The Baltimore Ravens aren’t having an overly exciting offseason so far. The Lamar Jackson saga has them in a bit of a holding pattern. Can they go after a wide receiver and keep enough acorns for Jackson? We’ve had little nuggets of news: the Ravens have inked deals with Geno Stone, Justice Hill and have kept their long-snapper Nick Moore. As you bite into your Royal Farms chicken, we begin this Out to Lunch with another minor news hit.
According to Jeff Zrebiec of the Athletic, the Ravens have re-signed Del’Shawn Phillips to a one year contract.
Ravens are re-signing ILB and core special teamer Del’Shawn Phillips to 1-year deal.
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) March 19, 2023
Fun fact about Phillips, he was born the year the Ravens started playing football in Baltimore, 1996. I guess it was meant to be. If you’re wondering who Phillips is, he’s a special teams player and a linebacker who has 26 career tackles and was with the Ravens last season after being with the Jets and the Bills before that.
Lamar Jackson is obviously the biggest factor in anything for this offseason. It holds the Ravens in a dangerous wait and see game. What’s Lamar Jackson have to say about it? We may find out soon enough.
On his Instagram, Lamar Jackson announces that he will be releasing “an exclusive interview with himself.”
The full interview will be “dropping soon” on his entertainment company’s YouTube channel.
Jackson hasn’t spoken to reporters since Dec. 2. pic.twitter.com/3oHIiQv6vE
— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) March 19, 2023
It will be interesting to see what Jackson has to say. He’s in a very difficult situation. He’s looking for a huge pay day without an agent. If he can’t work out a long-term deal at all, will he play on the franchise tag? Is public perception about Jackson changing due to this contract stalemate? What does he think about all the noise? There are a lot of tough questions he has to answer.
Will he fire shots at the Ravens? What does he want us to know that can be used as a chip in his efforts to win his jackpot? Will he answer questions that will change perception in the public eye, or will he play it safe with everything? The interview may or may not be a big deal, yet it’s obviously fascinating.
Just 2 teams have yet to acquire a player from another team since NFL Free Agency began: the Ravens and Jaguars.
The Cowboys and Rams have added 1 apiece, both via trade (Stephon Gilmore and Hunter Long).
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 18, 2023
According to ESPN insider, Field Yates, the Ravens are one of two teams that has not signed a player from another team in NFL Free Agency. The Ravens have, of course, never been big shoppers in free agency. Their plan has always been to focus on the NFL Draft and avoid overpaying for veteran players. To have no big signings or trades at this point, is a little stale even for those standards.
Players are moving all over the NFL. The wide receiver market is starting to get a move on and that’s the position that the Ravens have the most interest in. Adam Schefter and Jeremy Fowler have reported that Brandin Cooks has been traded to the Dallas Cowboys.
Breaking: The Cowboys are acquiring Texans WR Brandin Cooks in exchange for a 2023 fifth-round pick and a 2024 sixth-round pick, sources told @AdamSchefter and @JFowlerESPN. pic.twitter.com/4ZAC7AXjxC
— ESPN (@espn) March 19, 2023
Over the weekend, Ian Rappaport reported that Adam Thielen has signed with the Carolina Panthers on a three-year deal. Thielen would have been a classic Ravens acquisition. He was one of the most consistent players for the Vikings and is a 32 year old going into his 10th season. Thielen’s best days may be behind him, but he had 70 receptions for 716 yards last year. It’s not a heartbreaking signing – though it seemed right up the Ravens’ alley.
Attention of the Ravens Flock will have to go elsewhere. DeAndre Hopkins to Baltimore is the pipedream. Odell Beckham Jr. and D.J. Chark are also pieces that could be in play. Representing the Ravens Flock in Canada is Cole Jackson. He makes a point here that the market for receivers is one that isn’t exactly at a boiling point. It’s the money that would be a problem for the Ravens in a trade for Hopkins.
Vet WR market just isn’t that high.
No idea how they’d make the money work (smarter folks than I can figure that out), but god damn do I ever want Deandre Hopkins in Baltimore. https://t.co/mq0PR7I2Jq
— Cole Jackson (@ColeJacksonFB) March 19, 2023
Jeremy Fowler had a tweet that highlights the money at play with the Cooks trade and how it relates to a potential trade of Hopkins.
The Brandin Cooks trade is an interesting data point for a potential DeAndre Hopkins trade.
Cooks, 29, was due $32M on his contract through 2024 and fetched a 2023 5th and 2024 6th.
Hopkins, 30, is due $34.365M on his contract through 2024.
Hopkins is the superior player, to… https://t.co/1R7gpTFI0L
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 19, 2023
It’s a very interesting conundrum. We know the Ravens were close to getting Hopkins when he was traded to the Cardinals. The Ravens are absolutely starving for a number one wide receiver with some star power. The trade seems doable, even if it costs heavier draft capital than the Cooks trade. With the Lamar Jackson situation, it may be hard to pull off the deal and still get what the Ravens ultimately want: Jackson back in Baltimore. It’s the ultimate example of “so close and yet so far away.”
Minor nuggets of news will continue to roll into the newsfeed. The Ravens Flock wants two things out of this offseason. They want a swift resolution of the Jackson drama and a star added to the wide receiver room. It’s the dreaming portion of the offseason. For now, there’s not a ton to report when it comes to the Ravens.
7 Responses
I really believe EDC has messed up this whole team by trying to hang onto Lamar Jackson. I have a question for the RSR staff. Do you really believe DeShaun Watson is going to play and play well for Cleveland? He didn’t even want to go to Cleveland before they guaranteed his whole deal. Now he can just fake an injury and still get paid. If he plays good or bad he doesn’t care because he gets paid either way. I have no desire to sell the ravens franchise to Lamar Jackson for 40 to 50 million a season. Because that’s essentially what you’d be doing. He needs wr help to be effective, what are we supposed to pay them with if we pay him? This makes the most obvious point against his demands. We’ve seen all this already with Dak Prescott. He can’t get it done by himself either.
If EDC would ever just move on from this chump, we might be able to field a team that can win. After all, we won a Superbowl with Trent Dilfer. We don’t really need Lamar.
Nobody was considering trading Lamar away 2 years ago. Until Lamar latched onto the notion that he would not accept anything should of $231M fully guaranteed, I believe that all parties thought he would be a Raven for years.
At this point, I suspect that DeCosta is willing to move on from Lamar, but this issue is compensation. At one time, the Ravens likely dreamed of 3 first round picks and other sweeteners. Now I think they’d be happy with the two first rounders just to get this behind them.
Lamar’s contract intransigence will cost the team this year, regardless of what he ends up doing. Paying him $35M kills our cap, and even if he leaves or signs a long-term deal at a lower current-year cap number, we’ve now lost the opportunity to sign top shelf supporting players. If this persists through the draft, the damage is even greater.
Good comments. Also 2 years ago LJ hadn’t missed 1/3 of a season due to injury. I agree – take the 2 # 1’s and move on. But, and I always caveat that I could be wrong, I don’t see any team coming forth with an offer of 2 #1’s – as no one is going to pay $200M guaranteed on the other side. I think this season plays out paying Lamar his $35M. How he plays / IF he plays this year will, obviously, influence how this circus unfolds in 2024.
This is an emotional thing. If we were trying to get the best price for the skills we had in our profession for the sake of our families – we would feel good and righteous about it. If you remove some zeroes – we would be in the same ballpark. The key is does he feel “entitled” – that he has done something already deserving of a future compensation… and in that department he is lacking. Has the potential but has not delivered. He is better than a lot of other options and it’s definitely a choice to stay with him “at all costs”. The last thing edc wants is Lamar to walk and reel off five Super Bowl victories. He will forever be the chump that let Lamar walk.
i say he does not show or play a down this season. As he is is probably pissed as well at this outcome. This will mean tough sledding in bmore and with the money in escrow – there will be nothing much we can do about that. Next year at 54M EDC will be cutting him.
Well, we won a Super Bowl with Dilfer on the team. A lockdown defense and special teams actually won that game.
“The [Hopkins] trade seems doable.” ???
In what universe?? Hopkins is due in excess of $34M over the next two years! Stop pretending we can make this trade. First, the Raven’s can’t make any major financial commitments until the Lamar Jackson situation is resolved. Second, if we decide not to match an offer sheet (assuming some team eventually makes an offer), it’s not clear whether Hopkins will even make sense. Who is going to throw to him? That will need to be resolved first.
Who blinks first? The Ravens or a possible suitor hope as time passes Lamar will feel less secure and will come to the table. Why should the Colts or Titans tender an offer now? Doesn’t make sense. Wait. But Lamar also hopes teams feel less secure as the weeks/months go by- say after the draft, and as offseason activities get closer. I have no doubt the Ravens anticipated this, and are going to continue making as much cap room as possible to bring in some FA help. But it will be late in the process. I have no doubt Lamar is smart enough to realize any holdout that lasts through the summer or beyond does not work to his long-term advantage. His market value would drop even further. I expect Lamar will be on somebody’s football field by the start of training camp. It’s just murder on the fans. But it’s business.