NFL Announces Compensatory Picks For 2020 Draft
The NFL has awarded compensatory draft picks for teams in the 2020 draft.
These picks are awarded to the teams that suffered the most significant free agent losses during the 2019 offseason. This year, the Patriots top the list (shared below) with a league-high four picks.
The comp pick formula assigns picks who suffered the largest net losses, so teams that signed multiple free agents have a lesser chance of receiving picks. The Ravens collected two this year and remain in the all-time lead (from 1994-2020) with 52. No other franchise has accumulated more than 43 compensatory picks.
Here’s the full breakdown, by round and by team:
By Round:
Round 3: Texans (No. 97 overall), Patriots (98), Giants (99), Patriots (100), Seahawks (101), Steelers (102), Eagles (103), Rams (104), Vikings (105), Ravens (106)
Round 4: Buccaneers (No. 139), Bears (140), Dolphins (141), Redskins (142), Ravens (143), Seahawks (144), Eagles (145), Eagles (146)
Round 5: Broncos (No. 178), Cowboys (179)
Round 6: Patriots (No. 212), Patriots (213), Seahawks (214)
Round 7: Giants (No. 247), Texans (248), Vikings (249), Texans (250), Dolphins (251), Broncos (252), Vikings (253), Broncos (254), Giants (255)
By Team:
- New England Patriots (4)
- Denver Broncos (3)
- Houston Texans (3)
- Minnesota Vikings (3)
- New York Giants (3)
- Philadelphia Eagles (3)
- Baltimore Ravens (2)
- Miami Dolphins (2)
- Chicago Bears (1)
- Dallas Cowboys (1)
- Los Angeles Rams (1)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (1)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1)
- Washington Redskins (1)
The compensatory free agents lost and gained in 2019 by the clubs that will receive compensatory picks in the 2020 draft:
- Baltimore Ravens
- Lost: John Brown, C.J. Mosley, Za’Darius Smith, Terrell Suggs
- Gained: Mark Ingram, Earl Thomas
- Chicago Bears
- Lost: Adrian Amos, Josh Bellamy, Bryce Callahan, Eric Kush
- Gained: Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Cordarrelle Patterson, Buster Skrine
- Dallas Cowboys
- Lost: Cole Beasley, Geoff Swaim, Damien Wilson
- Gained: Randall Cobb, Christian Covington
- Denver Broncos
- Lost: Shaquil Barrett, Tramaine Brock, Max Garcia, Matt Paradis, Bradley Roby, Billy Turner
- Gained: Bryce Callahan, Kareem Jackson, Ja’Wuan James
- Houston Texans
- Lost: Christian Covington, Kareem Jackson, Kendall Lamm, Tyrann Mathieu
- Gained: Bradley Roby
- Los Angeles Rams
- Lost: Lamarcus Joyner, Rodger Saffold
- Gained: Clay Matthews
- Miami Dolphins
- Lost: Brandon Bolden, Frank Gore, Ja’Wuan James, Cameron Wake
- Gained: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Eric Rowe
- Minnesota Vikings
- Lost: Tom Compton, Nick Easton, Sheldon Richardson, Trevor Siemian
- Gained: Shamar Stephen
- New England Patriots
- Lost: Malcom Brown, Trent Brown, Trey Flowers, Chris Hogan, Cordarrelle Patterson, Eric Rowe, LaAdrian Waddle
- Gained: Brandon Bolden
- New York Giants
- Lost: Jamon Brown, Landon Collins, Mario Edwards, Josh Mauro, B.W. Webb, Kerry Wynn
- Gained: Markus Golden, Golden Tate
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Lost: Nick Foles, Jordan Hicks, Golden Tate
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Lost: Le’Veon Bell, Jesse James
- Gained: Steven Nelson
- Seattle Seahawks
- Lost: Justin Coleman, Brett Hundley, Shamar Stephen, J.R. Sweezy, Earl Thomas
- Gained: Mike Iupati, Jason Myers
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Washington Redskins
Ravens’ RG3 Drawing Trade Interest
Ravens quarterback Robert Griffin III is drawing trade interest from other teams, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). Griffin is due $2MM in 2020, though that sum is completely non-guaranteed. 
Griffin, 30, currently serves as the backup to superstar QB Lamar Jackson. It’s surprising to hear that the Ravens would entertain trades for him, though it’s possible that they would like to add to their draft stockpile while replacing him with another QB2. If the Ravens move on from Griffin and do not sign or draft another signal caller, they’d be left with Penn State product Trace McSorley as Jackson’s backstop.
Last year, Griffin was called upon to start in the season finale against the Jets. The Ravens won that game 28-10, though Griffin completed just over half of his pass attempts.
This isn’t the first time that Griffin has drawn trade interest during his Ravens tenure. In April of last year, the Jaguars reportedly expressed interest in the longtime Redskins star before inking Nick Foles to a massive free agent deal.
Griffin won the Heisman Trophy at Baylor and looked the part of a future NFL megastar in his rookie season with the Redskins. Health issues sidetracked him afterwards. No one expects Griffin to reprise his 2012 campaign, but he still holds lots of value for NFL teams.
Ravens’ Marshal Yanda Retires From NFL
Marshal Yanda is calling it a career. On Wednesday, the Ravens’ guard will formally announce his retirement from the NFL, as ESPN.com’s Jamison Hensley tweets. 
[RELATED: Latest On Ravens’ Hurst, Smith]
Yanda, 35, spent his entire 13-season career with the Ravens. He also mulled retirement last year and there have been rumblings for the past few weeks about him hanging ’em up before the 2020 season. He’s following through on that, choosing to focus on family and his life outside of football.
Last year, Yanda helped the Ravens rack up 3,296 yards on the ground as he protected superstar Lamar Jackson & Co. That was an NFL all-time record, one that they couldn’t have achieved without stellar protection on the interior line from the eight-time Pro Bowler.
Along the way, Yanda also racked up two First-Team All-Pro nods and a Super Bowl ring. The veteran likely still has plenty of quality football left in the tank, but he also has nothing left to prove. He’s earned many millions of dollars since entering the league as a third-round pick in 2007 and reached the pinnacle of the sport – now, he’ll enjoy the fruits of his labor off of the field.
With Yanda out of the picture, the Ravens will be off the hook for his $7MM salary in 2020. They’re unlikely to find a better guard for that price.
Latest On Ravens’ Hayden Hurst, Jimmy Smith
Given the relative dearth of quality tight ends expected to be available when free agency opens on March 18, plenty of pundits have connected the dots between TE-needy teams and the Ravens’ Hayden Hurst. After all, Hurst was a first-round pick in 2018, but he has been surpassed on the Baltimore depth chart by Mark Andrews, and the Ravens have another sturdy tight end in Nick Boyle who is lauded for his blocking abilities but who also has some skill as a receiver.
A report last week suggested that there is a “real chance” the Ravens will move Hurst, but Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic isn’t buying it. Zrebiec says the Ravens have indeed received periodic inquiries on Hurst since last year, but they are not looking to trade the former Pittsburgh Pirates farmhand. After all, although Hurst’s counting stats don’t jump off the page, he has displayed all of the abilities that made him a top draft choice in the first place: soft hands, good route-running, and surprising speed. He posted a 30/349/2 slash in 2019, but a good number of those 30 catches were difficult and were in critical situations.
Plus, the Ravens’ offense relies heavily on its TEs, so they need a lot of talent at the position. Zrebiec says GM Eric DeCosta is always willing to listen, but Hurst is not being shopped.
As for CB Jimmy Smith, the last we heard on him is that he is likely to hit free agency. Zrebiec says Baltimore values its 2011 first-rounder and would like to bring him back on a short-term contract paying him roughly $7MM per year, but Smith — who had an AAV of a little over $10MM on his last contract — would prefer a longer deal for a little more money. Given his injury history, he may not get the term he’s looking for on the open market, but he may be able to top $7MM per season from another club.
Ravens CB Jimmy Smith To Test Free Agency?
The Ravens discussed a contract extension with veteran corner Jimmy Smith during the 2019 season, but the two sides could not come to terms. Although there is mutual interest in a reunion, it sounds like Smith will see if there are greener pastures on the open market.
At the scouting combine, Baltimore GM Eric DeCosta told reporters, including Clifton Brown of BaltimoreRavens.com, that he does not expect to strike an accord with Smith prior to the opening of free agency. “We’ve had conversations with Jimmy,” DeCosta said. “I suspect Jimmy’s going to want to hit the market and assess what his value is, as he probably should. He’s a veteran, he’s worked hard to see what his value is on the market. Lots of respect for Jimmy as a player. His agent and I have a really good relationship. So we’ll just see.”
The Ravens selected Smith, a Colorado product, in the first round of the 2011 draft. He eventually established himself as a legitimate No. 1 corner, and while he has struggled with injuries throughout his career, Baltimore’s defense has generally been markedly better when he’s on the field. The team already has standouts Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters under contract, but the secondary depth was a key piece of the Ravens’ defensive success in 2019, and DeCosta was clear that he would like Smith to return.
“Love to see him back in Baltimore,” the second-year GM said. “But he’s a free agent, so we’ll see what happens.”
If Smith does not re-sign with the Ravens, then that would make a Brandon Carr return more likely. If Smith does re-up, then Carr could be a cap casualty.
AFC North Notes: Bengals, Browns, Hurst
Were Joe Burrow to be drafted by the Bengals, he wants the team to keep A.J. Green. The Bengals are believed to be zeroing in on the Heisman winner, who told NFL.com’s Jim Trotter he would like Green to be back in Cincinnati — if, in fact, the Bengals follow through on drafting the LSU quarterback (video link). The franchise tag window opens Thursday, and the Bengals have been linked to tagging Green. The nine-year veteran has voiced opposition to this, going into his age-32 season, but said he would play on the tag. However, Green also indicated he would likely miss extensive offseason workouts. An injury last summer shelved Green for all of 2019.
Here is the latest from the AFC North:
- The Ravens have seen 2018 third-round tight end Mark Andrews become Lamar Jackson‘s top target, leaving 2018 first-round tight end Hayden Hurst in a strange position. The former minor league baseball player-turned-South Carolina football prospect may be on the trade block, with Jeff Howe of The Athletic tweeting there is a “real chance” the Ravens trade Hurst. The former Pirates draftee played hurt as a rookie and caught 30 passes for 349 yards last season. Andrews caught 64 passes for a Ravens-most 852 yards in 2019. For what it’s worth, the tight end-needy Patriots have not contacted the Ravens about Hurst, Howe adds (on Twitter), but Hurst may be a name to monitor in Baltimore in the coming weeks.
- The Browns will meet with Joe Schobert‘s agent at the Combine, Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer notes. After being so far apart on terms with ex-GM John Dorsey, Schobert is back in the picture to stay in Cleveland, Cabot adds. New GM Andrew Berry‘s hire has reopened the lines of communication with the Browns’ top tackler. Cleveland already has Christian Kirksey attached to a big contract, but the linebacker has struggled with injuries since signing that extension and may be a cap casualty.
- David Njoku stands as player who likely would have been gone had Dorsey and Freddie Kitchens stayed in power, Cabot adds. But with Kevin Stefanski planning more two-tight end sets, the 2017 first-round pick looks likelier to stay in Cleveland. Having Berry back doesn’t hurt here, either, with the Sashi Brown-Berry-Paul DePodesta regime being in power when Njoku was drafted.
- Although Dorsey upgraded the Browns’ talent level, his offensive line acquisitions did not pan out. The Browns will not re-sign Greg Robinson, and 2018 right tackle addition Chris Hubbard may be elsewhere next season as well. However, the Browns will likely spend big on at least one offensive lineman, Cabot adds. Jack Conklin, Brandon Scherff and Joe Thuney profile as the top targets who are in line to reach free agency.
Ravens Expected To Franchise Tag LB Matt Judon
In retweeting a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter indicating that the NFL and NFLPA have agreed to push back the franchise and transition tag windows, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com made a seemingly offhand, but still important, observation. Hensley tweeted that the new window is relevant to the Ravens, who are expected to tag linebacker Matt Judon.
We heard back in December that Baltimore is prepared to hit Judon with the franchise tag if the two sides cannot work out a long-term pact, but then head coach John Harbaugh conceded that it would be difficult to retain the team’s top pass rusher. Shortly thereafter, reports surfaced indicating that the Ravens may explore tag-and-trade scenarios with Judon.
As such, the fact that Baltimore plans to tag the Grand Valley State product is not surprising. The Ravens could look for trade partners for Judon once he’s tagged — the tag-and-trade market for edge rushers was rather robust last season — and they will certainly continue to negotiate their own contract with him.
The problem is that Judon has proven himself to be a good player, but not necessarily a player worthy of a deal that could approach an AAV of $20MM. He can dominate a game but does not do so routinely, and though he earned his first Pro Bowl nod in 2019, that largely seemed to be a function of the team’s overall success.
On the other hand, the Ravens need a proven commodity at pass rusher, and beyond Judon, they don’t have one. They have high hopes for 2019 third-rounder Jaylon Ferguson, but the jury is still out on him, and it’s unlikely that any of the league’s other top edge rushers eligible for free agency will actually hit the open market. And Baltimore did let Za’Darius Smith walk in free agency last year because it deemed his price tag too rich, only to see Smith break out for the Packers.
So where Judon will play in 2020 is still an open question, but it sounds as if the franchise tag is all but a done deal.
Ravens To Extend DC Don Martindale
Despite going 14-2 last season, the Ravens will return both their offensive and defensive coordinators for the 2020 season. They hope to keep defensive coordinator Don Martindale for longer than that.
The Ravens reached an extension agreement with Martindale on Saturday, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). It’s a three-year deal that Rapoport’s sources initially said would make Martindale the league’s highest-paid DC, meaning that he would be taking home around $4MM per year (Sirius XM Radio’s Adam Caplan tweeted that 2019’s top DC salary was around $3.5MM).
Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports hears that Martindale was given a significant payday but that he will actually earn $3.25MM/year (Twitter link). Therefore, as Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com observes, Martindale is not the league’s highest-paid DC, but he is in the top 25% of his peers.
One way or another, he has been rewarded handsomely for his success in Baltimore. While the Ravens expect Martindale to be a top candidate on the 2021 head coaching carousel, they are taking care of him in the meantime.
Martindale has been with the Ravens for eight seasons, the past two as their defensive coordinator. After a slow start in 2018, his unit took off and became one of the league’s best. The Ravens ranked fourth in defensive DVOA last season, after their 2018 unit finished third in that metric.
Baltimore stayed on that level despite losing C.J. Mosley, Terrell Suggs and Za’Darius Smith in free agency. This helped Martindale book an HC interview with the Giants, and more interest will likely come Martindale’s way next year.
The 56-year-old assistant previously served as Baltimore’s linebackers coach for six seasons, a gig that helped him ascend back to the DC level after his previous time in that role — with the 2010 Broncos — did not go well. Denver’s 2010 defense ranked last in points and yardage, and Martindale did not coach in 2011. But he spent the bulk of the last decade becoming one of the NFL’s highest-regarded assistants, and the Ravens will have the luxury of using their Martindale-Greg Roman tandem to help forge another Super Bowl push next season.
AFC North Notes: Browns, Landry, Steelers
A change of plans for Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry. Initially, Landry said he would go the rest-and-rehab route for his lingering hip issue. Instead, he went under the knife recently to correct the problem, per a team announcement.
The Browns expect Landry to make a full recovery for the 2020 season, so this shouldn’t impact their plans very much. And, even though there’s a new regime in Cleveland, Landry (and Odell Beckham Jr.) are expected to remain in the fold, giving Kevin Stefanski as many offensive weapons as possible.
Landry, 28 in November, played through the pain in all 16 games last year. In fact, he’s never missed a game in his six-year career. The LSU product – who finished out with 83 catches, 1,174 yards, and six touchdowns – has three years to on his five-year, $75.5MM deal.
More from the AFC North:
- Even after inking nine contract extensions over the past year, the Ravens could have more on the way. Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic looked at the club’s remaining extension candidates, including outside linebacker Matt Judon and defensive tackle Michael Pierce. Center Matt Skura hasn’t been talked about as much, but he could also be in line for a fresh deal as he nears unrestricted free agency. The former UDFA gave the Ravens consistent play in the middle up until his major knee injury in November. The injury might complicate things a bit, but he expects to be back in time for training camp.
- Alex Van Pelt is the Browns‘ new offensive coordinator, but he’s not sure if he’ll be the one calling the plays (via WKYC). That responsibility could be kept by Stefanski, who previously donned the headset for the Vikings.
- Steelers cornerback Artie Burns has switched to Drew Rosenhaus, as Liz Mullen of SBJ tweets. Burns, a former first-round pick who had his fifth-year option declined by the team, will be a free agent in March. In 2019, he appeared in just ten games and started only once.
- Another pending Steelers free agent – linebacker Bud Dupree – will be switching representation (Twitter link via Mullen). For now, all we know is that Dupree is parting ways with CAA. In the next few days, we should know who his agent will be. Dupree’s stock is pretty high after he registered 11.5 sacks in 2019, though the Steelers could cuff him with the franchise tag.
This Date In Transactions History: Ravens Sign Shannon Sharpe
Twenty years ago today, Shannon Sharpe began a memorable NFL second act. After 10 seasons with the Broncos, the future Hall of Fame tight end opted for a change and signed with the Ravens.
Baltimore added the then-31-year-old Sharpe on a four-year, $13.8MM deal with a $4.5MM signing bonus. This offer eclipsed what Denver was proposing by around $1MM per year. This turned out to be a seminal transaction, based on where the Ravens were headed.
Sharpe suffered a broken collarbone early in a down 1999 season for the Broncos, who went 6-10 after losing both Sharpe and reigning MVP Terrell Davis that October. Those injuries came months after John Elway‘s retirement. Sharpe later returned to the Broncos but did so after being a critical component on the best team in Ravens history.
Sharpe proved to be a key get for the Ravens, then a fifth-season franchise without a playoff berth. Baltimore in 2000 featured one of the NFL’s all-time great defenses, but Sharpe led that team with 810 receiving yards. A four-time All-Pro in the 1990s, Sharpe came up big during Baltimore’s playoff run. He caught a 58-yard touchdown pass in the Ravens’ 21-3 win over the Broncos in the wild-card round, and his one reception against the Raiders two weeks later became a 96-yard score in a 16-3 Raven road win. The Ravens routed the Giants in Super Bowl XXXV, giving Sharpe a third Super Bowl ring.
The Ravens were not as successful in 2001, having made a Trent Dilfer-for-Elvis Grbac offseason quarterback change. But Sharpe delivered nearly identical numbers — doing so after a memorable role on the maiden voyage of Hard Knocks — in amassing 811 receiving yards. However, the Ravens used a first-round pick on Todd Heap in 2001 and released Sharpe the following February. Sharpe made his eighth and final Pro Bowl in 2001 and broke then-Ravens executive Ozzie Newsome‘s records for most career receptions and yards by a tight end that season.
Denver brought Sharpe back in 2002, and he wrapped up a 14-year career a year later. Sharpe, who caught eight touchdown passes on a Broncos team that returned to the playoffs in 2003, also retired as the NFL’s all-time leader in TDs (62) by a tight end.