Ravens To Host Top Center Prospects
- The top two centers on Jeremiah’s list, N.C. State’s Garrett Bradbury and Texas A&M’s Erik McCoy, will visit the Ravens, The Athletic’s Jeff Zreibec reports (subscription required). Baltimore allowed Ryan Jensen to walk in free agency last year and turned to Matt Skura to replace him in 2018. Skura graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 23 center last season for a Ravens team that became far more reliant on the run once Lamar Jackson entered the equation.
Ravens Still Hope To Trade K Kaare Vedvik
- The Ravens do not have openings at kicker or punter, but the team has versatile specialist Kaare Vedvik on its roster for potential trade purposes. “I fully expect that he’ll kick well enough for us to trade him. That’s kind of, I would say, the goal,” John Harbaugh said this week (via Clifton Brown of BaltimoreRavens.com). Teams were interested in acquiring Vedvik during the 2018 preseason, when he made 8 of 9 field goal tries — including a 56-yarder — but the Norwegian kicker/punter who kicked at Marshall in college suffered injuries from an assault on Sept. 1 of last year. He spent the season on the Ravens’ NFI list.
Draft Notes: Sternberger, Jets, Thorson
The Patriots are on the lookout for tight end help in the wake of Rob Gronkowski‘s retirement, and the club will have a top-30 visit with Texas A&M TE Jace Sternberger, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. The Pats could use their No. 32 overall pick on a tight end, and while that may be a little high for Sternberger, top prospects Noah Fant and T.J. Hockenson may be off the board by that point. Alabama’s Irv Smith Jr. could be available, though, and there is no reason why New England, which has deployed two tight ends to great effect in the past, could not use several of its 12 picks in this year’s draft on the tight end position.
Now for more draft-related rumblings from around the league:
- In addition to the Patriots, Wilson reports that Sternberger has visits lined up with the Chiefs, Packers, Lions, Cowboys, Vikings, and Seahawks.
- Brian Costello of the New York Post does not believe that the Jets will invest high-end draft capital on the WR, RB, or TE positions this year in light of their free agent expenditures, but he still thinks the club could bolster those units with collegiate prospects. He suggests that Gang Green could use a middle- or late-round selection on a wideout, particularly if that player offers return ability, and he thinks a Day 3 blocking tight end and power back could also be in the cards. Of course, with only six draft picks at the moment, New York may need to focus on areas of greater need.
- Penn State DE Shareef Miller will visit with the Ravens, Cardinals, and Jets, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Miller currently projects as a Day 3 pick, but all three clubs could use pass rushing help, and Miller has the raw ability to succeed as a 4-3 DE or 3-4 OLB.
- The Broncos may be hosting some of the top QBs in this year’s draft class, but they’re looking at more under-the-radar passers as well, as Mike Klis of 9News.com tweets that Denver will be working out Northwestern QB Clayton Thorson in early April. Thorson is expected to be a middle-round selection.
- Valdosta State CB Stephen Denmark has top-30 visits lined up with the Browns and Saints, per Wilson (via Twitter).
Ravens To Meet With D.K. Metcalf
- The Bills and Ravens are two teams that could desperately use receiver help, that much isn’t really a secret. Both teams have young quarterbacks in Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, and they both need to upgrade their receiving corp. They’re both likely to draft a wideout early next month, and they’re each showing interest in one of the top receivers available in the upcoming draft. Buffalo and Baltimore will both meet with Ole Miss receiver D.K. Metcalf ahead of the draft, James Palmer of NFL Network hears (Twitter link). Metcalf blew up the combine with freakish athletic testing, and should go sometime in the first round.
Ravens Notes: RBs, Weist
- The Ravens are still interested in adding a “shifty, third-down, home-run-type” running back even after signing Mark Ingram, head coach John Harbaugh said this week, per Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. Ingram received a three-year deal to leave New Orleans and is the favorite to lead Baltimore in touches, but Gus Edwards, Kenneth Dixon, Tyler Ervin, and De’Lance Turner could also factor into the club’s backfield. The draft could present the Ravens with the opportunity to bring in another back, while free agents who might Harbaugh’s criteria include Ty Montgomery (whom Baltimore traded for last season), Bilal Powell, and Corey Grant.
- T.J. Weist has been named the Ravens‘ assistant special teams coach, the club announced. Weist, a longtime coach at the collegiate level, originally joined Baltimore as an offensive analyst in 2018.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/26/19
Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: WR Damiere Byrd
Baltimore Ravens
- Re-signed: CB Stanley Jean-Baptiste
Carolina Panthers
- Claimed off waivers from Chiefs: T Dillon Gordon
Ravens Plan To Keep Jimmy Smith
It sounds like the Ravens will keep Jimmy Smith in the fold. While at the owners’ meetings, Ravens GM Eric DeCosta all but confirmed that the team will be moving forward with Smith, as Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic tweets. 
“One of the greatest strengths of our team right now is our secondary. I think it would be foolish for us to make a strength a weakness for no reason,” DeCosta said.
Smith, 31 in July, is under contract for one more season with a whopping $15MM cap number. The Ravens and Smith agreed to a 2017 restructure, ballooning his cap figure to this level. Releasing Smith would save $9.5MM against Baltimore’s cap, but it would also leave the club with $6.4MM in dead money. That’s not exactly an ideal scenario for the Ravens, so an extension or restructuring could make more sense than an outright release.
Last year, Smith served a four-game suspension for an alleged domestic violence incident. In 2017, he also missed four games due to an Achilles tear that coincided with a four-game suspension for PEDs.
The Ravens lost Terrell Suggs, C.J. Mosley and Eric Weddle from their top-tier defense. They will still have one of the league’s oldest secondaries, with the soon-to-be 30-year-old Earl Thomas coming in to join 30-somethings Smith, Brandon Carr and Tony Jefferson. Both Carr and Smith were potential cap casualties, but each is instead set to be part of an experienced Ravens DB corps.
Jeremy Maclin Announces Retirement
Former NFL wide receiver Jeremy Maclin has announced his retirement from the NFL, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Maclin, 30, was released by the Ravens last March but still expressed an interest in continuing his career in 2018. He didn’t garner any looks in free agency, however, although the Eagles were reportedly monitoring his status. Maclin’s health was an issue, as he suffered a hamstring/glute injury during a training session that required surgery in October. That ailment ruled him out for the 2018 campaign, and may have contributed to Maclin’s decision to hang up his cleats.
A first-round pick of the Eagles in 2009, Maclin averaged 64 receptions and 864 yards per season before breaking out in 2014, when he posted 85 catches for 1,318 yards and seven touchdowns. That performance landed him a five-year, $55MM contract with the Chiefs, and Maclin’s success continued in his first go-round in Kansas City, as he managed a 85/1,088/10 line.
In 2016, however, Maclin missed four games and failed to top 50 receptions or 600 yards receiving, and the Chiefs cut him after only two years. He landed with the Ravens on a two-year deal, but his results in Baltimore resembled his final year in Kansas City, leading to his release.
PFR extends its best wishes to Maclin and his family as he enters post-NFL life.
GM Change Impacted Terrell Suggs’ Decision To Leave Ravens
The Ravens’ defense will look considerably different in 2019. While C.J. Mosley and Eric Weddle helped anchor the past few units, Terrell Suggs was a cornerstone Raven for more than 15 years.
Suggs departed Baltimore for Arizona, where he grew up and played in college. But had Ozzie Newsome not followed through with the plan of stepping down as Ravens GM, Suggs said he would probably have re-signed with Baltimore.
“Through and through I’m an Ozzie Newsome guy,” Suggs said during an appearance on Fox Sports’ Skip and Shannon: Undisputed (via NBC Sports Baltimore). “Once I knew Ozzie was going to step down as GM, you know, I kind of had to question my future in a Ravens uniform.”
Newsome’s exit strategy became official in February 2018. Longtime lieutenant Eric DeCosta is now running the Ravens’ front office. New starters will take their places on the 2019 Ravens’ defense. Mosley had started on the past five Baltimore defenses, Weddle the past three.
Suggs said he had considered this move for a while and added that the Ravens’ decisions on other veteran stalwarts this offseason affected his choice. Although news of Mosley’s Jets agreement did not emerge until after Suggs decided to leave, the Ravens opted to let the off-ball linebacker test the market.
“I actually decided before — I hadn’t slept in weeks. I was going to go back to Baltimore because it was the safe thing to do,” Suggs said during Undisputed of his initial instinct, before reconsidering and opting for Arizona (via BaltimoreBeatdown.com). “I loved and respected that organization so much that I had to remove myself out of the situation.”
The 36-year-old edge defender signed a one-year, $10MM deal with the Cardinals. He initially caught Newsome’s attention while playing at Arizona State in the early 2000s.
Contract Details: RG3, Glennon, McCarron
Some assorted contract notes from around the NFL…
- Robert Griffin III, QB (Ravens): Two years. Deal is worth $4.5MM. Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport.
- Mike Glennon, QB (Raiders): One year (full story). Deal worth $2MM, an additional $2MM in incentives. Twitter link via Rapoport.
- A.J. McCarron, QB (Texans): One year, $3MM. $1MM fully guaranteed. $1.5MM salary, $1.5MM signing bonus. Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.