Earl Thomas Committed To Chiefs Deal Prior To Ravens Offer
Well known to have pursued Earl Thomas, the Chiefs were incredibly close to having one of the highest-profile safety tandems in recent NFL history.
Thomas committed to sign with the Chiefs the night before he agreed to terms with the Ravens, the new Baltimore defender said during an appearance on the Rich Eisen Podcast this week (video link). Thomas provided details on what was a one-year Kansas City offer.
“I had committed there on a one-year deal worth like $12MM,” Thomas said, “and the next morning I woke up, my agents called me and told me I had a better offer with the Ravens, so I definitely took that offer real quick.”
Having recently seen money become available after C.J. Mosley accepted a monster Jets offer, the Ravens swooped in with a four-year, $55MM Thomas proposal. Thomas said he was on the phone with Andy Reid the night before he agreed to the Ravens’ terms and indicated his family was packing up for a flight to Missouri. While more low-key, with no agreement having been widely reported, Thomas’ free agency appears to have unfolded in a fairly similar fashion as Anthony Barr‘s.
“The Chiefs actually were about to send me a private jet and me and the family were packing up, getting ready to go, get on the jet, go to Kansas City, and I woke up the next morning and my agents told me that Baltimore really wanted me and they offered me a megadeal, and I took that,” Thomas said.
The Chiefs opened free agency by authorizing a $14MM-AAV deal for Tyrann Mathieu. They were clearly quite close to pairing him with Thomas. Eric Berry was still on Kansas City’s roster at that point, but the team released its three-time All-Pro safety hours after the Ravens pried Thomas away. Before going down with a season-ending injury, Thomas was rumored as a Chiefs trade target as well. It is not known if Thomas gave the Chiefs a chance to match the Ravens’ offer, though they certainly could have given that the subsequent Ravens agreement occurred before the new league year began.
Thomas added that the Cowboys, who offered a second-round pick for him last year, did not seriously pursue him in free agency. The Cowboys did not come forward with the kind of money the Ravens or Chiefs did, per Thomas.
Kansas City has made some major changes to its defense, cutting Berry and Justin Houston and trading Dee Ford. Lower-profile defensive ends Alex Okafor and Emmanuel Ogbah have since signed, joining Mathieu, Damien Wilson and Bashaud Breeland as notable K.C. offseason defensive additions. But a Chiefs team that ranked 31st against the pass (though 12th in pass-defense DVOA) still could use some help in the secondary.
Ravens Sign Marshal Yanda To Extension
Maybe this won’t be Marshal Yanda‘s final season after all. On Thursday, the Ravens reached agreement on a one-year extension with the seven-time Pro Bowl guard that will keep him under club control through the 2020 season, sources tell ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). 
A seven-time Pro Bowler and two-time First Team All-Pro, Yanda has long been one of the best offensive lineman in the league. The Ravens have some uncertainty at left guard and center in advance of this month’s draft, so Yanda is especially important to the club moving forward.
Yanda has dealt with some health concerns in recent years, including a broken ankle that ended his 2017 season after just two games. He is owed $7MM this year, a relative bargain. Financial terms of his new year are not yet known.
Prior to the deal, the 34-year-old (35 in September) was set to enter the final year of his four-year, $32MM contract. With the new deal, Yanda will likely finish out his career in Baltimore, unless he wants to push into his late 30s.
Recently, Ravens GM Eric DeCosta indicated that he wanted Yanda in the fold beyond 2019. With the new deal, they’ve likely accomplished that goal.
“In regards to Marshal, we love Marshal, and we’d love Marshal to continue to play for us for years,” DeCosta said earlier this month. “He’s a great player. He’s still playing at a high level. He’s a Raven. You can define a Raven and put a picture of Marshal Yanda up there, and that’s him.”
Thanks in part to Yanda, the Ravens managed 141.9 per game, good for second in the league. The Ravens hope to hit a similar mark this year as quarterback Lamar Jackson continues to make plays with his legs.
New deals for kicker Justin Tucker, outside linebacker Matthew Judon, offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley, inside linebacker Patrick Onwuasor, and defensive tackle Michael Pierce could be on deck for the Ravens, as ESPN.com’s Jamison Hensley writes.
Ravens To Host Miles Sanders
- Penn State running back Miles Sanders has been vaulting up draft boards (he currently ranks one spot behind Collier at No. 46 on Jeremiah’s list), and he has a busy schedule ahead of him. Sanders is scheduled to work out for/meet with the Bears, Eagles, Steelers, Ravens, Bills, Cowboys, Falcons, Titans, Bengals, Panthers, Buccaneers, and Colts. In 2018, Sanders’ only season as a starter, he posted 1,274 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on 220 attempts.
Latest On Ozzie Newsome’s Role With Ravens
Ozzie Newsome had been the Ravens’ GM since the club’s inception in 1996, and he was the architect of two Super Bowl champions. Last January, Newsome announced that 2018 would be his last season as Baltimore’s GM, but it was reported that he would remain with the club in an unspecified role.
Now, that role is becoming a bit clearer. As Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com writes, Newsome’s voice still carries plenty of weight in the Ravens’ front office. He doesn’t have an official title, and new GM (and longtime Newsome lieutenant) Eric DeCosta has Newsome’s old office and the final say on roster decisions, but Newsome is plenty involved in the draft and free agency process.
Hensley observes that Newsome was instrumental in closing the deal with Earl Thomas last month — he has a good relationship with Thomas’ agent — and is doing a great deal of work on this year’s collegiate prospects.
Indeed, without the daily administrative duties of a GM, Newsome has watched more college tape than he has in the last several years. DeCosta said, “I think he’s really enjoying it. He’s grinding tape. He had a great time at the combine. He’s really been a valuable resource for me in terms of discussing players and what do you see. I think he’s really having fun with it.”
It remains unclear how involved Newsome will be on draft day, but DeCosta acknowledged that his mentor is likely to have a say on nearly every pick. And while head coach John Harbaugh reiterated that what DeCosta says goes, it can’t hurt to have someone as respected as accomplished as Newsome as a sounding board.
Newsome is under contract at least through 2020.
Ryan Grant Explains What Went Wrong With Baltimore
Receiver Ryan Grant was involved in one of the more bizarre situations of last offseason. The former Redskins receiver looked like he was about to cash in big time, and signed a four-year, $29MM contract with $14.5MM guaranteed with the Ravens. But soon after, the Ravens slapped him with a failed physical designation and voided the contract, making him a free agent again. He ended up settling for a one-year, $5MM deal with the Colts. Now he’s on to a new team, signing a one-year, $2.5MM deal with the Raiders earlier this week. In a recent interview with Sirius XM, Grant dished on what happened with Baltimore and finally explained all the details.
Grant said the Ravens just got cold feet and that the injury that made him fail the physical wasn’t anything serious, just a “mild ankle sprain,” as he put it. Even though he lost out on a significant amount of money, Grant isn’t bitter about it and said he’s genuinely happy to be in Oakland. “I feel like, had I signed with the Ravens, they probably would have, you know, did some other shady stuff to get me traded or released or something like this. So I’m thankful that they did what they did,” Grant explained. “I’m happy where I am now. Super excited to be a part of the Raiders organization. It’s the spirit and the culture of the team. And it just feels like I’ve been drafted all over again. I’m just so ecstatic,” he continued.
Jaguars Tried To Acquire Robert Griffin III?
While the Jaguars doled out by far the biggest contract to a free agent quarterback this offseason, their pre-Nick Foles plans look to have featured Robert Griffin III.
At multiple junctures last season, Jacksonville attempted to acquire the former offensive rookie of the year from Baltimore. The Jags attempted to trade for Griffin at the end of the 2018 preseason and made another bid to land the Ravens reserve at the trade deadline, Griffin said during an appearance on the Ravens’ The Lounge podcast (via ESPN.com’s Jamison Hensley).
Leading up to free agency, the Jaguars were heavily linked to Foles. But Griffin still waited until that deal was done to sign his two-year, $4MM Ravens contract.
“We knew that was an opportunity and there’d be a chance if things didn’t work out with Nick Foles,” Griffin said. “We just wanted to wait and see what would happen.”
Additionally, the 29-year-old passer said this offseason he discussed a deal with the Dolphins, who were in on multiple other free agent passers who spent all or most of 2018 as backups. Tyrod Taylor and Teddy Bridgewater ended up accepting offers to continue has backups, Taylor with the Chargers and Bridgewater with the Saints. Miami pivoted to Ryan Fitzpatrick. Griffin will return to be Lamar Jackson‘s backup after sitting behind both Jackson and Joe Flacco for most of last season.
“I ultimately felt like those situations weren’t good,” said Griffin, who noted he discussed deals with other teams as well, of possible fits with other teams. “I’m not looking to go somewhere and be a bridge or be there for a season and go somewhere else. I’m looking for stability and opportunity. For me right now, Baltimore is the best situation.”
The Jaguars indeed possessed one of the league’s worst quarterback situations last season, benching Blake Bortles for Cody Kessler and then giving Bortles the reins back during a 5-11 season. They since cut the disappointing former top-five pick. Both Flacco and Jackson were healthy for the Ravens at the deadline, with Flacco’s hip injury not sidelining him until November, yet the eventual AFC North champions kept Griffin.
The former Heisman Trophy winner has not started a game since doing so for the 2016 Browns. He did not play in 2017. After being a cut or trade candidate during the preseason, Griffin made the Ravens’ 53-man roster last year and threw six passes.
NFL Workout Updates: 4/5/19
After the AAF ceased operations, they allowed their players to begin looking for NFL contracts. A handful of players were immediately swooped up, but many more are taking their time. Players are beginning to take visits and have workouts, and we’ve compiled the latest below:
Baltimore Ravens
- S Dexter McCoil
Jacksonville Jaguars
- QB Brandon Silvers (AAF)
Minnesota Vikings
- QB Brandon Silvers
New York Jets
- QB Brandon Silvers
Philadelphia Eagles
- QB Luis Perez (AAF)
Silvers will be busy this week, as he has three visits scheduled. Silvers started the AAF season as the third-string quarterback for the Memphis Express behind Christian Hackenberg and Zach Mettenberger. But after Hackenberg was benched and Mettenberger was injured, Silvers became the starter and played well. It looks as if the Troy alum will get a shot with an NFL team in training camp.
Ravens To Sign WR Seth Roberts
The Ravens are signing former Raiders wide receiver Seth Roberts to a one-year deal, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Roberts became a free agent earlier this week when Oakland cut him loose. 
[RELATED: Ravens Work Out Eddie Lacy]
Roberts was due to make a $4.45MM base salary with the Raiders in 2019 and up to $4.8MM through bonuses. However, his base pay was completely non-guaranteed, allowing the Raiders to shed the entire sum of his contract.
Roberts, 28, had 45 receptions for 494 yards and two touchdowns in 2018. In the previous year, he had similar figures with 43 catches for 455 yards and one score. Roberts has a career 11.6 yards per reception average, but he was more of a deep threat in his breakout 2015 season when he averaged 15 yards per grab.
The Ravens are still expected to target wide receivers in the draft, but the presence of Roberts may take off some of the pressure.
“One of the biggest things that we have to do is just take some at-bats and swing,” GM Eric DeCosta recently said of the team’s WR strategy in the draft. “It’s hard to be a .400 hitter if you’re only at bat twice. We’ve got to take some chances. We’ve got to find some guys that we like and try to appreciate the really good football players, the guys that make plays.”
Roberts joins a WR group that lost John Brown and Michael Crabtree this offseason. He’s just the third receiver on the roster who has actually caught a pass in the NFL, along with Willie Snead and Chris Moore.
Ravens Work Out Eddie Lacy
The Ravens worked out running back Eddie Lacy on Thursday, according to Mike Florio of PFT. Lacy was out of the NFL last season, but he’s looking to get back in the game. 
[RELATED: Ravens Expect Marshal Yanda To Play In 2019]
Lacy, 29 in June, was the league’s Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2013 and dazzled with his powerful running style in his younger days. Unfortunately, he hasn’t done much as of late. Lacy’s weight issues held him back over his final two years with the Packers and he averaged just 2.6 yards with the Seahawks in 2017.
The Ravens could give Lacy a prime opportunity to reassert himself as a go-to ball carrier. However, it’s not clear if Lacy has his weight in check. If signed by the Ravens or another NFL team, Lacy is likely to have incentives and stipulations built into his deal to encourage keeping the pounds off.
Ravens Hosting Josh Jacobs
- Alabama running back Josh Jacobs visited the Ravens today, reports Josh Norris of Rotoworld (Twitter link). Viewed as the best running back available in the draft, Jacobs could be on the board when Baltimore picks late in the first round. While Jacobs isn’t an elite athlete, he’s considered a true three-down back who could help immediately. The Ravens, of course, signed veteran Mark Ingram to pair with Gus Edwards, so running back isn’t necessarily their most obvious area of need.