IR: RB Bruce Anderson
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: DB Adonis Alexander
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: C John Keenoy
Ravens’ Brynden Trawick To Return From IR
The Ravens have designated safety Brynden Trawick to return from injured reserve, the club announced today. Trawick was placed on IR October 3 after suffering an elbow injury.
Because Trawick is required to miss a minimum of eight games, he won’t be eligible to return to action until Week 14 when Baltimore faces Buffalo. However, he can return to practice immediately, allowing the Ravens to gauge his health for the stretch run. Baltimore will almost certainly activate Trawick when able (the club wouldn’t have designated him for return if his health wouldn’t allow), but if it doesn’t, Trawick must remain on IR for the remainder of the year.
An undrafted free agent out of Troy in 2013, the 30-year-old Trawick is essentially a pure special teamer. He’s played only 194 defensive snaps during his six-year career, and just four over the past two seasons. On special teams, though, Trawick is especially valuable, managing at least 300 ST snaps in each of the past five campaigns. Trawick is currently in his second stint with the Ravens, and has also spent time with the Raiders and Titans.
With Trawick now designated for return, the Ravens have now reached their two-player IR/return maximum. Cornerback Iman Marshall returned to practice in late October and was officially re-activated to Baltimore’s roster earlier this week.
Broncos Claim CB Cyrus Jones, Waive CB Coty Sensabaugh
The Broncos have claimed cornerback Cyrus Jones off waivers from the Ravens and are waiving fellow defensive back Coty Sensabaugh, tweets Field Yates of ESPN.com.
Selected by the Patriots in the second round of the 2016 draft, Jones has now completed two separate stints with both New England and Baltimore. Nominally a corner, Jones has only played nine total defensive snaps this year. Instead, he spends most of his time on special times — he was the Ravens’ primary punt returner this season, averaging 9.4 yards per return on 12 attempts. Jones could take over for Diontae Spencer as Denver’s return man, and may also add depth in the secondary.
Sensabaugh, 30, appeared in four games for Denver after signing off the street in October. While he’s probably not a household name, Sensabaugh was a fairly regular starter for the Steelers over the past two seasons, starting four games at the tail of end the 2017 campaign and 10 more last year. Football Outsiders was a fan of Sensabaugh’s work in 2018, charting him as ninth among qualified corners in yards allowed per pass and 26th with a 56% success rate (meaning he was effective at stopping opposing wide receivers short of the sticks).
Ravens Sign Justin Ellis, Domata Peko
The Ravens have signed veteran defensive tackle Justin Ellis, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (via Twitter). Ellis was a regular member of the Raiders’ D-line since Oakland selected him in the fourth round of the 2014 draft, and he even landed a three-year, $15MM contract with the Silver-and-Black in March 2018. But his 2018 season was marred by injury, and he was released with an injury settlement in October.
And while Baltimore scored its fifth straight win on Sunday, its defensive front was noticeably shaky, perhaps because starting DT Michael Pierce played just three snaps. Pierce exited the game against the Bengals with an ankle injury, and head coach John Harbaugh said that an MRI didn’t reveal any long-term concerns. But as Jeff Zrebic of The Athletic writes, Harbaugh was non-committal as to whether Pierce would be available for this Sunday’s crucial matchup with the Texans, instead calling Pierce’s status “day-to-day.”
In addition to Ellis, the Ravens are adding another free agent DT, Domata Peko, as Zrebiec tweets. The Ravens, who are intimately familiar with the long-time Bengal’s work, attempted to sign him earlier this season, but the two sides were unable to agree on terms at the time. Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network reports that Baltimore will pay Peko $1MM for the remainder of the season (Twitter link).
Neither Ellis nor Peko are likely to create much of a pass rush in the interior of the line — which Baltimore could really use — but like the Ravens’ earlier additions of linebackers Josh Bynes and L.J. Fort, both are experienced veterans who understand their assignments and who should, if nothing else, solidify the run defense. That will be essential given Pierce’s uncertain health and the fact that the Ravens are putting rookie DT Daylon Mack on injured reserve, per Zrebiec.
Baltimore, at 7-2 and in first place in AFC North, is doing everything it can to keep the second-place Steelers at bay while pushing for a postseason bye. Zrebiec says the club is expected to add rookie CB Iman Marshall to the active roster this week, and given that the Ravens’ kickoff and punt coverage teams have been uncharacteristically unsteady, Marshall may be asked to bolster those units.
In a corresponding move, the Ravens have waived return man Cyrus Jones, per Zrebiec. Jones muffed a punt in the team’s win over the Patriots in Week 9, and Baltimore signed De’Anthony Thomas shortly thereafter. Thomas operated as the kickoff and punt returner on Sunday and will presumably remain in that role moving forward.
The team also waived DE Ufomba Kamalu, per Zrebiec.
Ravens, L.J. Fort Agree To Extension
The Ravens have signed linebacker L.J. Fort to a two-year extension, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). The new deal will pay him $5.5MM in total with $3.25MM fully guaranteed at signing.
The pact more or less came out of the blue. Fort was released by the Eagles just five weeks ago and still has $1.9MM guaranteed remaining on his contract for 2019. Now, he has an early payday and a contract to take him through the 2021 season.
Fort earned solid grades for his work with the Steelers from 2015-2018, per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics. This year, he saw no defensive snaps for the Eagles, but he’s made frequent appearances for the Ravens in recent weeks. In the club’s Week 7 win over the Seahawks, Fort was on the field for 77% of the snaps and he rewarded their confidence in him by registering his first sack of the season.
Next up for Fort and the Ravens – a Sunday showdown with the 0-8 Bengals. In between now and then, he might wind up buying dinner for his teammates.