Top o’ the Monday to ya, Flock. While it seems like just yesterday we were watching the Ravens inexplicably refuse to run the ball in the process of crapping away their first home AFC Championship Game in team history, there’s no rest for the weary when it comes to the NFL.
This week, the Combine takes place in Indianapolis, and RSR has a special treat in store:
With that in mind, let me know what kind of content you'd like to see from the Combine! I'll be there all day Friday-Sunday, focusing mostly on WRs and OL that project as good fits for the Ravens.
— Nikhil Mehta (@nmehtaUR2022) February 23, 2024
Our own Nikhil Mehta will be in attendance later in the week. Nikhil did a great job tag-teaming Battle Plans with Dev Panchwagh last season, and we’re very excited to see what insights he provides from the specific point-of-view of a lover of all things purple and black. If you’re on X, send Nikhil a note to let him know what you’d like to see! If you’re not, leave a comment below and we’ll be sure he sees it.
While the main focus is NFL hopefuls running around in shorts and showing off how many times they can bench press 225 LB, the event is much further reaching for the 32 organizations. Jeff Zrebiec over at The Athletic has a piece this morning detailing the ways the Ravens will be able to gain some clarity about their offseason questions this week. The “legal tampering window” starts a week after the Combine ends, on March 11, then the new league year begins two days later. The final day to place the Franchise Tag on players – very relevant to Justin Madubuike – is March 5.
With the final day of the tag window looming on March 5 and the salary cap needing to be in order by the midpoint of next week, the Ravens should be operating with a sense of urgency in trying to reach a resolution with Madubuike. Maybe that manifests itself in a meeting in Indianapolis with Ben Renzin, Madubuike’s agent. By the end of this week, the Ravens should know whether an agreement on an extension with Madubuike is attainable soon or if the two sides are far enough apart where the franchise tag is inevitable. It seems unlikely the Ravens will let him walk in free agency.
Discussions in Indianapolis with agents for Madubuike and others, as Jeff mentions above and elsewhere in his column, will go a long way toward shedding light on exactly what type of maneuvering Eric DeCosta can plan on doing for the next several months.
Finally today, we want to wish a very happy retirement to Peter King, who announced his decision in his Monday Morning Quarterback column.
Football Morning in America is up! And this one’s about the luckiest man on Earth. It’s been real. 🏈📝❤️ https://t.co/HE4hRJsPzY
— Peter King (@peter_king) February 26, 2024
While I may have drifted away from King’s columns a bit over the years, knowing MMQB was always there was like a little security blanket as a football fan. It will be very strange to see a different byline on the column if NBC hands it off, or for it to not be there at all.
Congratulations Peter on a wonderful sportswriting career. We’ll miss you!
One Response
Hopefully we draft someone who k n e e l s during the anthem!