ExtremeRavens Posted January 17 Posted January 17 Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was shaking his head and fidgeting before the question was even finished. It wasn’t because he was chilled from the dropping temperature. “I’m antsy, but I have to stay locked in knowing what’s ahead,” he said. “I’m definitely antsy.” The 27-year-old $260 million face of the franchise was talking about having an extra week off and waiting to find out Baltimore’s opponent in the divisional round of the playoffs after the Ravens finished the regular season with the best record in the AFC and received the conference’s only first-round bye. They will host the Houston Texans on Saturday at M&T Bank Stadium, where the quest for the organization’s third Super Bowl title begins in earnest. And as the Ravens prepare for a rematch of Week 1, reminders of the urgency of the opportunity in front of them percolate all around. While Jackson’s future is secure after he signed a five-year extension in April that keeps him with the organization through the 2027 season, the same can’t be said for many of the important players surrounding him. The Ravens have more than 20 players who are set to become free agents after their season ends. Many of them have been key contributors to a historically dominant defense that became the first in NFL history to lead the league in sacks (60), takeaways (31) and points allowed per game (16.5), and are unlikely to be back given the constraints of the salary cap and roster flexibility general manager Eric DeCosta will need to maintain to field a competitive team. Among the most notable players on defense due to hit the open market are defensive tackle Justin Madubuike, inside linebacker Patrick Queen, outside linebackers Jadeveon Clowney and Kyle Van Noy, safety Geno Stone and cornerback Arthur Maulet. Madubuike, who is a rare gifted run and pass disruptor for his position and whose 13 sacks in the regular season led all NFL interior defensive linemen, will command a salary of at least $20 million a year, according to a projection by Over The Cap. The Ravens, meanwhile, are projected to have only roughly $10 million in effective cap space. Though that number is not set in stone and restructuring current deals can help create more room, there’s only so much that can be done. Others, like Queen, who had a career-high 133 tackles this season, will also fetch sizable offers, and with the Ravens already having invested $100 million over five years in fellow inside linebacker Roquan Smith after signing him to an extension last January, spending big for another player at the same position would be prohibitive. Clowney is another player who figures to get a pay raise after matching his career high with 9 1/2 sacks. “It’s crazy,” Maulet said of the Ravens’ long list of future free agents. “They’re always built to win, too, so it’s not like they’re not going to get the first overall [draft] pick too many times.” There are questions over who will be back on offense, too, with wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Nelson Agholor, running backs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards, guards Kevin Zeitler and John Simpson, and backup quarterbacks Tyler Huntley and Josh Johnson all slated for free agency as well. By all measures, Baltimore had one of the best offenses in the league. The Ravens will still have receivers Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman, along with tight ends Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar, running back Justice Hill, and, of course, Jackson. But the offensive line could look dramatically different, especially if there’s a change at the team’s two tackle spots with Ronnie Stanley and Morgan Moses having battled injury and age this season. Given all of the moving pieces, the sense of winning now is palpable, particularly among the team’s veterans. “This is the best chance I’ve had [to win a Super Bowl] besides when I was with the L.A. Rams,” said Beckham, who is in his first season in Baltimore. “I got to choose where I thought would be the champion. There were 32 teams to choose from.” And with success, the rest of those teams will undoubtedly plunder the Ravens’ coaching and front office staffs. Defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, shown during practice Dec. 28, is among several Ravens coaches who have interviewed for head coaching jobs around the NFL. (Kevin Richardson/Staff) Already, seven coaches and front office personnel have interviewed with other organizations, with second-year defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald and first-year offensive coordinator Todd Monken among the most sought-after candidates to be head coaches elsewhere. Director of player personnel Joe Hortiz and vice president of football administration Nick Matteo, two key members of DeCosta’s front office, are also in the running for general manager jobs with the Los Angeles Chargers and Carolina Panthers, respectively. It’s possible some of them could stay, but with a handful of jobs open around the NFL, that’s far from guaranteed. Either way, the Ravens are expected to lose at least some of their staff. There’s also a sense of capitalizing on what has been perhaps Jackson’s best season to date. The presumptive NFL Most Valuable Player for a second time, he has produced career highs in passing yards (3,678) and completion percentage (.672) along with a 102.7 passer rating, the second-highest mark of his career and best since his 2019 unanimous MVP season. This is also the best collection of talent he has had around him in his six years in Baltimore, but that group likely won’t be together long. It’s also difficult to find the kind of chemistry the Ravens have enjoyed this season. “I believe that this is one of the most connected teams I’ve ever been around,” coach John Harbaugh said. “I think it starts with the fact that I really believe they love one another. I think they have a spiritual connection that runs through the whole team. You can just tell when a group of people like being around one another, like working together, trust one another, believe in one another and want to see everybody succeed — the idea that if one of us succeeds, we all succeed. “I see that with this group as much or more than any other team that I’ve been around in 40-plus years of coaching.” In other words, opportunities like this one don’t come around very often. AFC divisional round Texans at Ravens Saturday, 4:30 p.m. TV: ABC Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM Line: Ravens by 8 1/2 View the full article Quote
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