The NFL’s franchise-tag deadline has come and gone and while nine players received the one-year tender, the Baltimore Ravens weren’t among the teams handing one out. However, that creates some pretty big questions about Baltimore’s offseason plans as it appears outside linebacker Matthew Judon and defensive end Yannick Ngakoue will be headed to free agency next week.
With limited salary-cap space, the Ravens were never really expected to use the franchise tag this offseason. Though the NFL and NFLPA have agreed to a cap floor of $180 million in 2021, the salary cap hasn’t been formally set which means the cost of the franchise tag hasn’t been set either. However, with the salary cap expected to go down for the first time in over a decade, Over The Cap projects the Ravens will have around $18 million available. Tagging Judon for the second consecutive year would have cost Baltimore around $20 million with the franchise tag for Ngakoue projected to be around $17.75 million, ultimately meaning neither was a viable tag target financially.
Unfortunately, this creates an interesting dilemma for the Ravens. Both Ngakoue and Judon are among the league’s top pending free agents and could receive quite a bit of interest despite both having lackluster production in 2020. With outside linebackers Pernell McPhee and Tyus Bowser also set to hit free agency, Baltimore could very well see their four top EDGE defenders leave in the coming weeks.
However, that doesn’t mean Judon and Ngakoue are definitely leaving either. The Ravens have often allowed pending free agents to test the market to determine their actual value. With the uncertainty surrounding the salary cap and several big names hitting free agency, that might just be Baltimore’s philosophy once again this offseason.
Regardless, the Ravens should be in the market for a pass rusher when free agency begins. We’ll just have to wait and see whether they’re able to re-sign any of their own players or if they decide to go in a different direction entirely.
