The Baltimore Ravens enter the 2020 offseason in pretty good shape. They’ve got a roster with a solid core of young players that got them to a 14-2 record. The Ravens also have a decent amount of cap space expected and not very many major holes to fill this offseason.
That might seem like the perfect recipe for rolling forward as they stand while adding talent through free agency and the draft. But Baltimore has always tried to perfect their roster, at times with the philosophy of addition via subtraction.
Looking over the Ravens’ roster and current contracts, they have a handful of players that are overpaid and pretty obvious cuts. Not only would these cuts free up quite a bit more cap space, but it would also allow younger players who have proven themselves to step up into the spotlight more.
Let’s take a look at the two players who are seemingly no-brainer decisions for Baltimore to make this offseason.
S Tony Jefferson
Cap savings: $7 million
Jefferson suffered a devastating knee injury this season that put him on injured reserve. When the injury happened, I posited the idea that Jefferson might have played his final snaps in Baltimore. Now with the offseason here, I’ve only strengthened my opinion on the matter.
In Jefferson’s absence, the Ravens turned to Chuck Clark, who played excellent football. In fact, Clark actually played better in the starting role than Jefferson had, earning a 72.8 overall grade from Pro Football Focus against Jefferson’s 49.4 for 2019.
With an obvious replacement already on the roster and some depth in the form of DeShon Elliott, the Ravens can easily transition away from Jefferson. Combine that with a $7 million savings and it’s difficult seeing Jefferson remaining on the roster for next season, even though he means a lot to the locker room.
CB Brandon Carr
Cap savings: $6 million
The Ravens had the deepest secondary in all of football in 2019. With the addition of cornerback Marcus Peters via trade and Jimmy Smith returning from injury, Carr was the odd man out to a degree. Baltimore transitioned him to safety in an effort to keep him on the field but get their better cornerbacks on the front lines.
2020 doesn’t look much better for Carr in this regard either. Though Smith is a pending free agent and not likely to return, Peters was inked to a three-year extension and Marlon Humphrey is still on his rookie deal as the team’s top cornerback. With Tavon Young set to return from injury next year, Carr’s place on the roster is a pretty big question mark.
Carrying a $7 million cap hit makes keeping Carr as primary backup a little too expensive to make sense. With $6 million in cap savings if he’s cut, Carr’s contract points to him being shown the door before his $1.5 million roster bonus is due. But there’s a caveat here that’s worth mentioning.
Carr’s ability to slide back to safety as well as play both inside and outside corner roles gives him a versatility the Ravens absolutely adore. While I don’t think they’re going to be willing to swallow his current salary, Carr seems like the perfect option to cut and then re-sign at a better value.
