Frustrated as a Ravens fan?
I am.
There are many great qualities to the Baltimore Ravens organization. Sometimes we as fans take certain things for granted. You look at all of the success this team has had over the last 14 years and you become in awe of what you have seen. They are truly one of the best teams in professional sports.
But one area where I do have a problem with the Ravens organization is their management of the salary cap. Many times over the last several years the Ravens have had contract negotiations with a lot of stars on the team from Ray Lewis to Terrell Suggs to Haloti Ngata to Ray Rice to Joe Flacco now. Never once it seems have the Ravens gone and made a deal that would be a year earlier so they don’t have to sweat it out. Every contract has gone this way it seems.
Whether the contract is up or it is one year away from being up, the Ravens always put themselves in this position. Now, it has been two weeks since the Ravens won Super Bowl and the front office knows what is in front of them. They know Flacco is the future of this team. They know other players need to be dealt with too. So what is taking so long? They know better than me, but it just feels like there are better ways to go about this. That’s my issue.
Tight End Dennis Pitta has one year left on his contract. He will most likely sign the one-year tender. But if possible, don’t you think the Ravens should re-sign him long term before he asks for more money next season? Even if it is a $4 million per year, it’s a worth it. Some Raven fans have debated whether or not he is worth that I think he is. Pitta was among the league leaders in TD’s and catches among tight ends last year.
Maybe with the new CBA that is likely to show increase in the cap in 2015 the Ravens won’t have to deal with this anymore.
More likely though, they’ll keep spending and butting their heads against the ceiling year after year.
The Ravens put themselves in this situation. Time is not on their side so they better find a way to come out of this predicament.
