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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
glenn erby

Ravens owe $8.3M in dead money after voiding four contracts

With the Super Bowl in the rearview mirror, the Ravens and 31 other NFL teams will start financially retooling to advance to the 2024-25 postseason.

Joel Corry of CBS Sports recently looked inside at key offseason dates starting with the first week of the 2024 league year, which begins March 13.

Some dates will free up cap space for Baltimore, while others will force GM Eric DeCosta to make hard decisions.

Baltimore had a 4:00 PM EST deadline to extend six players to face dead salary cap hits, and only Nelson Agholor agreed to a new deal. 

At 4 p.m. Monday, the contracts of four pending free agents — right guard Kevin Zeitler, running back Gus Edwards, safety Geno Stone and cornerback Rock Ya-Sin — will void.

Void years are a way for teams to manipulate the salary cap by placing fake years on the end of a contract to defer cap charges to the future.

Odell Beckham Jr.’s one-year, $15 million contract was recently reworked to remove void years. That allows the Ravens to designate Beckham as a post-June 1 release if an extension is not reached by March 16.

Baltimore will now carry nearly $10 million in dead money on their 2024 salary cap since none of those five players were re-signed.

Gus Edwards Contract automatically voids ($1.84M of dead cap)

Jan 28, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens running back Gus Edwards (35) runs with the ball as Kansas City Chiefs safety Justin Reid (20) defends during the first half in the AFC Championship football game at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Edwards led Baltimore’s running backs with a career-high 813 yards rushing and tied for fifth in the NFL with 13 rushing touchdowns. Still, he averaged a career-low 4.1 yards per attempt after averaging at least 5.0 yards per carry his previous four seasons.

Kevin Zeitler Contract Automatically voids ($4.86M dead cap)

Nov 26, 2023; Inglewood, California, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) throws as guard Kevin Zeitler (70) provides coverage against Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Tuli Tuipulotu (45) during the first half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Zeitler was named to his first Pro Bowl this season and has talked about returning to Baltimore.

It’s possible that the Ravens will re-sign J.K. Dobbins and Zeitler, which General Manager Eric DeCosta acknowledged at the team’s end-of-season press conference.

Geno Stone Contract Automatically voids ($600,000 dead cap)

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – OCTOBER 22: Geno Stone #26 of the Baltimore Ravens celebrates after an interception in the third quarter of the game against the Detroit Lions at M&T Bank Stadium on October 22, 2023 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

Stone started 11 of 17 games for Baltimore this season, finishing second in the NFL with 7 interceptions, along with 68 tackles and 9 passes defended.

With Marcus Williams and Kyle Hamilton entrenched as starters, Stone could move on.

Rock Ya-Sin 2024-27 Years Automatically Void ($1.6M dead cap)

Nov 16, 2023; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens cornerback Rock Ya-Sin (23) is called for pass interference against Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Trenton Irwin (16) during the third quarter at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The 27-year-old cornerback was a consistent contributor as a reserve cornerback this season while also seeing significant playing time on special teams, tallying 13 tackles over 14 appearances.

Odell Beckham 2024-2027 years automatically void 2/19/2024 ($11.068M dead cap)

Dec 25, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (3) reacts against the San Francisco 49ers in the third quarter at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

DeCosta must decide if the three-time Pro Bowler will be back in Baltimore next year, which is one of the team’s many questions this offseason.

Beckham had his one-year, $15 million contract reworked, with substantial void years removed from the deal.

That restructure allows Baltimore to use a post-June one release if an extension is not reached by March 14. Doing so would spread the dead money in the deal over this year and following rather than have it all hit in 2024, meaning $2.767 million would count for this year and $8.301 million for 2025.

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