Ravens Sign WR Willie Snead To Offer Sheet
Saints restricted free agent wide receiver Willie Snead is signing an offer sheet with the Ravens, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. It’s a two-year, $7MM offer sheet with another $3.4MM in incentives. The deal also includes a $2MM signing bonus. Per league rules, the Saints have five days to match. 
This week, Snead reported to the Saints even though he did not have a deal in place with the team. Some took this as a sign that his market in restricted free agency hadn’t drawn much in the way of interest but, apparently, he did draw a sizable offer sheet from at least one team. Friday marks the deadline for RFAs to sign offer sheets and the Ravens have put the squeeze on the Saints at the buzzer.
Snead was tendered at the lowest level this offseason, giving the Saints the right to match any offer sheet. However, they will not receive any draft compensation in that event. Snead now stands to earn a significant bump over his one-year, $1.907MM placeholder, regardless of what the Saints do over the next five days.
The Saints will probably take their time in making a call on Snead, but it would be a surprise to see them match. After inking another RFA in former Bear Cameron Meredith, New Orleans will probably allow Snead to walk.
Meanwhile, for the Ravens, the move is an indication that they will not be signing Dez Bryant. The Ravens were among the clubs with interest, but they may have sensed that Bryant is on the verge of signing elsewhere.
Snead, 26 in October, was not a major contributor in the Saints offense last year. However, he averaged 70 catches for 940 yards and four touchdowns over the previous two seasons. Last year, as an exclusive rights free agent, he pushed for a better deal and didn’t get it. Now, based off of past performance and potential, he’ll be moving up a level.
The Ravens have upgraded their wide receiver stable by adding Michael Crabtree and John Brown in March. Neither Chris Moore nor Breshad Perriman did a whole lot last season, so the Ravens are looking to provide Joe Flacco with another weapon. The addition of Snead would give the Ravens a formidable trio at receiver and allow them to focus on other areas in the draft.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/17/18
Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: DB Tyson Graham, DT Garrison Smith, DT Justin Zimmer
Baltimore Ravens
- Re-signed: WR Quincy Adeboyejo, RB Alex Collins, CB Stanley Jean-Baptiste, TE Vince Mayle, LB Patrick Onwuasor, OL Maurquice Shakir, OL Matt Skura (ERFA)
Buffalo Bills
- Re-signed: TE Nick O’Leary, CB Lafayette Pitts, TE Logan Thomas, DE Eddie Yarbrough (ERFA)
Carolina Panthers
- Re-signed: WR Damiere Byrd, OL Tyler Larsen, P Michael Palardy (ERFA)
Chicago Bears
- Signed original round RFA tender: CB Bryce Callahan
Green Bay Packers
- Re-signed: WR Geronimo Allison, CB Donatello Brown, QB Joe Callahan, WR Michael Clark; FB Joe Kerridge, G Justin McCray, T Adam Pankey, G Lucas Patrick, S Jermaine Whitehead (ERFA)
Los Angeles Rams
- Re-signed: RB Malcolm Brown, K Sam Ficken, CB Troy Hill (ERFA)
New York Jets
- Signed original-round RFA tender: S Rontez Miles, TE Neal Sterling
Seattle Seahawks
- Re-signed: LB Paul Dawson
- Re-signed: C Joey Hunt, DE Branden Jackson, LS Tyler Ott (ERFA)
Ravens Interested In Dez Bryant
The Ravens are interested in former Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant, a source tells Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun. The Ravens missed their opportunity to select Bryant in the 2010 draft, but they have an opportunity to snag him now after his release from Dallas. 
In theory, Bryant could give the Ravens another major weapon to pair with Michael Crabtree at the top of their wide receiver depth chart. However, it’s fair to wonder if Bryant is still capable of high-level production. Between 2012 and 2014, he averaged 91 catches for 1,312 yards and 14 touchdowns for the Cowboys. Over the last three years, those averages have plummeted to 50 catches for 678 yards and 6 TDs. Bryant stayed healthy last season, but he missed ten games due to injury between 2015 and 2016.
Bryant is reportedly out for revenge on his former team, which may mean looking to join up with an NFC East rival that will allow him to face the Cowboys twice per year. Still, it’s not clear whether there’s serious interest from the Giants or Eagles and the Redskins do not have him on the radar. Beggars can’t be choosers at this stage of free agency and Bryant may have to move on to another division if he wants to land a decent payday.
The Ravens have upwards of $10MM in cap space, so they have the flexibility to add Bryant.
Latest On Dez Bryant
There are four teams that “some believe could show varying levels of interest” in wideout Dez Bryant, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). This grouping includes the Cardinals, Ravens, Bills, and Packers.
The reporter notes that Arizona’s main issue is related to money, as the team is sitting with little cap room. Kent Somers of AZCentral Sports echoes that sentiment (via Twitter), saying the Cardinals won’t pursue Bryant unless he’s willing to take a lesser contract. On the flip side, Schefter observes that the Ravens still have plenty of space, even after having signed receiver Michael Crabtree. Meanwhile, the Packers could be looking for a big-play wideout to replace Jordy Nelson, while the Bills could be looking for a dynamic receiver to pair with Kelvin Benjamin.
The three-time Pro Bowler was released by Dallas yesterday. No teams have definitively been connected to the 29-year-old, although Bryant indicated that he’d like to play for one of the Cowboys’ NFC East foes.
Let’s take a look at some other notes pertaining to the NFL’s newest star free agent…
- ESPN’s Mike Triplett believes the Saints could be a “dark horse contender” for Bryant. New Orleans has focused on improving their receiving core, but they missed out on offseason targets like Nelson and tight end Jimmy Graham. The Saints aren’t armed with a lot of salary cap space, so they’re presumably in a similar situation to the Cardinals. However, there’s no denying that Bryant would provide Drew Brees with another impressive target.
- Bryant was under the impression that some of his teammates and coaches had it out for him, and he believes the lack of support ultimately played a role in his release. “I’m not here to bash anybody, but they know, man,” Bryant told Jane Slater of NFL Network (via Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com). “They know. They know. The way this whole situation got handled, I felt like I asked some of them to be a man about some of the situations a long time ago, and they couldn’t…I won’t put no names out, but they know, and I want them to know on this air I know. I’ll shoot them a text message and let them know. Little do they know is they can wear that ‘C’ [for captain] all they want to, but in that locker room, they know who they run and they talk to. They know who they communicate with. Everybody know where the real love is at, and I’m not throwing anybody under the bus, but that’s the difference between me and them.” Williams notes that last season’s captains were Jason Witten, Dak Prescott, Dan Bailey, Tyrone Crawford, Sean Lee and Orlando Scandrick.
- Meanwhile, ESPN.com’s Todd Archer attributes Bryant’s release to “his falling production and “fiery” personality.” As the reporter notes, the “cracks in the relationship” started earlier this offseason, when Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones criticized the receiver’s sideline outbursts. When you couple the attitude with a drop in production, Archer says organizations will have “a difficult time looking the other way.”
Contract Details: Landry, Wallace, RG3
Here’s the latest from some the recently agreed-upon contracts around the NFL.
- Jarvis Landry‘s five-year, $75.5MM Browns contract will come with $34MM fully guaranteed, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (video link). This figure, which is a tad less than Landry likely would have earned if he was franchise-tagged twice, places Landry fifth among wideouts. The $47MM in total guarantees are third all-time, behind only DeAndre Hopkins and Mike Evans.
- Another wideout has a somewhat bizarre clause in his Eagles deal. The defending Super Bowl champions will pay Mike Wallace an additional $585K if he weighs less than 250 pounds when they open their offseason program on Monday, Field Yates of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). Wallace signed a one-year deal with a base value of $1.9MM, so Monday — barring an alarming discovery — will presumably be a nice bonus for the veteran deep threat.
- The only guaranteed money in Robert Griffin III‘s one-year, $1.1MM deal with the Ravens is a $100K signing bonus, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.
Ravens Made Offer To Cam Meredtih
The Ravens have made a concerted effort to revamp their receiving corps this offseason, and to that end, they extended an offer to Bears’ restricted free agent Cameron Meredith, per Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com. Meredith, however, ultimately decided to sign an offer sheet with the Saints, and Chicago has until Wednesday to either match the offer sheet or let Meredith depart for New Orleans without receiving any draft compensation.
The offer sheet is a two-year, $9.6MM pact ($5.4MM guaranteed), and while Hensley does not give the specifics of Baltimore’s offer, he does indicate that the Ravens’ small amount of cap room limited their ability to potentially bring Meredith into the fold. The Ravens’ salary cap situation also kept them out of the market for the top free agent wideouts this offseason, though the team has done well to acquire Michael Crabtree and John Brown.
Meredith would have been a nice complement to Crabtree and Brown, and we heard at the end of last month that Baltimore was higher on Meredith than other players the team has recently brought in for a visit (Willie Snead and Michael Floyd). But Snead, a restricted free agent of the Saints, would represent a solid option as a slot receiver, and the Ravens may ultimately circle back to him. After all, he will probably cost less than Meredith, and it seems unlikely that New Orleans would match an offer sheet (particularly if the Saints wind up with Meredith).
Even if they do acquire another receiver like Snead in free agency, the Ravens should target a WR and a pass-catching TE in the early rounds of the draft.
Kaepernick Attended Ravens' Depositions
- As he did for Texans owner Bob McNair‘s deposition in his collusion lawsuit, Colin Kaepernick attended those of Ozzie Newsome and John Harbaugh, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets. The Ravens duo’s depositions have been completed. The team was linked to Kaepernick in 2017 but did not end up signing him. Conflicting reports came out over the past several months regarding Harbaugh’s interest in Kaepernick, who led two of Jim Harbaugh‘s best 49ers teams. The Ravens signed Robert Griffin III, who also did not play football in 2017, this week.
Lamar Jackson To Visit With Ravens
Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson is set to hold a top-30 visit with the Ravens, which is expected to be one of his final — if not his final — visit with an NFL team prior to the upcoming draft, per Albert Breer of MMQB (on Twitter). The Ravens hold the No. 16 overall pick in the draft.
The Ravens made quarterback news earlier this week by signing Robert Griffin III to a one-year, $1MM deal. The Ravens decided to not re-sign Ryan Mallett, who backed up Joe Flacco last season. Griffin, who has not appeared in an NFL contest since making five starts for the Browns in 2016, is joined by Josh Woodrum as the current backups to Flacco heading into training camp.
Jaguars Worked Out RG3
The Ravens signed Robert Griffin III to a one-year deal this week, but not before he drew interest elsewhere. The Jaguars auditioned the quarterback on Monday, according to Mike Florio of PFT. 
The Jaguars did not offer Griffin a contract, according to Ryan O’Halloran of the Times-Union (on Twitter). But, the Jaguars’ level of interest in Griffin was enough to push the Ravens to get a deal done with him now, rather than after the draft.
All in all, it’s a low-risk proposition for Baltimore as they gave RG3 a one-year deal worth $1MM with a modest signing bonus. If Griffin flops, the Ravens can cut bait with little fiscal penalty. If he looks solid in camp, the Ravens can move forward with him as their No. 2 QB behind Joe Flacco, replacing free agent Ryan Mallett.
In his younger days with the Redskins, Griffin was among the most dynamic talents in the NFL. Since then, health issues have held him back. He later found his way to the Browns, but injuries limited him to just five games in an uninspiring 2016 campaign. Last year, Griffin was out of the game altogether. Few expect Griffin to recapture the glory of his 2012 season, but he could be a value signing if he play up to a league average backup.
The Jaguars, meanwhile, have just two QBs on the roster in Blake Bortles and the newly-acquired Cody Kessler. It’s likely that Jacksonville will explore signal callers in this month’s draft and also continue to scour the free agent market for veteran options to fill out the QB depth chart.
Eric Decker To Meet With Ravens
Wide receiver Eric Decker will visit with the Ravens on Thursday, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). This marks Decker’s second visit of free agency, following his March meeting with the Raiders. 
Decker was a late surprise cut by the Jets last year, leading him to sign a one-year deal with the Titans. He fell a little flat in Tennessee, recording 54 catches for just 563 yards and one touchdown. Decker also missed most of 2016 due to injury, so the 31-year-old is now two years removed from performing as a high-end wide receiver.
In 2015, Decker’s last complete season, he hauled in 80 catches for 1,027 yards and 12 touchdowns for the Jets. He also had 1,000+ yard seasons in 2012 and 2013 with the Broncos and nearly hit that mark in his first Jets season in 2014.
The Ravens have revamped their WR group this offseason by allowing Mike Wallace to leave in free agency and adding Michael Crabtree and John Brown. On the surface, that wouldn’t leave a ton of targets for Decker, but he would be in for a more prominent role if Brown cannot stay healthy.
Recently, Decker expressed interest in a return to Denver, but it’s not clear if the interest is mutual.