Queen’s Gambit

To borrow from The Police, Patrick Queen signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers was like a humiliating kick in the crotch for #RavensFlock.

Most observers believed that Queen would be heading out west to reunite with the Seahawks newly appointed head coach Mike Macdonald, particularly in light of their flush salary cap position of $44.9M. But that didn’t happen.

Yup at worst it’s going to be around 57-60 mil in cap space so plenty for Tyron Smith and a CB. 👀 https://t.co/Pp8VBL6Ejj pic.twitter.com/fgPS5gSOWi

— Zac (@DCzWall) March 13, 2024

Queen was said to be seeking money in the neighborhood of Roquan Smith’s $20M per annum but the market said otherwise. Perhaps the question that many of us on a local level asked, leaked out upon the national platform. And the question?

Was Patrick Queen’s success over the course of the past 1 ½ seasons a byproduct of playing beside Smith?

It’s a worthy question after considering Queen’s struggles prior to Roquan’s arrival. And it’s an unanswerable question for now, consequently driving down his price.

Besides Macdonald, there were other Ravens assistants who migrated to Tennessee (Dennard Wilson) and Miami (Anthony Weaver) to become the defensive coordinator of those teams, both with glaring needs at inside linebacker, and neither team made a play for Queen. Three Ravens defensive coaches, intimately familiar with Queen’s skills and abilities, intimately familiar with the roles and responsibilities on the Ravens defense, intimately familiar with what made Queen a 2024 Pro Bowler, and not one offers a sniff of the Ravens 2020 first-round pick.

So now Queen moves on to the Ravens bitter rival, the Pittsburgh Steelers. He gets $41M over 3 years and will be just 27 years old when the deal expires. Time will tell if Queen is a capo or just a soldier in Tomlin’s mafia. A true capo at ILB would wear the green dot. Can Queen? Will the added responsibility and demands on his processor slow down his play?

Apparently only the Steelers were willing to pay $41M to find out.

Not sure which news I’m most excited about: Blocking for 👑 Henry every game, or getting to 🥞 @Patrickqueen_ twice a year 🤷🏼‍♂️🥲

— Pat Ricard 🥞 (@PRic508) March 12, 2024

Let Russ Cook?

At 35 years old, Russell Wilson is hardly the quarterback who guided the Seattle Seahawks to two Super Bowl appearances, winning XLVIII. Then he was 25, nimbler and with a body type that more closely resembled that of Drew Brees and not the Pillsbury Doughboy who just landed a $100M contract in Tampa.

But make no mistake about it, the Steelers are a better team even with the aging and plumper version of Wilson; even with his weird selfie videos. He will benefit from the Steelers running game. He’ll benefit from their weapons on the perimeter. He’ll benefit from a defense that knows how to win the battle for field position. And the Steelers will benefit because they aren’t forced to start the highly over-drafted Kenny Pickett. Oh, and they’ll pay Wilson less than half of what the Ravens paid Tyler Huntley in 2023.

Wilson won’t move the Steelers deep into the postseason, but he makes Pittsburgh a bigger threat in 2024 than they would have been with Pickett at 50% of the cost of a decent backup.

Clowney-ing Around

No one will deny that Jadeveon Clowney was a great addition to the Ravens roster in 2023. It could be argued that his signing was among the very best in the entire league when one considers the cost to acquire him ($2.4M). But in 2024 it will be a new financial ballgame for Jadeveon.

A possible homecoming in Carolina: The #Panthers will host three-time Pro Bowl selection and Rock Hill, S.C. native Jadeveon Clowney on a visit to this week, sources say. Clowney has interest from a few teams, including the #Ravens, but is exploring a return home first. pic.twitter.com/War9BCIYKE

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 13, 2024

Clowney should be a priority signing. At the very least, an edge rusher should be a priority. Odafe Oweh and David Ojabo aren’t proven, and neither is worthy of unwavering trust to get the job done in 2024. Tyus Bowser? He’s gone as is the $5.5M set aside to keep him, thankfully.

That being said, it wouldn’t surprise me to see the Ravens make a play for one of the Chargers edge defenders, Joey Bosa or Khalil Mack. The Chargers just restructured the two in order to be in cap compliance by 4PM today. But that doesn’t mean a deal can’t be done if it works for both teams and who is a better trade partner for Eric DeCosta than his sidekick for over two decades, Chargers GM Joe Hortiz. And let’s not forget the Harbaugh connection.

Whatever happens, the status quo at edge is unacceptable. Weakness there could inspire opponents to direct more attention towards the Ravens most recent nearly $100M man – Justin Madubuike. And that could undermine the team’s investment in Madubuike.

UFA Losses

The Ravens are bleeding UFA losses from the 2023 roster. None of them comes as a shock although for my money (and the money paid to him) the loss of Ronald Darby stings. For 2 years at $10M max, Darby is the kind of bargain that EDC lives on, but apparently, he’s not a priority.

Ronald Darby Film Breakdown – steal at 2/$10m https://t.co/3X3weLxXvG pic.twitter.com/ZfSJ6tK9r0

— James Foster (@NoFlagsFilm) March 12, 2024

Others noteworthy potential losses include:

Ravens remaining true UFAs: OLB Jadeveon Clowney, RB Dalvin Cook, RB J.K. Dobbins, QB Tyler Huntley, QB Josh Johnson, CB Arthur Maulet, C Sam Mustipher, DL Brent Urban, OLB Kyle Van Noy, S Daryl Worley, CB Rock Ya-Sin, G Kevin Zeitler.

— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) March 13, 2024

UFA losses do come with rewards in the form of compensatory picks, but it’s not exactly an eye-for-an-eye. The most any team can reap in one offseason is four comp picks and as a reminder, those picks aren’t available until the following NFL Draft – in this case, 2025.

UPDATE:
Ravens have now lost 6 qualifying UFAs:
Queen – 4th Rd Comp
Simpson, Stone, Darby, Duvernay – 6th
Edwards – 7th

Signed: Henry – 6th

Henry & Simpson will cancel, leaving 4th, 6th, 6th & 6th in place. 7th for Edwards is not awarded since 4 is the max. https://t.co/eypnn0uu3b

— Brian McFarland (@RavensSalaryCap) March 12, 2024

King of Pain

Staying with The Police references, Warren Sharp put together an excellent analysis on why the Ravens acquisition of Derrick Henry makes sense for The King and for the Ravens offense. First, Sharp revisits Henry’s success over the past 4 seasons despite opposing defenses going all out to throttle the Titans’ biggest weapon:

• There are 50 RBs with 350+ attempts in the last 4 years.

• And none of them faced more loaded boxes than Derrick Henry.

• His 88.4% rate vs. 7+ man boxes was, by far, #1 in the NFL.

• It was nearly 15% above the NFL average.

• In fact, over 53% of his runs came against 8+ man boxes.

• And DESPITE THAT, he ranked #11 in both YPC and EPA/att out of those 50 RBs.

• On third down, that’s where his talent really shines despite massive obstacles.

• A whopping 94% of his third-down runs the last four years came against loaded boxes.

• And yet, out of 50 RBs, he still ranked:

o #1 in 1st down rate (81%)
o #2 in success rate
o #2 in EPA/rush

Sharp goes on to discuss why Henry’s numbers will only improve given the Ravens offensive scheme, better offensive line and the talents of Lamar Jackson. And then he explains why Henry’s presence will help Lamar. Sharp points to Lamar’s success against a 7+ man box out of 30 qualified QBs with at least 80 such attempts (Lamar had 158 dropbacks):

• #1 in EPA/dropback (+0.27)
• #1 in success rate (56%)
• #3 in completion rate (72%)
• #4 in YPA (9.1)
• #4 in first down rate (41%)

Doesn’t it stand to reason that the 7+ looks will be even greater in 2024 with Henry in tow?

Sometimes the whole (Henry & Lamar together) is greater than the sum of the parts. And if this plays out the way Sharp suggests, it spells trouble for the rest of the NFL. Somewhere in America, Todd Monken is salivating heavily over the potential.

The Crowning of King Henry

Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce weigh in on Derrick Henry joining the Baltimore Ravens 👀😈#RavensFlock

🎥: @newheightshow pic.twitter.com/0Ow2QuZGCA

— The Flock Rundown (@TheFlockRundown) March 13, 2024

Joe Flacco

Joe will always hold a special place in the collective heart of #RavensFlock. And after the Browns opted to sign Jameis Winston instead of re-signing Flacco, Ravens fans are wondering if it makes sense to bring Flacco back into the fold. In a word…

NO!

Ram On!

Ok, enough of The Police, I’m now on to Paul McCartney’s “Ram” – well sort of. I’m really talking about Rams Head on Stage in Annapolis. If you’ve ever been there, you know. If you haven’t and you enjoy music, don’t wait. Pick an artist you like and go.

The sound is fantastic, and the setting is intimate. I’ve seen bands like Gin Blossoms, America, Heart, Joan Osborne, Little River Band, the list goes on. When you have an opportunity to see these acts that have been arena headliners in a cozy environment that seats a couple hundred people where you can sit so close that you could shake hands with the artist, that’s special. My next trip there will be in May when Rams Head hosts Leonid & Friends.

You won’t be disappointed.

I’m out. Be sure to tune into The Front Office tomorrow when Brian McFarland and I discuss the Ravens moves they made and those they didn’t, plus player movement across the league. The Front Office can be heard on all podcast platforms.