Opinion: Ravens Should Pursue Pierre Garcon
Redskins receiver Pierre Garcon would be a quality free agent pickup for the Ravens, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com argues. The Ravens have a history of success with 30-something WRs (Derrick Mason, Anquan Boldin and Steve Smith Sr.) and Garcon could nicely complement the speed of Mike Wallace and Breshad Perriman. Recently, GM Ozzie Newsome talked about his desire to add a receiver with experience and Garcon fits the bill.
2017 NFL Draft Order Set
With the Super Bowl in the rear view mirror, the offseason is officially underway for all 32 teams. We now have the complete draft order for the entire first round, with one exception which is noted below.
The Patriots, of course, will have the honor of having the last pick. The Falcons, after losing in heartbreaking fashion, will have the penultimate selection in the first round.
Here is the complete order, via ESPN.com’s Field Yates (Twitter links):
1. Browns
2. 49ers
3. Bears
4. Jaguars
5. Titans
6. Jets
7. Chargers
8. Panthers
9. Bengals
10. Bills
11. Saints
12. Browns
13. Cardinals
T-14. Eagles (via the Vikings)
T-14. Colts (Note: The Vikings and Colts have identical records and the same strength of schedule. The tie will be broke by coin flip with the winner getting pick No. 14 and the other team getting the No. 15 pick.)
16. Ravens
17. Redskins
18. Titans
19. Buccaneers
20. Broncos
21. Lions
22. Dolphins
23. Giants
24. Raiders
25. Texans
26. Seahawks
27. Chiefs
28. Cowboys
29. Packers
30. Steelers
31. Falcons
32. Patriots
Ravens Offered Rams Entire '08 Draft Haul In Hopes Of Landing Matt Ryan
- On the subject of seminal trades, the Ravens were ready to part with their entire 2008 draft class in order to trade up to take Matt Ryan at No. 2 that year, Rapoport reports. The Ravens held the No. 8 pick and offered their entire ’08 picks stockpile to the Rams, who held the No. 2 choice. St. Louis also wanted Baltimore’s second-round pick in 2009, which ended up being Paul Kruger, to clinch that deal, per Rapoport. The Rams ended up taking Chris Long at No. 2, with the Ravens trading down to No. 18 and selecting Joe Flacco. In the ’08 draft, Baltimore acquired Ray Rice in the second round but largely whiffed on its other picks. However, the Ravens ended up making 10 selections. The Falcons selected Ryan at No. 3 overall.
Minor NFL Transactions: 1/31/17
Tuesday’s minor moves:
Reserve/Futures Contracts
Baltimore Ravens
- DB Otha Foster
- LB Boseko Lokombo
Dallas Cowboys
- WR Quincy McDuffie
- WR Uzoma Nwachukwu
ERFA Re-Signing
Pittsburgh Steelers
- RB Fitzgerald Toussaint (Twitter link via Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com)
Ravens To Prioritize Brandon Williams Re-Up
The Ravens have lost several starters in free agency over the past few years and may be set to see more depart this year, but they appear intent on keeping at least one. Assistant general manager Eric DeCosta said from the Senior Bowl the Ravens “have to try and retain” defensive tackle Brandon Williams.”
“He’s an ‘A’ player for us; he’s one of our best defensive players,” said DeCosta, who earlier this week declined a Colts GM interview request to continue with the Ravens. “He’s a rock inside. This guy can stuff the run, he can rush the quarterback, he can do everything we want him to do.”
Williams and right tackle Ricky Wagner profile as Baltimore’s top UFAs, but Wagner’s price might escalate past the Ravens’ comfort zone. Williams’ could as well, but the team has the franchise tag it could use in the meantime. Williams comprises part of a loaded defensive tackle class, with Kawann Short, Dontari Poe and Johnathan Hankins all sitting as UFAs. After Fletcher Cox‘s 2016 deal raised the AAV bar north of $17MM for DTs, this could be a pricey offseason for teams who want to acquire top talent on the defensive interior. Joel Corry of CBSSports.com projects the defensive tackle franchise tag to cost $13.468MM. The Ravens stand to possess just more than $15MM in cap space.
The soon-to-be 28-year-old Williams has started for the Ravens the past three seasons after arriving from Division II Missouri Southern. His run-stopping ability graded out well on Pro Football Focus in 2016, anchoring what the site called a top-flight run-defending front seven. The 335-pound talent doesn’t have quite the high profile of Short or Poe but is still set to cash in, and the Ravens aren’t exactly playing it coy about his importance to their team.
“[Williams] fits in with the tradition of Ravens defensive tackles and nose tackles, whether it’s Haloti [Ngata], Kelly Gregg, even going further back to Kemo [Ma’ake Kemoeatu], Sam Adams, Tony Siragusa,” DeCosta said. “Brandon’s right there with all those guys.”
Mike Wallace Still In Ravens' Plans
- While the possibility of the Ravens cutting wide receiver Mike Wallace this offseason in order to save $5.75MM has come up, he remains in the team’s plans, relays Clifton Brown of CSNMidAtlantic.com. Thanks to Steve Smith‘s retirement and Kamar Aiken‘s forthcoming departure, Wallace is easily the most accomplished receiver the Ravens have under contract for next season. In 2016, his age-30 campaign, Wallace finished in the top two among Ravens in receptions (72; first), yards (1,017; first), targets (117; second), yards per catch (14.1; second) and touchdowns (four; second). He’s also still one of the league’s fastest wideouts, as Brown details.
Brandon Williams Is Ravens' Top UFA Priority
- Negotiations between the Ravens and UFA nose tackle Brandon Williams have not yet begun but are expected to commence before he hits the market, Mike Preston of the Baltimore Sun notes. Even before Zach Orr‘s retirement, Williams was set to be the top priority, per Preston, for a Ravens team that’s lost numerous talents in free agency in recent years. It’s a big year for free agent defensive tackles, with Dontari Poe and Kawann Short residing as impending UFAs.
- The Ravens tied up some loose ends on their coaching staff today, per the Baltimore Sun’s Jeff Zreibec (on Twitter). Chris Hewitt will take over new Bills DC Leslie Frazier‘s position as secondary coach, and Mike MacDonald will assist him, Zreibec tweets. Craig Ver Steeg, a nine-year Ravens offensive assistant, will coach quarterbacks, will slide over from skill-position assistance to helping QBs coach/OC Marty Mornhinweg with the signal-callers, Zreibec notes (on Twitter). Drew Wilkins will serve as the assistant defensive line coach. Each of these staffers’ assignment changes represents an internal promotion.
Colts Request GM Summit With Ravens’ Eric DeCosta
A seventh name surged into the mix for the Colts’ GM job. The team sent an interview request toward Ravens assistant GM Eric DeCosta, Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com tweets. DeCosta worked with Colts coach Chuck Pagano during Pagano’s stay in Baltimore.
DeCosta usually surfaces around this time of year, but the career Baltimore executive hasn’t followed through on leaving the organization yet. He was a candidate for the Seahawks’ GM post that John Schneider ended up filling in 2010, ultimately pulling out of the running. DeCosta declined Raiders interest years ago to fill their GM job and also chose not to interview with the Titans last year for the job Jon Robinson ended up taking. A Ravens staffer since the franchise’s metamorphosis in Maryland in 1996, DeCosta has served as Ozzie Newsome‘s right-hand man since 2012.
“I get a chance to work with my friends. Every day, I come in and work with my friends. I think it’s a relationship business,” DeCosta said in 2015 on why he continues to work in this capacity with the Ravens. “In the end, personal ambitions aside, all you have is really your reputation and your friends and your enjoyment in life. And I love Baltimore, the community.”
So, Jim Irsay‘s latest push might not be enough to sway him. Breer notes he and Pagano are close, so that could be a key element in this process. Regardless of whether the 45-year-old DeCosta takes the interview or not, he’s the seventh candidate to receive a request this week. And DeCosta is the first that did not come up during the 49ers’ search. The Colts have now requested three more interviews on Tuesday, with those for Eliot Wolf and Chris Ballard preceding DeCosta’s.
Ravens Set To Lose Ricky Wagner?
- The Ravens won’t be able to afford Ricky Wagner if the hype surrounding the UFA right tackle continues to build, Jeff Zreibec of the Baltimore Sun writes. Pro Football Focus’ Cris Collinsworth listed Wagner as his No. 1 under-the-radar free agent, and NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal recently said he could fetch as much as $10MM per year. That would be quite the raise considering only one tackle, Lane Johnson, averages more than $7MM AAV. But Zreibec sees too many needs for the Ravens to go that high to retain Wagner.
- Zreibec identifies Mike Wallace, Elvis Dumervil, Lardarius Webb and Jeremy Zuttah as potential Ravens cap cuts. Having missed the playoffs three times in a four-year span for the first time since the 2004-07 stretch, Baltimore is projected to have barely $15MM in cap room before any cuts occur. Zreibec expects several veterans to be released. The Ravens can save more than $11MM by cutting both Dumervil and Webb.
Ravens Audition QB Austin Davis
The Ravens worked out free agent quarterback Austin Davis today, according to Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com. Baltimore would presumably have interest in a futures deal with Davis, who was waived by the Broncos in late December.
[RELATED: Ravens LB Zach Orr Retires]
Davis, 27, didn’t appear in a single game for Denver during his nearly fourth-month stay with the club, as he was relegated to clipboard duty behind Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch. While he played in three games for the Browns in 2015, Davis’ last significant starting experience came in 2014, when he threw for more than 2,000 yards, 12 touchdowns, and nine interceptions in eight starts for the Rams.
In Baltimore, Davis could compete for a backup spot behind starting quarterback Joe Flacco, one of only two QBs the Ravens currently have under contract for 2017. While No. 2 signal-caller Ryan Mallett is scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency in March, Dustin Vaughan — who briefly latched onto Baltimore’s practice squad at the tail end of last season — was one of six players the Ravens signed to a futures deal earlier this month.
In addition to Davis, the Ravens also auditioned safeties Tony Burnett and Otha Foster; linebackers Kyler Elsworth and Boseko Lokombo; defensive tackle Robert Smith; and wide receivers Terrence Toliver and Brian Tyms, reports Howard Balzer of BalzerFootball.com (Twitter links).