Ravens’ Kyle Arrington Accepts Pay Cut
After restructuring Marshal Yanda‘s contract to create some additional cap flexibility, the Ravens have created a little more breathing room by reworking Kyle Arrington‘s contract. According to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link), the veteran defensive back has agreed to take a pay cut to remain in Baltimore.
Arrington, who signed a three-year, $7MM contract with the Ravens last year after spending most of his NFL career in New England, didn’t have a great 2015 campaign. Although he started 56 games for the Patriots, Arrington started just four of 15 contests for Baltimore, recording 28 tackles and no interceptions. Pro Football Focus graded him 80th out of 111 qualified corners.
Still, the Ravens apparently saw enough in Arrington that they wanted to keep him for the 2016 season. He had been scheduled to earn a $2.1MM bsae salary, with a cap number of $2.767MM, so his new agreement with Baltimore will reduce both of those numbers.
As Zrebiec notes (via Twitter), Arrington could be the frontrunner for the Ravens’ slot cornerback opening, with Lardarius Webb moving to safety.
FA Rumors: McLeod, Vernon, Steelers, Sweezy
Safety Rodney McLeod is one of the top young safeties set to hit the market today, and Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (Twitter link) hears that the Ravens are a “strong contender” for the Rams’ free-agent-to-be.
While the Ravens could use some help at free safety, since Kendrick Lewis didn’t prove in 2015 that he’s the long-term answer and Lardarius Webb doesn’t have much experience at safety. But the idea that Baltimore would make a play for someone like McLeod is surprising, since the team typically doesn’t foray too aggressively into free agency, and doesn’t have a ton of cap flexibility.
As we wait to see if anything comes of the Ravens’ apparent interest in McLeod, let’s check in on a few other free agent rumors….
- In an interesting piece for TheMMQB.com, defensive end Olivier Vernon, one of the top free agents available, acknowledges that he “probably” won’t be back with the Dolphins in 2016.
- With Heath Miller having retired, the Steelers are exploring the tight end free agent market, says Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). According to Rapoport, Coby Fleener, Ladarius Green, and Jared Cook are names worth monitoring for Pittsburgh.
- Over a half-dozen teams remain in the mix for offensive lineman J.R. Sweezy, according to Rand Getlin of the NFL Network, who tweets that the Broncos are worth keeping an eye on.
- Offensive tackle Bobby Massie has received interest from the Bears and Giants, but his market isn’t up to $8MM per year yet, tweets Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com. A Monday report indicated that Massie could end up landing a deal in that range.
- The Rams are intent on trying to re-sign defensive end William Hayes, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. Per La Canfora, Hayes has a “nice market,” but wouldn’t rule out a return to the Rams.
- The Bears resumed negotiations on Tuesday with tight end Zach Miller, per Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Miller’s reported asking price of $5MM per year, which seemed outrageous a few weeks ago, doesn’t look quite as far-fetched after Dwayne Allen got $7MM+ annually from the Colts.
Ravens’ Marshal Yanda Restructures Contract
While one veteran Ravens guard – Kelechi Osemele – is set to officially leave the team to sign with the Raiders later today, the team’s other starting guard has reworked his contract to create extra cap room. According to Field Yates of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Marshal Yanda has restructured his deal, opening up nearly $4MM in cap space.
Yanda’s contract, which he signed in October, was an ideal candidate for restructuring, since his 2016 salary was already fully guaranteed — converting a chunk of it to a signing bonus allows the veteran guard to get that money up front, and spreads it over the next four years for cap purposes, without adding any additional guaranteed money to the Ravens’ tab.
According to Yates, Yanda converted about $5.3MM of his $6.186MM base salary into a signing bonus, which should reduce his cap hit to just above $4MM for 2016. He had originally been on track to have a cap number of nearly $8MM. The move will also increase his cap hits in future seasons by about $1.325MM.
The extra cap flexibility should help the Ravens conduct their offseason business — it could be put toward signing tight end Ben Watson, who reportedly reached a contract agreement with Baltimore on Tuesday.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/8/16
Here are Tuesday’s minor tender decisions from around the NFL on potential restricted and exclusive-rights free agents:
- The Texans have assigned the low tender to both cornerback A.J. Bouye and linebacker John Simon, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter links). Both players will earn a $1.671MM non-guaranteed base salary next year.
Earlier updates:
- The Buccaneers have assigned the low-end tender to RFA wide receiver Russell Shepard, tweets Tom Pelissero of USA Today. Shepard, 25, hasn’t been a major part of the offense since joining the team in 2013, catching just seven total passes, but he has been a key contributor on special teams.
- The Texans will not tender an offer to running back Jonathan Grimes, nor will they re-sign him to a lesser deal, as Rand Getlin of NFL.com tweets.
- The Ravens have begun extending contract tenders to their ERFAs, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun (all Twitter links), who reports that wide receiver Daniel Brown, running back Terrance West, and cornerback Sheldon Price all received offers from the team. Cornerback Jumal Rolle — another ERFA — also received a tender, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
- The Packers have issued a tender to safety Chris Banjo, who was an exclusive rights free agent, Weston Hodkiewicz of the Press Gazette tweets.
Contract Details: Sendejo, Rubin, DHB, Cox
Here are the specifics on a few deals signed in recent days:
- Andrew Sendejo‘s four-year contract with the Vikings contains a $3MM roster bonus, per Tom Pelissero of USA Today (Twitter link). The safety will make $4MM in 2016, and he has another $1MM that will become guaranteed next March.
- Defensive tackle Ahtyba Rubin received a $4.5MM signing bonus as part of his $12MM deal with the Seahawks, tweets Pelissero. Rubin will take home $6MM during the upcoming season.
- Receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey got a $400K signing bonus per the terms of his three-year deal with the Steelers, according to Pelissero (Twitter link).
- Long snapper Morgan Cox‘s new five-year contract with the Ravens is worth $5.6MM, tweets Jeff Zriebec of the Baltimore Sun. Cox will receive a $700K signing bonus and net $1.5MM in the first year of the deal.
Ravens To Sign TE Ben Watson
5:07pm: Watson will sign a two-year, $8MM deal with the Ravens, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
2:04pm: The Saints have lost tight end end Ben Watson to the Ravens, a source tells Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun (on Twitter). The tight end revived his career in New Orleans he will now try and keep things rolling in Baltimore. 
The Ravens were in the hunt for a tight end this offseason due to some uncertainty at the position. Dennis Pitta is one of the league’s toughest matchups when healthy, but it has been a long time since he was on the field and productive. Ravens tight end Nick Boyle is facing a 10-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs. Tight end Crockett Gillmore, who offered solid offensive production in 2015, recently underwent surgery on both of his ailing shoulders. The team does still have rising sophomore Maxx Williams, but Watson will give Baltimore an experienced fallback at the position.
Now, the Saints have some work to do to fortify their tight end situation since Watson is out of the picture and Josh Hill is a restricted free agent. They made one move earlier today at tight end, however, re-signing Michael Hoomanawanui.
Watson was ranked as the No. 7 tight end on PFR’s free agent list, behind Antonio Gates, Coby Fleener, Dwayne Allen, Ladarius Green, Zach Miller, and Jared Cook.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Free Agent Rumors: Jaguars, Bengals, Ravens
Jerricho Cotchery is not in the Panthers’ 2016 plans, Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer writes. Cotchery, 34 in June, hauled in 87 passes for 1,065 yards and four touchdowns over the last two seasons with Carolina. The veteran has said that he would only continue playing if it were with the Panthers, so it’s possible that the former Jet will retire this offseason. Cotchery is effectively a free agent with a contract that will automatically void tomorrow.
The latest free agent rumors:
- The Jaguars are not close to done after agreeing to terms with Malik Jackson, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (on Twitter) hears. The Jags are still interested in top pass rushers and corners.
- Albert Breer of NFL.com (on Twitter) senses that the Bengals‘ priority guys are safety George Iloka and wide receiver Marvin Jones. Breer hears there is about $15MM budgeted for unrestricted free agents, which may not leave much room for others.
- Saints free agent tight end Ben Watson is getting “strong, strong interest” from the Ravens, sources tell Dianna Marie Russini of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
- The Dolphins are in pursuit of defensive end William Hayes, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. There is a strong market for Hayes, however, so Miami will have some competition to deal with.
- Running back Lamar Miller wants an annual salary in the range of $6MM or more, which is more than the Dolphins would like to offer, Jackson writes.
- The Vikings have checked in on Lions free agent linebacker Tahir Whitehead, per Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (on Twitter).
- The Raiders are working to retain wide receiver Andre Holmes but the sense is that he’ll get decent interest elsewhere, Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports tweets.
Ravens Hit Kamar Aiken With Second-Round Tender
The Ravens will put the second-round tender on restricted free agent Kamar Aiken, as Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun tweets. The second-round tender is worth $2.55MM this year. 
With Aiken coming off a 75-catch breakout season, it made sense for the Ravens to pull the trigger on the second-round tender. After all, there’s a dearth of talent on the wide receiver market this offseason, and Baltimore didn’t want to risk losing Aiken or paying him even more if a rival team signed him to an offer sheet.
As PFR’s Top 10 list of free agent wide receivers shows, there isn’t a ton of high-end talent in this year’s class. Marvin Jones stands as our top-ranked receiver, followed by Travis Benjamin, Rishard Matthews, Rueben Randle, Anquan Boldin, Jermaine Kearse, Mohamed Sanu, Marques Colston, Brandon LaFell, and James Jones. Other notables include Andre Johnson, Roddy White, Nate Washington, Brian Quick, and Andre Holmes. While there’s name value in that bunch, Aiken’s ability and age (27 in May) would have put him pretty high on that list.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
FA Rumors: Osweiler, Sean Smith, Adam Jones
The latest rumors on a slew of free agents-to-be:
- The Broncos have offered quarterback Brock Osweiler a three-year contract worth ~$39MM, according to Troy Renck of The Denver Post. That runs a bit contrary to a weekend report that stated the Broncos had offered $45MM for three years.
- Seven teams have expressed interest in Jets running back Chris Ivory, per Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). The Buccaneers and Raiders are among those clubs, per a report from earlier tonight.
- The Raiders “have reached out” to Chiefs corner Sean Smith‘s camp, per Scott Bair CSNBayArea.com (Twitter link). Smith is the fourth high-profile pending free agent whom the Raiders have been connected to today, joining Ivory, Malik Jackson and Kelechi Osemele (links to Jackson and Osemele stories: 1, 2).
- Bengals veteran corner Adam Jones has several potential suitors, according to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, who lists the Ravens, Browns, Dolphins, Raiders, Cowboys and Vikings as teams that could end up with the 32-year-old. The Bengals would like to retain Jones, per Florio.
- The Bears are expected to go after Patriots defensive lineman Akiem Hicks, writes Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Bears general manager Ryan Pace and player personnel director Josh Lucas were in the Saints’ front office when they drafted Hicks in 2012, Biggs notes.
- The Giants, Eagles, Dolphins and Bears are interested in Chargers corner Patrick Robinson, reports ESPN’s Josina Anderson (Twitter link).
Ravens Re-Sign Morgan Cox
The Ravens announced that they have re-signed Pro Bowl long snapper Morgan Cox to a five-year contract.
Cox has served as Baltimore’s long snapper since 2010, but missed a good chunk of the 2014 season after being placed on injured reserve with a torn ACL in October. He came back healthy in the 2015 season, however, and resumed long snapping duties. The 29-year-old (30 in April) appeared in all 16 regular season games for Baltimore.
In other Ravens news, the team is reportedly bracing for Kelechi Osemele to leave. The Ravens also reached agreement with cornerback Shareece Wright on a new three-year deal.