RavenMad

I love this pick up. He has off field issues but part of me thinks Ozzie sees these Alabama guys and thinks he can put his arm round them and protect and nurture them. If he can, then this could be a great pick up. Rolando can play in Ellerbe's role and attack the LOS from the ILB spot. And best of all, Rolando was waived so he doesn't impact the compensatory pick calculation. Ozzie games the system once again.

We will get another 4 picks next year likely 2 4ths and 2 5ths. We lost 4 FAs that signed for more than $5m per seasons - Kruger, Ellerbe, Reed and Williams. We haven't signed anyone who was a free agent and not waived. Resigning McKinnie doesn't count at all in the equation unless he signs somewhere else. Even then the max compensatory picks you can gain is 4.

The signing bonus is the only guarantee in the 1st year so that is $5.8 x 5 years (signing bonuses can only be split over the first 5 years of a contract in the new CBA) = $29m. The dead money increases in 2014 and 2015 due to the option bonuses which become guaranteed at that point but are split evenly over 5 years for the cap hit purposes keeping Joe's cap number relatively low even though his cash payment is quite high.

Crav is sandwiched between 2 of the worst franchises in the league (The Bucs and Jags). It should mean he has plenty of opportunity to get tickets the next time the Ravens play down there.

No. 3rd round picks only go out for guys who got $10m+ per year in FA. I estimate we should be picking up 2 4th round picks and 2 5th round picks next year for our FA losses.

Suggs is already getting Doom fit for his Steelers T-Shirt:

He will be fine. He is too lazy to get off his ass and spend all that money. Although, maybe he will have it all spent on medical bills as he seems to need an MRI on that back once a week to see if they can finally find that "mystery" back injury!

At WR in the draft I'm liking DeAndre Hopkins from Clemson or Keenan Allen from Cal as 1st round prospects in our range and Da'Rick Rogers as a 2nd round prospect. All 3 might not burn you with their speed but they have good hands, great size and good athleticism. They would fill the role Boldin played, We don't really have a physical receiver on the roster outside of maybe Doss and not including the TEs.

Because of the rule of 51. Only the top 51 salaries count against the cap and as you sign a player another player drops out of the top 51 unless the signed player is on a cheaper deal. For example if our 1st round pick has a cap figure of $1m then 1 of the ERFAs that cost us $630k drop out of the top 51. But the total cap number only goes up by $1m less $630k = $370k. With how cheap the later round players are they actually will not count against the cap at all until they make the team at final cuts. As for Pollard he is saving us $500k now but with the June 1st designation the total savings will be $2m. So the Ravens will have another $1.5m of cap space which if you look at the example above should be enough to sign all our draft picks.

The rule of 51 means in reality that they only need about 1-1.5mill of space to sign the earlier round draft picks as the later round rookies will be earning less than the current ERFAs we resigned so effectively those rooks won't count against the cap. With Pollard's June 1st designation I think we actually get extra cap space then which basically covers what we need for the rookies.

And the Broncos are saying "Elvis has left the building"

I don't think it's thin at WR. There just isn't any top 10 guys in this draft but there is a lot of guys in the range from top 20 to the end of the 2nd round that have similar value. And then there are a ton of guys who could be starters from round 3 to 6 depending on if they get picked for the right team and situation.

Our game against Russia was postponed from Friday night until this afternoon and then finally was cancelled: The slightest bit of the white stuff appears and honestly the people over here think the sky is falling and the world is coming to an end!

Yeah we saw how improved the offense was when Joe had time to throw. If we can get a LT whether it be in the draft (might not get a day 1 starter) or bring back McKinnie then I will feel better. I also like the moves we have made on D so far and if we add Dumervil to bolster the pass rush then it would be a job well done so far by Ozzie. I would have liked to have Ed back there just for some continuity and vet leadership but if we get younger and faster that might not be a bad thing. Plus his contract will net us a 5th round pick next year so there is a silver lining.

I think I read somewhere that the Texans first offered 3 years $12m and even that was too much for us according to some reports. He went for 3 years $16m with $7m guaranteed. That was a good deal for Ed and it would have been a bad deal for us if Ozzie had matched it.

It was depressing enough that we are losing Ray this offseason but to now lose Ed as well really hurts. 2 of the greatest Ravens ever gone in the same offseason

Crav, the first part of the formula is the money they received in FA so Brandon Carr got 5 years $50.1m so $10.02m per year. The rest of the formula is made up of playing time, performance, pro bowl appearance etc. but most of the guys that predict the picks say it is 90% to do with the money the FA received. Houston got a 3rd for Mario Williams $16.67m per year contract. The Titans got a 3rd for Cortland Finnegans $10m per year contract. It seems to be an approx. $10m per year contract nets you a 3rd round pick. So I would imagine we will get a 4th for both Kruger and Ellerbe. I'm not sure about Cary Williams yet. He could be either a 4th or 5th as his contract wasn't worth much more than what JJ got from San Diego. If McKinney signs elsewhere it will probably be for something similar to what Spears got so they cancel each other out. That leaves Ed Reed. If he signs somewhere for the $6m per year he is looking I would expect that to net us another 4th. Conceivably we could end up with 4 4th round compensation picks for the 2014 NFL Draft. That is how you retool quickly especially if you are really good at drafting.

But Papa it takes 2 to Tango. Just because you want to trade away some vets doesn't mean there is a crazy team wanting to throw picks at us to take those vets away.

This move is making me more and more annoyed as I think deeper about it. Basically we cut Pollard so we could bring back that useless waste of a roster spot David Reed. Seriously, Pollard caught more balls than Reed and Pollard plays on D! I understood the Boldin move but I can't say I understand this one. We are going to really need to have a good draft with those 12 picks.

The Ravens website is reporting it was a 3 year extension last year so he had 2 years left so it would be a bonus acceleration that would cause us to only save $1m. Bad move IMO.

I can't say I like this move. Although, I don't understand the cap hit. All signs point to the fact he had a $2m base salary + 750k from his signing bonus and $500k roster bonus due on Saturday so a cap hit for 2013 of $3.25m I think 2013 was the last year of his deal so cutting him saves the $2m base plus the roster bonus of 500k so it should save the Ravens $2.5m with $750k in dead money. So I'm not sure where the $2.25m dead money and $1m cap savings is coming from that is being reported.

Ozzie is so great they have made a movie about him. He was last seen telling Oher that his movie was going to win more Oscars. Oz the Great and Powerful

But it's Cleveland, the land of staph infections and this: You have to be desperate for cash or drafted by them to go there.

I don't know what the interest rate is like in the US but over here the base rate has been set at a historic low of 0.5% for the last 4 years and now there is rumors that it could drop to zero or even go negative to try and encourage growth. The effect that has is people who are saving their money are losing out as inflation is still around 4-5%. In real terms it is not worth keeping their money in banks. So these people are using the stock market to invest their cash. Just like most things the laws of Supply and Demand are effecting the stock market and I believe giving it a false impression of confidence in the economy. I think people are looking at it like there is no better solution so lets invest in stock and hopefully make some money if we are lucky rather than losing money with the status quo.

I see Kruger going to Indy. They can afford to pay him, need a pass rusher and they have Chuck Pagano.