Ozzie says contract offer to Joe still in place regardless what happens on Feb 3rd

[pslholder96]

Hmmm....got to be just smoke and mirrors or maybe the Ravens already have a more generous offer in place. It's got be more generous than most of think.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...in-super-bowl/

[B-more Ravor]

Hmmm....got to be just smoke and mirrors or maybe the Ravens already have a more generous offer in place. It's got be more generous than most of think.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...in-super-bowl/

Actually, that's PFT's headline, but nowhere in there is there a quote from Ozzie saying that.

All Ozzie appears to be saying is that he'll look - and has looked - at everything Joe does (practice, film study, etc) when determining the teams offer.

I see nothing in there that says we're not going to make him a substantial offer or that Ozzie is trying to lessen Flacco's value (as PFT seems to be implying).

[goldenelite28]

Going by Ozzie's comments i can also say that if Flacco plays poorly that it will not change the contract.

[Ravenswintitle]

Going by Ozzie's comments i can also say that if Flacco plays poorly that it will not change the contract.

what good can come out of saying that?

some people will look at what he does on Sunday afternoon, but I have an entire body of work to look at,” Newsome said,

[JoeCool5]

Ozzie has repeatedly stated that he and Joe have a "good understanding" about Joe's next contract. It seems to me that some of the parameters have been agreed upon, with the rest of the details needing to be ironed out. If we win next Sunday, I think Joe's price could escalate a tad, which the team might be happy to accomodate. I like how Ozzie says he needs to look at the entire body of work. This is what good teams do.

[AirFlacco]

Bisciotti will not let JOe leave. He always pays the going rate to whom he wants to like Ray, Suggs, Ngata, Rice, etc and let the guys walk like Hartwell, JJ and probably Kruger this year and Joe will get the going rate win or lose next week which will be $100M with about half guaranteed but he'll out-live the contract to collect all of it. In Ngata's case he even said I'm
trying to give away $60M-lol. And that was around the general amount he signed for.

[GOTA]

Whatever offer Ozzie is going to make isn't going to be leaked to the press.

[Paintballguy]

Bisciotti will not let JOe leave. He always pays the going rate to whom he wants to like Ray, Suggs, Ngata, Rice, etc and let the guys walk like Hartwell, JJ and probably Kruger this year and Joe will get the going rate win or lose next week which will be $100M with about half guaranteed but he'll out-live the contract to collect all of it. In Ngata's case he even said I'm
trying to give away $60M-lol. And that was around the general amount he signed for.

Yep. The Biscuit will pay Joe a lot. It's just a matter of when the deal gets done.

[AirFlacco]

A funny thing was when Tony interviewed Bisciotti, an excellent article he posted on this site and it's still around here somewhere,
and Tony asked him who was most important in going to 5 straight POs and Bisciotti said w/o hesitation - Flacco. Tony was so
shocked it took 5 mins to sink in.

Now Bisciotti didn't earn enough to buy a football team by being dumb but all the agent has to do is wave that clipping in
their faces next time they meet and say this is what we've been saying. Show us the money and they will have to. But
there's a general parameter as Billick always said for around the above amount. It won't be more than that and Joe won't dart.

[JustaslowZ06]

Really Joe is worth a top 5 contract. I actually had my doubts before and said he should maybe get a little less, but realistically he's worth it. He doesn't have a Roddy White and Julio Jones on the outside. He doesn't have a Megatron. He doesn't have a Brandon Marshall even. He's working with guys who sure we love but on the list overall aren't wowing anyone. Boldin fits us greatly and is FINALLY getting used right, too bad we wasted a couple years of his career, but realistically is plodding on the downward trend of his time. Torrey shows great flashes, but than disappears sometimes when he's the primary focus of a D. Pitta just keeps on trucking on and I think can be that Heap type of player although he's not quite there yet.

[lowrider]

Really Joe is worth a top 5 contract.

I agree, and when Ozzie says he's going to look at Joe's entire body of work, I think that says he gets paid amongst the top 5 over the the past 5 years. The past 2 seasons Joe has been money in the playoffs. This should have been back-to-back SB appearances.

[AirFlacco]

He should have been to more than that. Remember the drops in Pissburgh couple of years ago and that was after the
3rd and 19 play with 2 mins left and Joe still brought them back and dumped the ball in Boldin's lap on the goal line and he dropped it but he's making up for it this year and that might be why.

Even in Joe's rookie year he came within 4 mins of SB but that stupid out of bounds hit took him way back when he was nearing mid field with 4 mins left. He came that close w/o any WRs at all as Mason was taken out as usual in the POs. That's why everyone
said Ozzie would get Joe some weapons in the next draft but he didn't so it was more of the same misses on dropped balls. Oz
passed on Nicks and Wallace who led their teams to SB before us.

He should have been to 4 SBs in last 5 years and none of the misses are his fault. The only one we would have lost
was the Green Bay SB. We would have beaten NY last year after beating Houston twice last year including the POs
which had a better defense.

[CincyCat]

Since I don't hear the story every day, is Joe going to become a free agent if the Ravens don't meet his contract wishes? I'm sure they will franchise him, but has Joe ever acted like leaving would be something he would consider?

[Paintballguy]

Since I don't hear the story every day, is Joe going to become a free agent if the Ravens don't meet his contract wishes? I'm sure they will franchise him, but has Joe ever acted like leaving would be something he would consider?

No chance in hell. He's 100% getting the tag if for some reason they don't reach a deal.

[Raving Sports Fan]

He should have been to more than that. Remember the drops in Pissburgh couple of years ago and that was after the
3rd and 19 play with 2 mins left and Joe still brought them back and dumped the ball in Boldin's lap on the goal line and he dropped it but he's making up for it this year and that might be why.

Even in Joe's rookie year he came within 4 mins of SB but that stupid out of bounds hit took him way back when he was nearing mid field with 4 mins left. He came that close w/o any WRs at all as Mason was taken out as usual in the POs. That's why everyone
said Ozzie would get Joe some weapons in the next draft but he didn't so it was more of the same misses on dropped balls. Oz
passed on Nicks and Wallace who led their teams to SB before us.

He should have been to 4 SBs in last 5 years and none of the misses are his fault. The only one we would have lost
was the Green Bay SB. We would have beaten NY last year after beating Houston twice last year including the POs
which had a better defense.

I pretty much feel the same way

[Bigfish]

Currently the top 5 salaries on the Ravens are all on defense. I don't know how most teams are built, but I would think the Ravens are an exception to the rule. Lewis and Reed are included with Suggs, Ngata and Webb. The last 3 are under contract and not retiring next year. Suggs is the highest paid Raven and his contract runs through 2015, Ngata 2016 and Webb 2018. Joe will be #1 next year, no doubt. Lewis will be gone and Reed won't be here unless he takes a significant reduction. The good part about Reed is if he walks we don't take a CAP hit (even though I'd like to see him stay). Yanda is the second highest paid offensive player behind Rice. When was the last superstar receiver on the Ravens? This seems to be a strategy for a long time which the only one around that long is Ozzie. I'm not complaining because Ozzie has fielded competitive teams. Joe has done well considering we have not had superstar receivers, and I'm sure the front office recognizes that.

[The Excellector]

What this really sounds like is:

Ozzie has offer A in mind, while Joe has offer B in mind. All Ozzie is saying is that, offer A will remain on the table, no matter what happens next Sunday. He is saying that they both have an understanding of that and how Ozzie's offer can get closer to Joe's offer. So, it's not exactly like Joe's number is going up. It's that Ozzie willingness to meet Joe's number is going up.

[GOTA]

Since I don't hear the story every day, is Joe going to become a free agent if the Ravens don't meet his contract wishes? I'm sure they will franchise him, but has Joe ever acted like leaving would be something he would consider?

Joe has never given the impression that he would be open to leaving. Neither had Rice, nor Yanda, nor Suggs or any of the other guys they drafted and eventually signed for big money. On the flip side Ben Grubbs was the same way and then he took the bigger money from the Saints, which also happened to be his hometown team.

Joe is from this area. He's been treated great. He loves playing for a winner. The Ravens would have to really piss him off for him to consider leaving. If they offer him a contract that is reasonable from a top QB point of view he's going to sign it.

[RavenScallywag]

A starting QB really has different rules when it comes to retention...you can choose to move on from a starting WR, RB, CB, LB, etc...

RARELY do you let your starting QB walk, unless you for SURE have his replacement ready to go. Even then, teams mull whether or not to do it.

Joe isn't going anywhere. Joe knows that, Linta knows that, Ozzie knows it, Steve B knows it. The franchise tag is basically "the backup plan" if we can't work out some middle ground by free agency. After that, hard to say but I'd be very surprised if we let him play this season on the tag. Again, different rules for a starting QB. You know it's 99% unlikely you can, in one year, grab a QB to replace Joe, even on an interim basis. Letting him play on the franchise tag, he has another good year, and suddenly that contract you were hesitant to give him becomes the contract he'd laugh off the table.

[srobert96]

I think the term and total contract value has been more or less agreed by both sides. It is really the guaranteed money and structure that still remains a question. I am guessing the Ravens wanted to wait until this year when they would have a little more room to with some of the contracts coming off of the books. The Ravens had a tight cap situation this year and Rice was eating up a large portion of that when he was tagged. I am guessing that the Ravens were figuring they would need to do a bit of a roster overhaul this year.