Baltimore Ravens News & Rumors

Updated 2023 NFL Draft Order

Some fireworks came in regarding the draft order on the NFL’s final regular-season day. The Bears upended the Texans for the No. 1 pick, reeling in a team that held that top slot for much of the season. The Bears last made a pick at No. 1 overall in 1947. Their former head coach — Lovie Smith, whom the Texans just fired — oversaw this final-day flip-flop. Clarity on the rest of the non-playoff-bound teams’ draft slots emerged as well.

The Jaguars’ rally to win the AFC South moves them into a postseason spot, and the Titans’ seven-game losing streak to end the season drops them to their highest selection since 2017. Tennessee’s next general manager will have the opportunity to make a pick at No. 11 or deal from that draft position, while Jacksonville will hold its lowest selection since 2018. The Texans will hold two top-12 picks in April, thanks to the Browns’ Week 18 loss to the Steelers, while the Lions will have two in the top 20 as well.

For non-playoff teams, the draft order will be determined by the inverted 2022 standings — plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule — with playoff squads being slotted by their postseason outcome and regular-season record. Here is how the draft order looks at the regular season’s close:

  1. Chicago Bears: 3-14
  2. Houston Texans: 3-13-1
  3. Arizona Cardinals: 4-13
  4. Indianapolis Colts: 4-12-1
  5. Seattle Seahawks (via Broncos)
  6. Detroit Lions (via Rams)
  7. Las Vegas Raiders: 6-11
  8. Atlanta Falcons: 7-10
  9. Carolina Panthers: 7-10
  10. Philadelphia Eagles (via Saints)
  11. Tennessee Titans: 7-10
  12. Houston Texans (via Browns)
  13. New York Jets: 7-10
  14. New England Patriots: 8-9
  15. Green Bay Packers: 8-9
  16. Washington Commanders: 8-8-1
  17. Pittsburgh Steelers: 9-8
  18. Detroit Lions: 9-8
  19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 8-9
  20. Seattle Seahawks: 9-8
  21. Jacksonville Jaguars: 9-8
  22. New York Giants: 9-7-1
  23. Baltimore Ravens: 10-7
  24. Los Angeles Chargers: 10-7
  25. Dallas Cowboys: 12-5
  26. Cincinnati Bengals: 12-4
  27. Minnesota Vikings: 13-4
  28. Denver Broncos (via 49ers)
  29. Buffalo Bills: 13-3
  30. Kansas City Chiefs: 14-3
  31. Philadelphia Eagles: 14-3

This year’s draft will feature a 31-pick first round. The Dolphins’ penalty for the Tom BradySean Payton tampering scandal cost them their 2023 first-round choice

AFC North Rumors: Lamar, Clowney, Rudolph

The PCL sprain heard around the world continues to dog Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. Jackson’s Ravens are headed to Cincinnati next week for a rematch against the division-winning Bengals. Yet the question remains: will Jackson be the one under center for Baltimore’s wild-card matchup?

Jackson suffered his knee injury in a Week 13 win over the Broncos. Unfortunately for Baltimore, the former MVP hasn’t practiced since. The initial prognosis saw him sitting out for one to three weeks. Five missed games later and panic is growing as the playoffs approach. To many in the media, it sounded after three weeks that the Ravens had such a simple road to the playoffs that they were simply resting Jackson for an eventual playoff run. But starting a quarterback that hasn’t seen the field in five weeks is far less than ideal.

Jackson has done everything that’s been asked of him in rehab sessions, but his knee reportedly still hasn’t quite felt right, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Rapoport asserts that PCL injuries take a bit longer than MCL injuries and that perhaps, due to Jackson’s explosive and agile nature of play, the standards for being back to 100% are different for Lamar than they would be for other quarterbacks.

Regardless, Jackson indicates that he’s confident he’ll be able to return in the playoffs, even if others involved in the recovery aren’t quite as sure. If Jackson isn’t available next week, a familiar refrain continues as Rapoport reports that the belief is that he will be able to go the following week, should Baltimore advance to the divisional round of the playoffs.

Here are a couple of other rumors from around the AFC North concerning the two teams in the division who played their last football of the season against each other today:

  • Browns edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney made headlines when he announced he was “ninety-five percent sure” he wouldn’t return to Cleveland and was sent home by the team. Although a likely change in defensive coordinator could improve his views on returning, Clowney has likely burned those bridges with his reported behavior, according to Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. In the team’s October loss to Baltimore, Clowney reportedly told defensive line coach Chris Kiffin that he was hurting after the first series of the game and, as a result, Kiffin only sent Clowney in on third downs for the rest of the game. It was later revealed that Clowney told Kiffin he was hurt because he was upset that the Browns lined him up on the left side over Ravens star tackle Ronnie Stanley instead of the right side with Morgan Moses. If the anecdote is true, a moved like that, which could be viewed as manipulative or petty, would almost guarantee that Clowney’s future was determined in way back in October.
  • During a Q&A with fans this week, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette hit on an intriguing note concerning Steelers third-string quarterback Mason Rudolph. A fan inquired about the chances of Rudolph accepting a deal to be the team’s backup in future seasons. Dulac’s response indicated that Rudolph likely doesn’t have “any interest in staying (in Pittsburgh) after the way he was demoted/treated.” This assertion is nothing new from Dulac who posited early in December that Rudolph and Mitchell Trubisky may both find themselves in new homes next year.

Damar Hamlin Roundup: Bills-Bengals Resumption, AFC Alterations, More

With Bills safety Damar Hamlin continuing to make progress in his recovery, and the NFL having moved forward with their re-worked playoff scenarios for the AFC, attention will now increasingly turn to the upcoming postseason. Here is a quick roundup, though, of some notes pertaining to the game in which he suffered cardiac arrest, and the process by which the new seeding parameters were arrived at:

  • Much has been made about the league’s intention of resuming the Buffalo-Cincinnati contest after Hamlin was taken off the field via ambulance. The ESPN broadcast of the game mentioned a five-minute warm-up period being relayed to both teams – something which NFL EVP Troy Vincent has, on multiple occasions, emphatically denied. Detailing the moments after Hamlin was resuscitated on the field, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports that an official told the Bengals a 10-minute warm-up period would take place before resuming the game. Further conversations ensured, however, which included Bills head coach Sean McDermott stating that he was willing to forfeit the game if it ensured it was not played on Monday night. The Bengals, Florio adds, were accommodating of the Bills’ wishes, though they were under the impression the contest would be finished on Tuesday until realizing the Bills had retuned to Buffalo before the league’s ultimate cancellation decision.
  • That move led to the modified AFC structure for playoff seeding, affecting the Bills’ and Bengals’ abilities to clinch the top spot in the conference. When speaking about the owners resolution passed on Friday, commissioner Roger Goodell described it as “a focused approach that would only affect four teams” (Twitter link via NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero). One of main consequences of the realignment was the ability the Chiefs had to clinch the No. 1 seed with a win on Saturday (which they did) and the decision to move any potential Chiefs-Bills AFC title game to a neutral site – a scenario which is in play given Buffalo’s win today.
  • Another, of course, was the amendment stating that home field for a Bengals-Ravens Wild Card matchup would have been decided by a coin flip had the Ravens won today (which they did not). Pelissero’s colleague Mike Garafolo tweets that proposals were in place to split the aforementioned amendments being voted on, but they did not pass. A coin flip being used to determine the top seed was not discussed, he adds (Twitter link). Throughout the process, the Chiefs abstained from voting given the direct effects the rule changes had on their path to the top spot in the AFC, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler (on Twitter).
  • The NFL also considered the possibility of the Ravens and Bengals playing their Wild Card matchup (which was a distinct possibility at the time, and has since been confirmed through today’s results) at a neutral site (Twitter link via Pelissero). Challenges with ticket sales and other logistics prevented that idea from gaining traction, however. Cincinnati and Baltimore will play each other for the third time this year – and second in as many weeks – during the first round of the postseason, with the Bengals playing host due to their superior record.
  • Competition committee chair Rich McKay said, when asked about the league’s decision not to simply base playoff implications on win percentage, “We don’t capture everything in every rule. When you face situations, you have to try to make adjustments. [This situation was] not that different from some of the COVID-related issues” (Twitter link via Pelissero and Garafolo’s colleague Ian Rapoport). No games were cancelled due to the pandemic, but the NFL has likewise arrived at a response to the unique situation presented by last Monday’s contest not being completed. Now, all affected teams will move forward with their eyes on a playoff run.

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/7/23

Today’s minor transactions heading into the final Sunday of the regular season:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

  • Promoted from practice squad: WR Josh Ali

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Ravens Hoping QB Lamar Jackson Back For Playoffs

Lamar Jackson has been sidelined for more than a month with a knee injury, but the Ravens are still holding out hope that their franchise quarterback will be back for the postseason. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman told ESPN’s Jamison Hensley that he wouldn’t put it past Jackson to play in the first round of the playoffs.

“He’s a special guy,” Roman said. “I think if somebody’s got a chance to do it, he does.”

“I would say, I would bet on him. I would definitely bet on him,” Roman added. “It’s not an ideal situation, obviously, but it’s a great opportunity when he does come back to get him back in the lineup and get moving.”

Jackson last saw the field on December 4th and hasn’t been spotted at practice since. The Ravens have kept Jackson’s progress close to their vest, with the coaching staff merely admitting that the QB could be back at some point this season. The QB wasn’t practicing again on Friday, and he had a “hitch in his walk” as recently as last Sunday, per Hensley. The coaching staff will obviously get more clarity on Jackson’s condition once he returns to the practice field, with John Harbaugh saying the team was “hopeful” that they’d get a look at the QB next week.

Meanwhile, backup (and fill-in) quarterback Tyler Huntley continues to be limited at practice with shoulder and wrist injuries. If neither of the Ravens’ top two QBs are good to go on Sunday against the Bengals, undrafted rookie Anthony Brown would get the start.

Owners Approve Proposal Modifying AFC Playoff Bracket

Following a Friday meeting, the NFL’s proposal to modify the AFC playoff bracket in certain circumstances — in the aftermath of the Bills-Bengals game being ruled a no-contest — passed and will be implemented this season, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reports (on Twitter).

Although the Bengals voiced persistent opposition, the proposal received the necessary 24 votes. The prospect of a neutral-site AFC championship game is now in play, along with a chance the Bengals and Ravens — in the event Baltimore defeats Cincinnati on Sunday — decide home field for a wild-card game via coin flip. The measure received 25 “yes” votes, according to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio (on Twitter).

To recap, the NFL’s cancelling of Week 17’s Bills-Bengals game led to a series of adjustments being discussed. While it does not appear expanding the playoffs to prevent a potentially unearned bye gained traction, the neutral-site reality is a go. Here are the scenarios in which the neutral-site modification will take effect:

  • Buffalo, Kansas City both win or both tie this weekend: Bills vs. Chiefs AFC championship is at neutral site
  • Buffalo, Kansas City both lose, Baltimore wins or ties: Bills vs. Chiefs AFC championship is at neutral site
  • Buffalo, Kansas City both lose, Cincinnati wins: Bills/Bengals vs. Chiefs AFC championship is at neutral site

This came about because the Bills (12-3) controlled their own destiny for the AFC’s No. 1 seed — a spot the franchise has not secured since 1993 — going into their Bengals matchup. By virtue of the no-contest ruling, the Chiefs (13-3) now have that path. Buffalo defeated Kansas City at Arrowhead Stadium this season, and because of the terrifying scene brought on by the Damar Hamlin injury and hospitalization, the NFL took a half-measure approach to account for this historically unusual postponement-turned-cancellation.

The Chiefs can still earn the AFC’s bye with a win Saturday over the Raiders, but if they meet the Bills again in the playoffs, the game will not be in Missouri. The Chiefs losing in Week 18 and the Bills winning would send a potential AFC title matchup to Buffalo, however, as Kansas City would not gain an edge from Buffalo’s no-contest in that scenario.

The Bills and Chiefs have met in each of the past two postseasons. Both games occurred in Kansas City, with the Chiefs winning each matchup. If the Chiefs lose Saturday or if the neutral-site scenario comes into play, it will be the first time they have played away from Arrowhead Stadium in the AFC playoffs since Patrick Mahomes‘ starter tenure began in 2018.

Roger Goodell will determine the neutral site. Indianapolis surfaced as a candidate Thursday, but Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes (on Twitter) prioritizing an outdoor venue became part of the discussion. As of Friday, the potential neutral site is not known. Ford Field is off limits, Rapoport adds, while NOLA.com’s Jeff Duncan confirms the NFL has not talked to Superdome officials (Twitter links).

On the AFC North front, the Bengals (11-4) have clinched the division title because their win percentage will eclipse the 10-6 Ravens’ regardless of what happens in the teams’ Sunday meeting. Had the Bills won Monday and the Ravens defeated the Bengals in Week 18, Baltimore would have won the AFC North. The NFL factored that outcome into this emergency proposal.

If the Ravens win this weekend and the two teams meet up in the wild-card round, then a coin toss with determine the home site. Goodell will supervise the toss. The Bengals are favored to beat the Lamar Jackson-less Ravens on Sunday, but if they lose, the first part of Friday’s changes would come into play.

Though Cincinnati could benefit from the neutral-site wrinkle, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reports Bengals ownership attempted to convince the league’s owners to vote down the NFL’s proposal. The competition committee approved the proposal Thursday, but one of its members — Bengals executive VP Katie Blackburn — dissented due to this change happening late in the season and not during the offseason. The NFL rulebook calls for win percentage to decide playoff seeding, in the event an uneven number of games are played. Then again, the league has not seen one of its seasons involve disparate game counts since 1935. In light of the Hamlin scene causing that streak to end, the competition committee to act.

The proper process for making rule change [sic] is in the off-season,” Blackburn wrote, via ESPN.com’s Seth Wickersham. “It is not appropriate to put teams in a position to vote for something that may introduce bias, favor one team over another or impact their own situation when the vote takes place immediately before the playoffs.”

Zac Taylor also voiced disappointment Friday the NFL is not going by win percentage. It is certainly understandable for the Bengals, who are known for voting against rule changes, to voice opposition; the change could hurt their chances of defending their AFC title. But Cincinnati is a seven-point favorite over a Tyler Huntley-quarterbacked Baltimore squad this week. Jackson was healthy when the Ravens defeated the Bengals. Taking care of business in Week 18 will remove the coin-flip component from these modifications.

The NFL expanded to seven-team playoff brackets per conference in 2020, after moving from five to six teams ahead of the 1990 season. But Friday marks the first in-season change to the playoff setup since 1982, when a players’ strike led to the league creating a 16-team field ahead of Super Bowl XVII. The AFC’s route to Super Bowl LVII will be quite confusing, should the favorites prevail.

NFL Cancels Bills/Bengals, Will Consider Neutral Site AFC Championship Game

The NFL has announced that the Bills/Bengals Week 17 contest will not resume and has officially been cancelled, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Meanwhile, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero passes along (on Twitter) the NFL’s logic for not resuming the game:

  • “Not playing the Buffalo-Cincinnati game to its conclusion will have no effect on which clubs qualify for the postseason. No club would qualify for the postseason and no club will be eliminated based on the outcome of this game.”
  • “It would require postponing the start of the playoffs for one week, thereby affecting all 14 clubs that qualify for postseason play.”
  • “Making the decision prior to Week 18 is consistent with our competitive principles and enables all clubs to know the playoff possibilities prior to playing the final weekend of regular season games.”

“This has been a very difficult week,” commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement (via Pelissero). “We continue to focus on the recovery of Damar Hamlin and are encouraged by the improvements in his condition as well as the tremendous outpouring of support and care for Damar and his family from across the country. We are also incredibly appreciative of the amazing work of the medical personnel and commend each and every one of them.”

We learned earlier tonight that the NFL’s owners would be meeting tomorrow to discuss the AFC playoff picture. Pelissero has passed along the scenario recommended by Goodell and the league’s Competition Committee, which met earlier tonight. Considering the “potential competitive inequities in certain playoff scenarios,” the AFC Championship Game will be played at a neutral site if the participating teams played an unequal number of games and could have been the top seed had they played an entire 17-game schedule. This would require the Bills or Bengals to qualify for the AFC Championship as a road team, and it would also be dependent on one of three scenarios heading into the final weekend:

  • Buffalo, Kansas City both win or both tie this weekend: Bills vs. Chiefs AFC Championship is at neutral site
  • Buffalo, Kansas City both lose, Baltimore wins or ties: Bills vs. Chiefs AFC Championship is at neutral site
  • Buffalo, Kansas City both lose, Cincinnati wins: Bills/Bengals vs. Chiefs AFC Championship is at neutral site

If Buffalo wins on Sunday and the Chiefs lose, no neutral sites will come into play and the Bills will have the No. 1 seed, as Schefter clarifies (on Twitter). If a neutral site does come to into play, it’s uncertain where the game will be played. Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports tweets that the NFL is still working through what city would host the game.

There’s a second issue surrounding the Ravens’ and Bengals’ spots in the playoff standings. If Baltimore beats Cincinnati this weekend, the Bengals would still have the higher winning percentage (and higher seed) by virtue of having played less games, but the Ravens would still have won both of these divisional matchups. If the Ravens win this weekend and the two teams meet up in the Wild Card round, then a coin toss with determine the home site. Still, with Bengals owning the better winning percentage, they’d still be crowned division champs, per Pelissero (on Twitter).

“As we considered the football schedule, our principles have been to limit disruption across the league and minimize competitive inequities,” Goodell said. “I recognize that there is no perfect solution. The proposal we are asking the ownership to consider, however, addresses the most significant potential equitable issues created by the difficult, but necessary, decision not to play the game under these extraordinary circumstances.”

For what it’s worth, Jones tweets that the NFL never considered adding an eighth playoff team. We learned earlier that such a drastic change would require collective bargaining with the NFL Players Association.

NFL Moving Toward Canceling Bills-Bengals Game?

No NFL game has been canceled since the 1987 season, when a players’ strike led to a 15-game campaign, and CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones notes no game has started and not been completed in league history. The league rescheduled its Week 2 games in 2001, after the September 11 attacks led to their postponement, and put Tuesdays and Wednesdays in play for COVID-19-affected contests in 2020 and ’21. Three days after the Bills-Bengals game’s postponement, the league has not announced a plan.

NFL executive vice president Troy Vincent said everything is being considered, while fellow EVP Jeff Miller noted the league did not begin discussions on how to proceed with the game until recently (Twitter links via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo). Miller said, however, a decision should emerge this week, via the Boston Globe’s Ben Volin (on Twitter).

Some among the Bills are skeptical the game will be resumed, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com notes (video link). Logistical reasons are behind the doubt, and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes momentum is building toward the league canceling the game and dealing with the consequences. An announcement along these lines should be expected Thursday, Florio tweets.

As the NFL found its footing in the 1920s and ’30s, league schedules regularly featured teams ending seasons with disparate game counts. Since 1936, however, every team has finished a season playing the same number of games. This week’s situation threatens that streak.

Had the Bills (12-3) won in Cincinnati and then defeated the Patriots, they would have clinched their first No. 1 seed since 1993. Had the Bengals (11-4) won, they would have clinched the AFC North title and had a path to their first home-field advantage perch since 1988. As it stands now, the Chiefs (13-3) — based on win percentage — would be in position to capture the top seed by beating the Raiders on Saturday. While Kansas City grabbing the top seed would come with an asterisk, Florio adds the prospect of playing the AFC championship game on a neutral field is not on the table. Monday’s game being declared a no-contest would also wrap the 10-6 Ravens’ chances of winning the AFC North.

Other options exist here, and an NFL source informed Fowler the league moving the schedule back — via eliminating the bye week ahead of Super Bowl LVII — should be a possibility. The NFL did this during the 2001 season, though Jones adds NFL sources view a no-contest scenario as the cleanest as of Thursday morning. Rescheduling the Super Bowl is also not in play, per Jones.

Moving the Bills-Bengals tilt to next week — creating a de facto Week 19 — would also put the two playoff-bound teams at a bit of a disadvantage, with the rest of the postseason qualifiers being given an unusual bye week. Albert Breer of SI.com offers a scenario in which Goodell determines the Chiefs and Bills’ records through 16 games, thus putting Buffalo — which beat Kansas City in October — back on track to earn the No. 1 seed with a win over New England. Although such a plan would create a strange precedent, this week has effectively moved the league into uncharted territory.

Updated 2023 NFL Draft Order

As the NFL determines how it will proceed with the postponed Bills-Bengals game, Week 18 is on as scheduled. The No. 1 overall pick remains in doubt, and seven teams enter the final week either 6-10 or 7-9. Several games will impact how the top 10 shakes out.

Having lost nine straight, the Bears (3-13) are a half-game behind the Texans (2-13-1) for the No. 1 overall pick. Houston last held that draft slot in 2014, while Chicago has not picked first since 1947. The Texans are also playing a Colts team they tied in Week 1; Indianapolis enters Week 18 on a six-game skid. Conversely, the Bears face a Vikings squad that still has a path to the NFC’s No. 2 seed.

Week 17 also brought clarity on the NFC South. Although the Buccaneers have disappointed, their comeback win over the Panthers secured the franchise’s third straight playoff berth. That will mean Tampa Bay’s pick will check in no higher than 18th overall, while the Carolina and New Orleans slots could land in the top 10. The loser of Saturday’s Jaguars-Titans game would also see their draft slot rise several positions. Four of the five traded picks remain in the top 12, with the Seahawks’ spot (via the Broncos) still slotting highest — behind only the Texans and Bears’ positions.

For non-playoff teams, the draft order will be determined by the inverted 2022 standings — plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule — with playoff squads being slotted by their postseason outcome and regular-season record. Here is how the draft order looks entering Week 18:

  1. Houston Texans: 2-13-1
  2. Chicago Bears: 3-13
  3. Seattle Seahawks (via Broncos)
  4. Arizona Cardinals: 4-12
  5. Indianapolis Colts: 4-11-1
  6. Detroit Lions (via Rams)
  7. Atlanta Falcons: 6-10
  8. Las Vegas Raiders: 6-10
  9. Carolina Panthers: 6-10
  10. Philadelphia Eagles (via Saints)
  11. Tennessee Titans: 7-9
  12. Houston Texans (via Browns)
  13. New York Jets: 7-9
  14. Washington Commanders: 7-8-1
  15. Pittsburgh Steelers: 8-8
  16. Green Bay Packers: 8-8
  17. Detroit Lions: 8-8
  18. Seattle Seahawks: 8-8
  19. Jacksonville Jaguars: 8-8
  20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 8-8
  21. New England Patriots: 8-8
  22. New York Giants: 9-6-1
  23. Baltimore Ravens: 10-6
  24. Los Angeles Chargers: 10-6
  25. Cincinnati Bengals: 11-4
  26. Minnesota Vikings: 12-4
  27. Dallas Cowboys: 12-4
  28. Denver Broncos (via 49ers)
  29. Buffalo Bills: 12-3
  30. Kansas City Chiefs: 13-3
  31. Philadelphia Eagles: 13-3

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/4/23

Today’s minor NFL transactions:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Commanders

  • Placed on IR: LB De’Jon Harris