ExtremeRavens Posted July 18 Posted July 18 The Ravens don’t have much money to spend. Baltimore currently has just over $5.9 million in salary cap space, according to Over The Cap — only the Atlanta Falcons ($3.47 million) have less. That doesn’t give Baltimore room to sign more than two or three players, but one doesn’t have dig deep into the memory bank to recall the bargains they got last year in signing Jadeveon Clowney at the end of training camp and Kyle Van Noy in late September in the wake of injuries to young outside linebackers David Ojabo and Odafe Oweh. Clowney and Van Noy combined for 18 1/2 sacks and were key contributors to the first defense in the modern era to lead the NFL in sacks, takeaways and points allowed per game. Both were one-year deals, with Clowney getting $2.5 million and Van Noy $1.5 million — incredible bang for the Ravens’ buck. Likewise, Baltimore last summer signed cornerbacks Ronald Darby for $3.2 million and Arthur Maulet for just over $1 million and they, too, were significant contributors. Clowney, 31, parlayed his success into a two-year, $20 million deal with the Carolina Panthers earlier this year, while Van Noy, 33, returned to the Ravens on a two-year deal worth up to $9 million. Darby, meanwhile, went on to sign a two-year deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars worth up to $10 million, and Maulet returned to Baltimore on a two-year deal worth $4 million. Will Baltimore hit the jackpot again this offseason? It’s difficult to predict and even harder to replicate, but there are several veteran free agents still available, including some at positions of need for the Ravens, so expect general manager Eric DeCosta to be prudent. Here’s a look at five players the Ravens could still target. Adrian Amos, safety Amos visited Baltimore last offseason before signing with the New York Jets in the wake of a season-ending injury to former Ravens starter Chuck Clark. Released in December before being picked up by the Houston Texans, the Baltimore native is available again and, at age 31, would provide veteran depth behind starters Kyle Hamilton and Marcus Williams. Last year, the former Calvert Hall and Penn State standout played in 16 games (11 with the Jets, five with the Texans) and had 28 tackles while playing a role on special teams. He also signed for just over $1.1 million last season, so he would be affordable. Former Broncos safety Justin Simmons is a two-time Pro Bowl selection with 30 career interceptions. (David Zalubowski/AP) Justin Simmons, safety Simmons is a two-time Pro Bowl selection with 30 career interceptions who also shared the NFL lead in picks with six in 12 games in 2022. Put another way, that probably makes the former Denver Broncos star too expensive for Baltimore. His last deal in Denver in 2021 was for four years and $61 million, and while he won’t fetch anywhere near that number, a team such as the Philadelphia Eagles, which he has been linked to, has the money to land him with more than $25 million in cap space. Still, Simmons is probably the best free agent safety on the market and would be an enormous addition to a Ravens defensive backfield that likes to use a lot of three-safety looks and already includes what should be one of the best safety duos in the NFL in Hamilton and Williams. Markus Golden, outside linebacker Just three years ago, Golden had 11 sacks for the Arizona Cardinals. He spent last season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he played behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith but still managed four sacks, six tackles for loss and 10 quarterback hits in 230 snaps. The nine-year veteran turned 33 in March, but he would give the Ravens another veteran presence alongside Van Noy and a solid edge setter against the run. He’s also cap friendly, with the expectation that he’ll sign a similar contract to the $1.3 million deal he received last season. The Ravens are also familiar with Golden, given that he played for Pittsburgh and recovered a fumble against Baltimore in the 2023 regular-season finale. Zach Cunningham, inside linebacker Though the Ravens know what they have in All-Pro Roquan Smith and are confident in second-year inside linebacker Trenton Simpson, Cunningham, a seven-year veteran, would provide depth to a position that could use some, particularly with Simpson stepping in for the departed Patrick Queen. Cunningham, 29, spent last season with the Eagles, recording 85 tackles, four passes defended and a fumble recovery in 13 games, including 10 starts. Dalvin Cook, running back Speaking of familiarity, Cook spent the last couple of weeks with the Ravens last season after they signed him in mid-January. While Derrick Henry was Baltimore’s big free agent splash of the offseason, Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins signed with the Los Angels Chargers and Keaton Mitchell is still recovering from a torn ACL suffered in mid-December, opening the door for another running back to handle some carries. Entering his age 29 season, Cook is merely a spot contributor at best at this point, but he seemed to enjoy his brief stint in Baltimore and would provide some insurance behind Henry, Hill and possibly rookie Rasheen Ali. View the full article Quote
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