Yes it’s possible!
At first when this idea was thrown out I thought it was crazy. It still is, but it’s also possible so hear me out.
Everyone is focused on our current cap situation which there is very little money currently but it’s more about the next few years and how the contract is written.
Next year on the books for offensive weapons which include wide receivers, tight ends and running backs, by my calculations we have just over 11 million invested and that’s including Maxx Williams’ 1.2 million cap hit if he hangs around, and Danny Woodhead’s 3.3 million cap hit. To reiterate that’s every offensive weapon that can touch the ball and score minus the quarterback and a total of 3 positions – only 11 million dollars.
To put that into perspective, Brandon Williams cap number next year alone? You guessed it 11 million dollars. Shouldn’t we have maybe a little more invested in the offensive skill positions than one player on the defense? I’d say so. I originally wanted us to extend Wallace but maybe now it’s a good thing we didn’t. His cap hit this year is $8 million so if the Ravens spent that kind of money on him, wouldn’t you think 2 Pro Bowlers still in their prime are worth it and maybe a little more?
But we don’t have the money this year…..we don’t need it. We just realized $2 million in cap savings by releasing Pitta and Ozzie could fit both Maclin and Decker inside that savings. Below is a 3-year contract structure that I think could be reasonable for both players as I expect they will both command around the same money. If we are debating which one would be a better fit, clearly they are not too far apart in skill level but just bring something different and why we need/want both. The other reason for acquiring both is if one struggles then you can let that one go next year.
Here’s the structure:
• Bonus of $3 million.
• Year 1- $100k salary-cap figure $1.1 million
• Year 2- $6 million salary- cap figure $7 million
• Year 3- $8 million salary- cap figure $9 million
So, the highest those cap numbers get for both of them in year 3 is $18 million which is very reasonable. The Ravens could even afford a little bit more than that and probably will, so these contract numbers are a little wishful thinking. I don’t think these numbers will be too far off though.
My guess is Odell Beckham, Jr. is going to get that per year by himself and is currently holding out of OTA’s. The cap goes up every year and the increases will probably be enough to afford those contracts.
Of course, this is highly unlikely but when you take a closer look at it, it’s not all that far-fetched.
Guest blog submitted by Chad Racine
