Even though the NFL is a copycat league, the Ravens typically forge their own path.
That’s why both general manager Eric DeCosta and former team president Dick Cass scoffed at the notion they would follow the Los Angeles Rams recent path to success.
Instead of building their team organically through the draft, the Rams threw huge amounts of money at big-time free agents and acquired other playmakers via trades, salary cap be damned.
That strategy did win the Rams a Super Bowl last season and they could make another run this year. But eventually, they will have to pay a price for that type of system.
“If you look at the 10-year CBA that expired after the 2020 season, over that 10-year period, the aggregate salary cap, if you add up each of the 10 salary caps, was like $1.526 billion,” Cass said. “We ended up spending $53 million over that amount, so, roughly, we’re $5 million over [per] year. The cap, in the end, drives you – in terms of cash spending – roughly back to the cap.
“So, teams might spend a lot of money this year, and next year, three, four, five, six years from now, that’ll come back, and they’ll have less money to spend. So, I think every year you’re going to see some teams spending a lot more money than other teams, but in the end, it comes back to the median, basically, to the salary cap.”
Out to Lunch w/ @Royal_Farms: There are virtues to getting younger, but keeping "adults in the room" is important too, & the Ravens are doing just that. First though, Buckeye fan @_QuoththeRavens remembers Dwayne Haskins.https://t.co/dLgvsQLGqh
— Russell St. Report (@RussellStReport) April 11, 2022
The Ravens don’t plan to dramatically change the way they do business.
DeCosta will continue to stock draft picks and add young and relatively inexpensive first-year players to the roster.
It’s a strategy that has mostly worked in the past.
Since winning the Super Bowl in 2012-2013, the Ravens had just two losing seasons. However, they have managed just two playoff wins (2014-14 against the Pittsburgh Steelers and 2020-2021 vs. the Tennessee Titans).
The Ravens do not plan to deviate from their strategy any time soon, DeCosta and coach John Harbaugh are confident the team can and will win another championship.
“We have a plan. We have a way of doing things, there’s no doubt about it, but it’s not an either-or- type of deal. It’s not one way or the other way,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “Definitely, the way the Rams did it this year was kind of the end of the spectrum, along those lines, but we’ve signed free agents before. We’ve signed free agents this year. We’ve signed big, high-price free agents at times in the past, and we have a lot of draft picks this year. So, for me, your capital is your capital. Your opportunity to add talent and players is what it is. So, let’s make the most of it, get the best players in here that we can, develop them the best we can and try to build the best team that we can.
“But Eric is not shy about looking at free agents, either. He’s not shy about trades. [Executive vice president] Ozzie [Newsome] wasn’t either. Those are things that we certainly look at, and we’ll try to do it any way we can.”
The Ravens also have not shied away from signing free agents, but they subscribe to the mantra of “right player, right price.” It allows them to spread the money around the roster.
“We’re looking at all the players; that process doesn’t end just because the first wave and maybe the second wave of free agency has passed us by,” DeCosta said. “It doesn’t mean that there aren’t some good players out there still. Over the years … I can give you a lot of examples of players that we brought in. One that comes to mind that was a favorite of mine was Daryl Smith, who I think Ozzie signed back in May after the Draft. There will be some Daryl Smith’s on this team this year.”
The Ravens learned some lessons from signing quarterback Joe Flacco to a huge contract, which handicapped their ability to sign other players. However, they are now facing the same dilemma with another quarterback, Lamar Jackson, whose potential contract extension will play a huge role in the future direction of the franchise.
So, bigger decisions are on the horizon.
