Patrick Ricard

Ravens Hope To Extend Bradley Bozeman, Patrick Ricard

The Ravens are looking to extend the contracts of center Bradley Bozeman and fullback/tight end Patrick Ricard, according to league sources who spoke with Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. However, they’ve yet to make real progress on either front. 

[RELATED: Ravens’ Jackson Out For Week 11]

The Ravens want to keep both players, but they’re up against a tight cap situation already with less than $900K in room, according to Over The Cap. Meanwhile, they also have to prioritize Lamar Jackson‘s next contract. Reportedly, the star quarterback wants something in the range Patrick Mahomes‘ $45MM/year deal with the Chiefs. The Ravens can probably shave a few million off of that total — without matching KC’s ten-year commitment to Mahomes — but it’ll be a whopper of a contract no matter what.

The Ravens could consider the transition tag for Bozeman, but he’d be lumped in with the league’s highest paid tackles with the offensive lineman designation. That’d mean a ~$15M salary for next year, which is outsized even for this year’s No. 9 ranked center (per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics). The same goes for Ricard — whether he’s classified as a tight end or a running back, the ~$10MM transition tag would be far too pricey, despite his blocking ability. For now, he’s playing out the remainder of his two-year, $7.3MM pact.

Bozeman, who turns 27 later this week, could probably garner upwards of $10MM/year on the open market. For reference, there are are currently eight centers in the eight-figure per annum club: Frank Ragnow (Lions), Corey Linsley (Chargers), Ryan Kelly (Colts), J.C. Tretter (Browns), Ryan Jensen (Buccaneers), Brandon Linder (Jaguars), Chase Roullier (Washington), and Rodney Hudson (Cardinals).

Ravens, Steelers Place 3 Players On Reserve/COVID-19 List

5:52pm: While a sixth straight day did produce a Ravens positive coronavirus test, just one player’s test came back positive Friday. Practice squad offensive lineman Will Holden tested positive, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter). Holden will become the 15th player on Baltimore’s reserve/COVID-19 list. This will continue to be the NFL situation to monitor over the next few days.

3:28pm: The Ravens and Steelers each moved three players to their respective reserve/COVID-19 lists Friday. This comes shortly after the NFL pushed the AFC North’s top rivalry back to Tuesday night.

Stephon Tuitt, defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs and offensive lineman Jerald Hawkins are now on the Steelers’ virus list, while the Ravens moved fullback Patrick Ricard, long snapper Morgan Cox and defensive tackle Justin Madubuike to theirs. Lamar Jackson also landed on Baltimore’s COVID list. The reigning MVP tested positive for the coronavirus Thursday; Ricard confirmed (via Twitter) he tested positive as well.

For the Ravens, this increases their COVID list to 14 players — including key cogs Jackson, Ricard, Calais Campbell, Brandon Williams, Matt Skura, Pernell McPhee, Mark Ingram and J.K. Dobbins. This concerning number resulted in the NFL moving the Ravens-Steelers rematch for a second time. The 7pm Tuesday slot, however, represents conceivably the final Week 12 window for this game. Another delay would test the NFL in a way previous virus issues have not.

It is not known if Tuitt tested positive. If he did not, he could still play Tuesday. Depending on when the standout defensive lineman’s last contact with a COVID-19-positive person occurred, he could still be activated in time for the Steelers’ Tuesday game. With the NFL moving Week 13’s Ravens-Cowboys game to Monday, Dec. 7, Jackson could be activated. Had the NFL kept that game on Thursday — which it will if the Steelers-Ravens tilt cannot be played Tuesday — Jackson would have been ineligible to return for that contest.

Ravens Sign Patrick Ricard To Extension

The Ravens and fullback Patrick Ricard have agreed to a new deal, per a club announcement. The extension will take Ricard through the 2021 season. 

The two-year add-on is worth $7.3MM, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). In effect, the deal matches the $3MM+ RFA tender he would have received for 2020, plus one year worth $4MM.

The Ravens have been discussing a new contract with Ricard throughout the year and, with months to spare before free agency, they got it done. Before this, the former undrafted free agent out of Maine was playing out the final year of a three-year, $1.66MM deal. The new pact should give him a pay bump, plus a bit of security in the event of an injury.

Through 12 games this year, Ricard has eight catches for 47 yards and one touchdown. More importantly, he’s provided quality pass blocking, as evidenced by his position leading score from Pro Football Focus.

In other Ravens news, safety Brynden Trawick has been activated from injured reserve. He’ll be eligible to play right away, starting with Sunday’s road contest against the Bills.

Ravens, FB/DL Patrick Ricard Open Extension Talks

The Ravens have opened extension talks with fullback/defensive lineman Patrick Ricard, according to Nick Underhill of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Ricard, 25, entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Maine in 2017. A full-time defensive lineman at the collegiate level, Ricard has played both defensive line and fullback with Baltimore. During his rookie campaign, Ricard played 149 snaps on offense and just 38 on defense while catching four passes for 12 yards and two touchdowns. In 2018, however, his playing time was reduced even further, as he saw only 94 snaps on offense and 47 on defense.

Because Ricard was undrafted, he can be extended after two NFL seasons, whereas drafted players must wait until their third pro year is complete before working out a new deal. Ricard will be a restricted free agent in 2020, so by agreeing to an extension, he could potentially sacrifice some contractual upside for the financial security of a long-term pact.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/20/17

The latest minor transactions from around the NFL:

  • The Ravens made a few moves on Thursday, per the Baltimore Sun’s Jeff Zrebiec, who reports that the club waived/injured defensive back Daniel Henry, placed offensive lineman Jermaine Eluemunor on the non-football injury list, and put wide receiver Aaron Bailey and defensive end Patrick Ricard on the physically unable to perform list (Twitter links). With the exception of the English-born Eluemunor, a fifth-round pick, all of those players joined the Ravens this year as undrafted free agents.
  • The Patriots cut offensive lineman Chase Farris, opening up a spot on their 90-man roster, tweets Doug Kyed of NESN. Farris went undrafted out of Ohio State last year and then signed with the Lions, who cut him prior to Week 1. He has been in and out of the New England organization on multiple occasions since then.
  • The Saints placed Travin Dural and Devaroe Lawrence on the non-football injury list. Dural’s condition is “nothing serious,” Nick Underhill of The Advocate (on Twitter) hears.
  • The Jaguars sent fullback Marquez Williams to the PUP list, according to Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union (Twitter link). Williams, out of Miami (Ohio), went to Jacksonville in the seventh round of this year’s draft.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Ravens Sign 15 UDFAs

The Ravens have signed the following undrafted free agents:

After neglecting to draft a wide receiver last week, the Ravens have added four WRs in White, Patrick, Adeboyejo, and Board. The Ravens currently project to have Mike Wallace and Breshad Perriman as their top two WRs with Chris Moore, Michael Campanaro, Vince Mayle, Chris Matthews, and Keenan Reynolds pushing for supporting roles.

On Friday, the Ravens officially signed first-round cornerback Marlon Humphrey and four other draft picks.