It’s always nice to come on here and celebrate a victory for our beloved Baltimore Ravens, and none sweeter than a walk off field goal against a division rival.
Hello, Ravens Flock, and a happy, happy Wednesday to you all! We are now five games into the 2022 season and the Ravens sit atop the AFC North with a 3-2 record, the only team in the division with a winning record. Their victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday Night Football gives the team its first division win in almost a calendar year and is a great step in the right direction for rebounding in 2022 after a disappointing 2021 season.
This time of the year is all about trade rumors, however, and that’s exactly where we find ourselves on today’s edition of Out to Lunch! Let’s check the Twitter-verse and see what’s poppin’ with the Flock and what juicy rumors we can salivate over!
In NFL news NOT (directly) related to the Baltimore Ravens, the Carolina Panthers fired their current head coach, Matt Rhule, five games into his third season. Rhule had a combined 11-27 record with the Panthers and despite his prowess as an offensive mind, he simply didn’t have what it takes to last in the NFL after a solid run with the Baylor Bears.
Why does this matter for Baltimore? Because Carolina is rumored to be in an “everything must go” mentality and could be trading away some of their best players to acquire draft capital to rebuild for the future. Amongst those included is three-time 1,000-yard wide receiver D.J. Moore.
The Ravens haven’t necessarily needed a dominant wide receiver this year with the solid play of Rashod Bateman and Devin Duvernay, but beyond them there truly is not much else. We also can’t help but wonder what an offense with a “true” and proven number one receiver would look like…
So, what are the chances that the Ravens make a move for Moore? While we can’t be totally sure, given we don’t work in the front office with Eric DeCosta, CBS Sports seems to believe that Baltimore would be the best landing spot for Moore.
LANDING SPOTS for D.J. Moore
[via @CodyJBenjamin]1. Baltimore Ravens
2. Kansas City Chiefs
3. New York Giants
4. Green Bay Packers
5. Los Angeles Rams pic.twitter.com/PhulFUrDjy— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) October 11, 2022
It’s easy to connect dots here. Again, the Ravens could use another wide receiver for this offense to truly round out what looks like a near-perfect unit. Lamar Jackson would be far and away the best quarterback that Moore has ever played with since entering the league in 2018 and he would surely be grateful to play in an offense that would allow him to thrive and bring his game to new heights. And of course, Moore is a Maryland Terrapin alum, so he naturally would be welcomed in with open arms.
But the question is… should the Baltimore Ravens trade for D.J. Moore?
Yes, the Ravens should trade for DJ Moore
— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) October 10, 2022
Oh, well there ya have it!
But again… would this be a worthy investment?
Imagine it’s a cold December day and you’re getting ready to watch the Ravens play football. The offense takes the field and these are the weapons.
Lamar Jackson
JK Dobbins
Rashod Bateman
DJ Moore
Devin Duvernay
Mark AndrewsWe’re content
— ⚡️Garrett Ferguson⚡️ (@GarrettSprints) October 9, 2022
Well, when you put it that way, I can’t help but agree!
I have a feeling that if the Baltimore Ravens made the move for Moore, we would see his jersey sell out pretty fast.
For those of you wondering about the salary cap implications, RSR cap guru Brian McFarland had this to say:
Obtaining Moore for this year is easily doable. The Ravens would only have to pay x/18ths of his $1.035M base salary depending on when a trade happened. Moore has 3 yrs after this yr on his deal, which they would probably restructure to reduce what would be a $20M Cap # in 2023.
— Brian McFarland (@RavensSalaryCap) October 10, 2022
Meanwhile, some roster moves occurred for the Ravens yesterday:
Former #WVU CB Daryl Worley has been waived by the Baltimore Ravens. https://t.co/XKzrpkXqiF
— Ryan Decker (@RyanDecker_) October 11, 2022
Obviously, these are just logical moves to allow you to bring in some new guys whether it be promoting from the practice squad to the active roster or exploring free agent options… of course, they could also be looking to make a trade…
While I don’t want to make this all about Moore, he remains perhaps the hottest target for Baltimore. Still, there are plenty of other players to fancy…
8 potential trade targets for the Baltimore Ravens —
Which is your favorite? https://t.co/g2wyjZ54mr
— Spencer N. Schultz (@ravens4dummies) October 11, 2022
No surprise that wide receivers and pass rushers made the majority of this list if we’re being honest. There are certainly some interesting faces here, however, such as Daron Payne from the Washington Commanders.
Payne, a former first-round pick, has had quite an underrated NFL career and will likely make some nice cash this upcoming free agency period. Nonetheless, he’d still be a great rental for the Ravens who recently lost Michael Pierce for the season. Payne is a good run stuffer with overlooked pass rushing abilities (17 career sacks as a nose tackle). Having a massive bully like Payne on the defensive line would certainly be a welcome addition to this rebounding defense.
The good news for the defense: even if they don’t get any new players via trade, is getting some reinforcements soon.
Not only are the Ravens expecting OLB Tyus Bowser, who led team in sacks last yr, back at practice today, they are anticipating rookie OLB David Ojabo to make his practice debut this week, perhaps as early as today.
Ojabo, a 2nd-round pick, tore his Achilles at Michigan Pro Day.— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) October 12, 2022
That’s all I got for you this week, Ravens Flock! Here’s hoping we can celebrate another win this weekend and perhaps maybe even a trade for a new player regardless of their profile or status! Have a great week, Flock family!
