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Unless you’ve just crawled out from under a rock you are probably well aware that Ravens offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak will return for his second season with the team.
The continuity is important for Joe Flacco and an offensive line that made remarkable improvements over 2013. Plus Kubiak genuinely seems interested in building something special.
“It is flattering and humbling to be invited to interview for a number of NFL head coaching positions, and I greatly appreciate these opportunities.
“This is a special organization and we, like Coach Harbaugh says, are building something great. I want to be a part of that and contribute in whatever ways I can.”
One source has also indicated that Kubes is building a home in the Owings Mills area. That would suggest at least some temporary stability. Besides the teams said to be interested in Kubiak (Chicago, NY Jets) have unstable offenses and are led by quarterbacks skating on thin ice, both possible influencers in Kubes’ decision.
Many fans were concerned that if Kubiak did leave he would have taken Quarterback Coach Rick Dennison and Tight Ends Coach Brian Pariani with him. Several media members have suggested the same.
I think they got it half right.
Dennison would be the one most likely to leave and become Kubiak’s offensive coordinator. Pariani was brought to Baltimore to replace Wade Harman, a well-liked coach who performed well as a Harbaugh assistant. His firing was initially curious, particularly given Harbaugh’s loyalties to his staff — until you consider the big picture.
Pariani has had several tours of duty in the NFL with Kubiak in San Francisco, Denver, Houston and now in Baltimore. It is possible that Pariani replaced Harman, a hiring that came a couple of days after those of Kubiak and Dennison, to eventually be the Ravens offensive coordinator should both Kubiak and Dennison depart. That way the newly installed Kubiak system could remain intact and continuity saved.
Brian McFarland posted a brilliant piece on the Ravens Salary Cap, which you can study HERE. You will see that the Ravens will be very busy and they’ll need to be creative in order to give their roster the proper augmentation.
That said, I’ll use Brian’s analysis and put on my Ozzie Newsome hat and suggest some cap moves:
• Chris Canty is often listed among the injured and hasn’t played a full schedule since 2011. Brent Urban showed promise during training camp. I’ll take my chances on Urban and save $2.66M against the cap by bidding a fond adieu to Canty.
• Jacoby Jones has bad hands and bad instincts – not exactly what you want from your return specialist. This isn’t a new development. Jones’ straight-line speed and burst allowed you to overlook his shortcomings. The speed and burst are gone and it’s now time to turn those chores over to Mike Campanaro at least for punt return duties. Cap Savings — $750,000.
• Sam Koch had a nice season but it’s hard to justify a $3.1M cap figure for a punter. It’s time to cut that in half by re-negotiating or cut it even further by finding the next Koch in the draft. Minimum savings: $1.55M.
• The Ravens have to keep their offensive line together. Both Marshal Yanda and Kelechi Osemele are UFA’s after 2015. It’s time to dial up new deals for both. Extending Yanda lowers his cap number while KO gets a bump. The Ravens can realize a modest savings in 2015 by doing so with the properly structured deals. Let’s be conservative and call it and even $1M in cap savings for 2015.
• Albert McClellan is too expensive for his limited role. Releasing him represents a cap savings of $1.2M.
• Jimmy Smith has a $6.9M cap figure in 2015. Now is the time to extend him as well and get this year’s cap number down to around $5M. Savings = $1.9M in 2015.
• Haloti Ngata carries a $16M cap figure in 2015. That WILL change. Releasing Ngata represents an $8.5M cap savings. The 5-time Pro Bowler had a solid season but did not perform to the level of his contract and his is a position of strength for the Ravens. The 80/20 rule (80% of production for 20% of cost) might bite the behemoth defensive tackle. If he stays, and for purposes of this discussion we’ll say he does, our Capologist Brian McFarland believes that given the team’s history with deals like this (see Terrell Suggs) the new deal would probably come with a cap number of $11M in 2015, a $5M savings.
• Lardarius Webb is injury prone and his play is that of a B-rated corner with A-rated pay. Cap savings to be determined but his number should be at MINIMUM two-thirds of the current $12M. Savings = $4M.
Ok, so I just saved the Ravens $18M in cap space. Where should we go shopping?
OTHER NOTES
Word is that Gary Kubiak wants a big receiver who will go up and get contested catches. The Tampa Bay Bucs have two such receivers, one of which was on the trading block in 2014 – Vincent Jackson.
Jackson and rookie Mike Evans are similar players and the team may have concluded that they need to be more diverse at the position. If traded the Bucs would feel the cap brunt and the Ravens may be able to negotiate a deal that fits their cap framework. Such money would be better spent on Jackson than say Torrey Smith.
Speaking of Torrey, he’s a great guy and teammate who lacks instincts and football IQ. Money possibly earmarked for Torrey could go to someone like Jackson.
Word is that the team is unsure of how they’ll deal with Smith and should he return the bet is it will be for a very team-friendly contract.
Anquan Boldin carries a cap figure of $6.9M in 2015 and the 49ers could save nearly $3.3M by releasing the former Raven according to Spotrac.
Would you?
