UPDATE: Will Hill has received a 10-game suspension from the NFL, according to Adam Schefter. These opinions were given BEFORE the suspension was announced.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Ravens released Will Hill, one of their two starting safeties in 2015. Last year, Hill recorded 1 sack, 1 interception, and 6 passes defended. His most memorable play was the “kick-six” that won the game on the road in Cleveland.
The move saves Baltimore $3.04M in Salary Cap space. The RSR staff reacts.
We are releasing safety Will Hill this afternoon.
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) March 16, 2016
Mike Fast
Before Eric Weddle came to town, I thought Will Hill was Baltimore’s best safety by a long shot. But I’m assuming because of Webb’s tenure and salary, the Ravens weren’t going to get rid of him (Webb), which makes Hill the odd man out.
On a defense that under-performed last year, Hill made a lot of plays; the biggest of which was his “kick-six” to end the game at Cleveland on Monday Night Football.
It’s unfortunate he won’t be on the team anymore, as he was one of the better playmakers on the defense. Best of luck in the future, Will!
Kyle Rate
Can’t really wrap my head around this one. Hill’s expensive but he was the team’s best safety not named Eric Weddle and would’ve theoretically made a decent partnership with the newly-acquired Weddle. Webb, at his salary, better make plays back there.
Joe Polek
Cap casualties that I am disappointed about. I like Hill but it is all about the Cap. Ozzie has a plan and we are seeing it play out. Maybe Hill comes back at a lesser amount. Or the Ravens go after someone else but with the secondary issues this team has had, this will not be the last move.
Ryan Jones
I’ll be blunt, I hate this move. I understand that the Ravens view their safety positions as interchangeable but it still doesn’t make any sense.
Hill was the best safety on the team last year, he’s younger and his salary over the next couple seasons is very manageable. Why would a team that lacks turnovers and game changing plays release one of the few players that has actually has made some.
I don’t understand the Ravens loyalty to Lardarius Webb. He has had one season, 2011, that would justify the salary he’s being paid. And now that he’s not good enough to play corner he’s one of the highest paid safeties in the NFL?
Adam Bonaccorsi
I honestly thought Webb would go before Hill, but I guess with similar cap savings, Webb offers more flexibility on the field than Hill, as Webb has the ability to play Cornerback and Safety*.
Some may be disappointed but I simply remember the boneheaded late hits, the unnecessary holds and the blank stares at the rest of the secondary whenever his guy burned him.
And yet… Maybe a return at a lower number isn’t totally out of the question…
Tyler Lombardi
In his debut season with the Ravens in 2014, I thought Will Hill might help to solidify the back end of the defense. After Jimmy Smith’s season-ending injury, he was the most trustworthy part of the secondary. But boneheaded mistakes plagued him during his time in 2015. He was frequently called for ridiculous, flagrant fouls.
Fans will likely remember how well he played against the Saints. They’ll remember that he performed wonderfully against Jimmy Graham.
And they will never forget the kick-six on Monday Night Football.
Tony Lombardi
From a cap perspective, unless there are more roster additions forthcoming, the Ravens didn’t have to part ways with Will Hill. But they did.
From a schematic perspective, you might think that Eric Weddle would be better complemented by Hill than Lardarius Webb and therefore keep the former Giant. But they didn’t.
I won’t pretend to know more about what the Ravens should do with their personnel packages but this move suggests that the Ravens want their safeties to be able to cover halves of the field and in doing so invite more press coverage from their corners and nickel as well as mask their coverages.
Hill has given the Ravens value at a moderate price. We’ll see what the Ravens do with the newfound cap space. Hopefully they can add some quality depth on the offensive line so that they can focus on speed, impact players in the draft.
An offseason can’t be judge until the first regular season game.
The shaping of the roster remains a work in progress.
As for Hill, here’s to you finding a new home suited to your skills. What I’ll remember most is the pick 6 in New Orleans and the would-be game saving pick that was stolen away in Oakland by incompetent officiating (imagine that)!
Thanks for the memories.
The Thrill is gone!
Ken McKusick
I had high hopes for Hill to be the playmaker the secondary needed, but I’m not shocked by the release.
Hill was removed in passing situations at the end of last season and wasn’t disciplined enough to provide over-the-top coverage value. He’s an in-the-box safety, who is most akin to Corey Harris in Ravens history. His missed snaps by game tell a story, so I’ll give you the whole set, ordered by week: 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 2, 0, 6, 6, 19, 0, 28, 41. Will was an every-snap fixture for the first 10 weeks, during which time the Ravens signed him to the extension. Pees then started removing him on passing downs with Webb at safety and Smith and Wright at corner (plus Arrington in some nickel alignments). The most telling play of the year was the last offensive snap for Pittsburgh in Week 16. Hill was removed for that snap as Arrington and Levine entered to play deep in a dime alignment. That was telling commentary on his discipline.
He’ll help someone as a dime back or in a system where he can play exclusively strong safety.
