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Thanks! Yeah, like papa said, I doubt it

I wouldn’t expect it.

By the way, happy upcoming birthday! Do you, or anybody else know, if there will be another, more in depth interview/presser with our new coach, OC, and DC? Maybe in a few weeks after they've had a chance to get oriented?

Yeah, Ive got friends your age, the call me a teenage old man

That is a good explanation! Now I feel I've got a handle on it. So that's what Bisciotti meant we could do with Lamar's numbers if they can't agree on a new or extended deal. Pretty funny stuff! Thanks! By the way, I just turned 77 last month so you're still a youngster to me.

I'm with oldman, turn 60 in a few days. Try this- you sign a deal worth $60 mil, with a signing bonus of $15mil. The deal is set for 3 years, so that is $5 mil per year on the team's books for the bonus and $20 mil per year for the salary =$25 mil on the books. But, the league allows the team to add up to 5 years onto that contract, so now its 8 years on the books, $2.5 mil now for bonus, $7.5 mil for salary total each year, again, on the books, $10 mil. But, here is the rubber, you are only really under contract for 3 years. Most players redo the deal, some do not. Either way, you will get your full contract monies of $60 mil, but, the team, if you don't resign, has to count the what money is left over on the books, in those extra 5 years. In real world, it is like politicians who say they saved us money, what they don't tell us is that they didn't really save us money in our pocket. What they did was cut job openings for say 20 vacant jobs. When you add up the salaries and benefits package those jobs would have had, it adds up to millions. So by not filling those positions, and putting a freeze on new hires in those positions, they can clear their books of money, while not spent, might have been sometime in the next decade.

To be honest, I think I understand it better now after your posts but it's still a hazy concept for me. Must be old age.

Totally agree.

It’s basically allowing you in the moment to spread the money out on a fake long term but it is a shorter deal. The player gets all their cash but the team eats dead cash at the end.

Not immediately, that is why some teams use them. It gives you cap relief now, by spreading the money over a longer period of time, max is 5 years of void, fake, years. The downside is, all of this dead cap money. Either way you pay the piper, but it gives you a little longer window of win now. Eagles & Cowboys use it most, but as you see, many other teams are starting to do it. The Ravens have always been against this, until now when the Biscuit says they will use with Lamar is they cant get a new deal done

If they can get Banks vetted by more than one medical staff of doctors, he would be the one to draft of those 3 in that spot.

Is a void year prorated amount counted against the cap? In other words, if a player is signed to a $30 million bonus over a 6 year contract where years 5 and 6 are void years and the player is cut in year 4, do the 5th and 6th void year amounts of $5mil each just disappear so far as the cap hit is concerned?

Im not so worried about Bank's foot, his quickness, size and strength are exactly what the defensive line needs, as youve said, with Mads likely gone. Howell has a lot of questions to answer, look at Green, same type player, his size has held him back in the NFL, I fear the same for Howell. Lemon, like him a lot, but he is likely a a slot guy, not a 1st round home run hitter

My understanding is they are yrs that bonuses are prorated to but when you get there it’s like the player was cut.

Looking at his numbers from 24 plus his size I prefer banks. Crushing a pocket from the middle makes so many good things happen.

They say Howell is too light and might be limited to 3rd down pass rusher in the NFL. Harrumph! Of the three you named that leaves only Lemon and even he's a little light in weight. Whoever we get with the 14th overall pick has to be an impact player on day 1.

I'm still ignorant as to how void years work. WTF are they?

I'd like them all , dammit! I don't think I could pass on Banks if Mads isn't coming back. HOLD IT: just found out he missed all but the last 2 games with a foot injury. I'm sick and tired of us drafting marvelous potential but they missed x many games. I'd have to have a loonnggg, rigorous look at his medical record from more than one doc to draft this guy. If there is the slightest issue of an injury, I'd draft the healthiest of Howell or Lemmon.

He is one of the rare ones, but he did sit behind some very good College qbs at Ohio St, thus transferring to LSU

With a good chunk of players the Ravens need taken early in the 1st, of these 3, who would you choose? Caleb Banks, dt Florida, huge is an understatement, 6'-6", 330 pounds and long arms. Cassius Howell, de Texas A&M Won SEC defensive player of the year this past season with 11.5 sacks. Speed, quickness, power. Maki Lemon wr USC Not the biggest and 5'-11" 195, nor the fastest, but this is a big jitter bug of a playmaker. Great hands and big catch radius, electric with the ball in his hands is an understatement

Of note, the Ravens only have 2, Wallace and Hopkins, here are the top team totals in dead cap money from sportrac Browns: $67M Saints: $48M Eagles: $33M Bills: $32M 49ers: $29M

Former Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr is joining Mike Macdonald and the reigning Super Bowl champions in Seattle, according to multiple reports. Orr, who led Baltimore’s defense to mixed results in 2024 and 2025, will coach Seattle’s inside linebackers. Orr held that same role in Baltimore under Macdonald in 2022 and 2023 before being promoted to defensive coordinator when Macdonald took the Seahawks’ head coaching position. “Baltimore it’s always love from my end,” Orr posted on X on Friday. “Although the last couple years we did not achieve our goals that we set out to achieve, I will choose to cherish the brotherhood, fellow coaches, players making plays, division title, playoff win,etc!” Baltimore’s defense struggled to begin 2024 but finished the season strong and helped the franchise make the AFC divisional round and win the AFC North. The results weren’t as good in 2025, as early woes continued throughout the 17-game slate. Baltimore allowed 354.5 yards per game, the ninth worst mark in the NFL. Key injuries hurt the unit, namely Nnamdi Madubuike’s neck injury that ended his season after two games. Without the defensive tackle, Baltimore’s defense struggled to create pressure. The Ravens finished the season with 30 sacks, with only the Jets (26) and Cardinals (20) recording fewer. The lack of pressure spotlighted an inconsistent secondary, as teams picked on cornerback Marlon Humphrey and others to average 247.9 passing yards per game. Only two teams (the Colts and Cowboys) allowed more passing yards per contest. After the Ravens finished 8-9, they fired coach John Harbaugh in early January. He was replaced by Jesse Minter. While Baltimore’s new coach overlapped with Orr in Baltimore as assistants from 2017 to 2020, Minter didn’t opt to keep Orr on his staff. He named Anthony Weaver his defensive coordinator, and Tyler Santucci will coach the team’s inside linebackers. Minter will call the team’s defensive plays in 2026, with Weaver helping with game plans, strategy and other duties. Orr also didn’t follow Harbaugh to New York. Harbaugh named Dennard Wilson as his new defensive coordinator, and Frank Bush will coach New York’s inside linebackers. Before joining Seattle, Orr interviewed with the Los Angeles Chargers to be the defensive coordinator under Jim Harbaugh and also interviewed for a position with the Cowboys. He had also been requested to interview for the Raiders’ DC job. Orr’s ties to Baltimore run deep, as he played for Baltimore from 2014 to 2016 before a spinal condition cut his career short, but Seattle is an ideal landing spot for him. Orr will work directly with Macdonald, a rising coaching star fresh off a Super Bowl victory. Orr, 33, has plenty of time to revive his coaching career and potentially make his way back into a coordinator position in future seasons. Have a news tip? Contact Bennett Conlin at bconlin@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/BennettConlin. Related Articles Ex-Ravens coach John Harbaugh on President Donald Trump’s support: ‘Crazy’ NFL wins grievance against the players’ union, banning ‘team report cards’ Former Ravens RB Jamal Lewis on presidential pardon, Hall of Fame chances The Sun’s ‘Early Birds’ podcast debuts to kick off Orioles spring training ‘I left a mark’: Where does the Ravens’ 2025 rookie class go from here? View the full article

Shortly after the Ravens fired John Harbaugh in January, President Donald Trump posted on social media encouraging NFL teams to hire the longtime Baltimore leader. “HIRE JOHN HARBAUGH, FAST. HE, AND HIS BROTHER, ARE TOTAL WINNERS!!!” Trump posted on Truth Social. Harbaugh, now the coach of the New York Giants, addressed the president’s support Friday during a 25-minute interview with Fox News. “It did surprise me,” Harbaugh said of the social post. “It was crazy. All the sudden, bing, bing, bing, my phone starts going off and there it is. “It just goes to show how blessed we are to do something like this. That he even knows who you are, it’s crazy to me.” Trump’s support of Harbaugh came several months after Harbaugh visited the White House in July. Harbaugh discussed his visit during summer media availability and was asked about visiting with Trump, who called Baltimore a “disgusting” city in 2019. Harbaugh took issue with the framing of the question and mentioned that he’s visited with several presidents across different political parties during his life, including Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Ronald Reagan. “I root for our president,” Harbaugh said in July. “I want our president to be successful, just like I want my quarterback to be successful and I want my team to be successful.” Harbaugh was hired rather quickly this offseason, as Trump suggested. The coach said earlier this week on an episode of the BMore Football Podcast that he considered other coaching vacancies but ultimately chose the Giants. New York made an intense push to land Harbaugh, who was widely considered a top candidate for openings this coaching cycle. “They’re good recruiters,” Harbaugh said. “I’ve got to hand it to them. They don’t take no for an answer. It was a great process.” The Ravens replaced Harbaugh with Jesse Minter, a 42-year-old coach who most recently led the Chargers’ defense under Jim Harbaugh. Have a news tip? Contact Bennett Conlin at bconlin@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/BennettConlin. Related Articles Ex-Ravens DC Zach Orr reportedly joining Seahawks, Mike Macdonald NFL wins grievance against the players’ union, banning ‘team report cards’ Former Ravens RB Jamal Lewis on presidential pardon, Hall of Fame chances The Sun’s ‘Early Birds’ podcast debuts to kick off Orioles spring training ‘I left a mark’: Where does the Ravens’ 2025 rookie class go from here? View the full article

An arbitrator determined the NFL Players Association violated the Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NFL by distributing annual “team report cards” and ordered the union to stop making public any future reports. The NFL informed teams of the decision on Friday. “We are pleased with the decision from the arbitrator, upholding the parties’ collective bargaining agreement and prohibiting the NFLPA from disparaging our clubs and individuals through ‘report cards’ allegedly based on data and methodologies that it has steadfastly refused to disclose,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement. “We remain committed to working in partnership with the NFLPA and an independent survey company to develop and administer a scientifically valid survey to solicit accurate and reliable player feedback as the parties agreed in the CBA.” In a memo sent to the 32 teams, NFL attorneys said the NFLPA’s witness and counsel at a hearing characterized the report cards as “union speech” and admitted that: the union “cherry-picked” topics and player responses to include or not in the report cards; players had no role in drafting the commentary; the union selected which anonymous player quotes to include or exclude and the union determined the weight to give each topic and the resulting impact on the alphabetical grades. “The arbitrator did not find that the union’s independent survey necessarily conflicts with its obligation to conduct a joint specific survey of players’ opinions regarding the adequacy of medical care under the CBA,” the league said in its memo to teams. “Therefore, the Management Council will continue to work with the NFLPA to design and conduct such a survey in the coming seasons.” View the full article

Former Ravens running back Jamal Lewis received the phone call Thursday night from Alice Marie Johnson, President Donald Trump’s “pardon czar” Lewis said she graciously told him around 8 p.m. that all the charges from his 2004 drug conspiracy case had been dropped. Lewis eventually pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine and using a cellphone in the commission the drug sale. Trump granted four other pardons to four other NFL players: Joe Klecko, Nat Newton, Travis Henry and the late Dr. Billy Cannon. “There is a certain amount of freedom that I can now enjoy,” Lewis told The Baltimore Sun on Friday from his home in Atlanta. “I can now vote, I can carry a firearm, and now I can engage in certain businesses that I wasn’t allowed to invest in before. “And maybe, just maybe, I can get into the Hall of Fame now because those illegal charges carried a lot of weight in the voting process.” Lewis played for the Ravens from 2000 through 2006 and spent his final three seasons with the Cleveland Browns. Without the power back, the Ravens would never have won the Super Bowl championship during the 2000 season. Baltimore had a great defense with outstanding players like linebackers Ray Lewis, Peter Boulware and Jamie Sharper, and defensive linemen Rob Burnett, Sam Adams, Michael McCrary and the late Tony Siragusa, but the offense was one-dimensional. The running game was featured, and it was all Lewis. Lewis was the NFL’s rushing leader in 2003 with 2,066 yards, averaging 5.3 yards per carry. He finished his career with 10,607 yards rushing, averaging 4.2 yards per carry. He had seven seasons in which he rushed for more than 1,000 yards, including 1,364 yards during the Ravens Super Bowl run in 2000. Lewis, though, said he was never a Trump supporter. “Actually, I was disgruntled with the entire judicial system,” he said. “But Alice Johnson was like my angel in the sky. She said she just wanted to help me out, and I am delighted because it lifted a lot of weight off my shoulders.” Lewis said he had approached the Biden and Obama administrations about pardons in past years. Neither of those two administrations agreed, but Lewis said that didn’t stop them from asking for campaign contributions for as much as $25,000 to $75,000. He said he got the news Thursday night after going to a workout with his son, Jazz Lewis, at Milton High School in Atlanta. “I always tried to persuade the previous administrations about this injustice, that I was basically set up but I could never get an audience until now,” Jamal Lewis said. “[Johnson] told me last night that I was doing well and working with the kids in Atlanta. I’m just glad someone took my side of the story and that it has all worked out well. I thank this administration for finally weighing in on a difficult subject matter.” Have a news tip? Contact Mike Preston at epreston@baltsun.com, 410-332-6467 and x.com/MikePrestonSun. View the full article