The Baltimore Ravens’ 2019 season is far from over, with hopefully a deep playoff run still on the cards. However, the business of football goes on and it’s important to look ahead at what the Ravens roster could like look in 2020.
Going into this offseason, Baltimore has 21 players set to hit free agency, including 16 unrestricted free agents. While fans will key in on potential free agents the Ravens can sign, they’ll have their work cut out for them in retaining some of their own impact players.
Let’s take a look at the full list of pending free agents for Baltimore.
Ravens 2020 unrestricted free agents:
| Player | Position |
| Jimmy Smith | CB |
| Michael Pierce | DT |
| Patrick Onwuasor | ILB |
| Seth Roberts | WR |
| Domata Peko | DT |
| Anthony Levine | S |
| Pernell McPhee | OLB |
| Josh Bynes | ILB |
| Brynden Trawick | S |
| Justin Ellis | DE |
| De’Anthony Thomas | WR |
| Jordan Richards | S |
| Chris Moore | WR |
| Jihad Ward | DE |
| Hroniss Grasu | C |
| Matthew Judon | OLB |
UFAs are the ones you’ll hear the most about when free agency hits. They’re able to negotiate solely with their teams until free agency starts, where they then enter the open market and can then sign with any team.
The biggest names on this list are Jimmy Smith and Matt Judon. Smith has been with the Ravens for his whole NFL career but injury has kept him from playing a full season since 2015. This, plus the fact that the Ravens already have more cap salary dedicated to the cornerback position than any team in the NFL in 2020 may lead to a breakup.
Judon has enjoyed a career season with 9.5 sacks, 43 solo tackles and 14 tackles for loss. You would think the Ravens would love to keep him around based on these numbers but they did let Za’Darius Smith walk last season, remember. The classic Ravens tactic has been to let their free agents go out and find out what the market is and then give the team a chance to match or pass. This could be on the cards here again this offseason with Judon.
The other players on this list are mostly rotational players and given the stage of their careers, they may struggle to find better deals on the open market. However, there are players at positions that the Ravens could certainly look to get younger (and cheaper) at.
Ravens 2020 restricted free agents:
| Player | Position |
| Parker Ehinger | G |
| Matt Skura | C |
RFAs can be a bit tricky. But basically, the Ravens will have first dibs on these players — either tendering them on a one-year deal or letting them become UFAs. If tendered, Baltimore will have the right of first refusal to match any other team’s offer sheet or receive compensation based on their tendered level.
Here are the tenders Baltimore can assign them (at different contract values depending on the 2020 NFL salary cap) and the compensation returned if signed elsewhere.
- First-round tender: A first-round pick
- Second-round tender: A second-round pick
- Original-round tender: A pick in the round the player was originally drafted in.
- Right of first refusal: No compensation if they do not match.
It would be a surprise if the Ravens were not aggressive in their attempts to keep Skura around for the long term. Skura started every game in 2018 and was looking good again at the pivot before going down with an injury in Week 12.
Skura has been the picture of consistency in his three seasons with the Ravens, playing 2,643 offensive snaps whilst committing only six total penalties. None of these came in 2019.
The Ravens will probably assign him either a first or second-round tender while they negotiate with him. These tenders do not prohibit him from talking to other teams, but should he reach a deal with another team and the Ravens decline to match the offer then Baltimore would receive a first or second-round draft pick from that team.
As good as Skura has been, it’s not likely that many teams would give up premium draft capital to entice him away from Baltimore.
Ravens 2020 exclusive rights free agents:
| Player | Position |
| Gus Edwards | RB |
| Fish Smithson | CB |
| Randin Crecelius | C |
ERFAs are guys that typically aren’t talked about at all. These players can only negotiate with the Ravens. If a deal isn’t worked out, they must sit out the year completely. That pretty much locks them into a lower-value one-year deal.
Two of the best names in the NFL are on this list for the Ravens — Fish Smithson and Randin Crecelius. But the biggest name is running back Gus Edwards.
Edwards has totaled 1,429 rushing yards at an impressive 5.3 yards per attempt average over the last two seasons with Baltimore. He’s behind Mark Ingram on the Ravens’ depth chart but Edwards has shown that he can be effective when called upon, such as their Week 17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Edwards’ production combined with his ERFA status that’ll make him easier and cheaper to sign should ensure he remains a member of the Ravens in 2020.
