The Baltimore Ravens have been in the headlines a bit over the course of the past couple of days as their offseason plan continues to come together. So far, they have extended the contract of nickel back Tavon Young and released veterans Michael Crabtree and Eric Weddle. They also declined to use the franchise tag on C.J. Mosley. In a minor note, they also released running back Alex Collins following his arrest.
Baltimore is set to grab another headline just a few hours from now, as it was reported last night that the team will hold a press conference today at 11 AM in order to announce the re-signing of one of their pending free agents, an event in which Head Coach John Harbaugh will also be in attendance.
They would not be going through this process if it were not the announcement of the extension of a significant player, so I’m sure we can rule out the likes of Maxx Williams, Nick Boyle, Brent Urban, and Robert Griffin III.
Outside of Mosley, who would obviously be at the very top, the other big name for the Ravens scheduled to be a free agent would be Terrell Suggs, who has been with the organization since 2003. Though he is rapidly approaching 40, he continues to want to play, and has expressed an openness to playing for another team.
The Ravens just made the decision not to place the tag on Mosley two days ago, so needless to say it would be very surprising if a deal had come together on that front between then and now. The only way that would make much sense would be if it was because a deal was coming together that they chose not to use the tag.
The smart money would be on the team announcing that they are bringing Suggs back. As a rotational player in 2018, he continued to produce with seven sacks after posting 11 sacks the year before. His 132.5 career sacks rank as the most among active players after Julius Peppers announced his retirement, finishing his career with 159.5.
Suggs is now the only active player in the NFL with 100-plus sacks, though he should be joined by three more in 2019. Von Miller and Cameron Wake are both sitting on 98 right now, while J.J. Watt has 92. Nobody else is within 15 sacks of 100 right now.
Suggs is also tied with Leslie O’Neal for 13th all-time on the sacks list. If he can match his total of seven sacks in 2019, he would tie Jason Taylor for the seventh-most all-time, and could tie Michael Strahan for sixth with nine, but fifth place is a way off at Chris Doleman’s 150.5.
Other than Suggs or Mosley, the only other name that could really quality as a significant re-signing that is realistic would be fellow linebacker Za’Darius Smith, who had a career year in 2018 with eight and a half sacks. The Ravens have a history of allowing similar players to leave in free agency, but with Suggs entering his age-37 season, perhaps it’s time for them to hold on to one.
