The Baltimore Ravens are willing to use any tool available to maneuver around the roster and the salary cap; some of their latest maneuverings land them with four more starters or otherwise significant players hitting free agency for 2024 and more than $8 million in dead money.
Teams began actively using void years in contracts the manage cap hits after the COVID-19-driven cap plunge in 2021. The Pittsburgh Steelers used that tool with multiple players such as WR JuJu Smith-Schuster and CB Cameron Sutton.
It didn’t turn into an addiction, however. They are not employing void years on any of their current contracts. Others continue to do so, as the Ravens have. Adding void years spreads out the cap hit, but only to the point of the first void years. It all comes due at that point if you don’t reach an extension.
And as you might guess, the Ravens failed to reach extensions with four players, all of whom are now due to hit free agency. The most notable name is perhaps G Kevin Zeitler, the only one on an older contract. RB Gus Edwards, S Geno Stone, and CB Rock Ya-Sin are in the same boat.
Collectively, they leave $8,308,000 in dead money on the Ravens’ books, Zeitler responsible for most. He has a dead money charge of $4,268,000 for 2024 while Edwards, Stone, and Ya-Sin bring somewhat less. Edwards is on the books for $1,840,000, Ya-Sin $1,600,000, and Stone $600,000.
Zeitler turns 34 next month but has 181 starts to his name, including 47 for the Ravens since 2021. He made his first career Pro Bowl last season. Edwards played 470 snaps last season, rushing for 810 yards with 13 touchdowns. His efficiency plunged, however, to 4.1 yards. He averaged 5.0 or better in each of his first four seasons—before receiving an expanded workload.
He played more than usual in 2023 because J.K. Dobbins suffered yet another season-ending injury. Midseason, the Ravens benefited from rookie Keaton Mitchell’s sudden emergence, but he too suffered a season-ending injury. Edwards remains valuable, then, given the health uncertainty in the room.
As for Stone, he started 11 of 17 games, playing 951 snaps, recording seven interceptions with nine passes defensed. Nobody in the entire NFL had that many interceptions in 2022. Yet he is not a full-time starter with Kyle Hamilton and Marcus Williams in the mix.
The Ravens added Ya-Sin to provide veteran depth, logging 279 snaps over 14 games. He battled injuries throughout the season, among them a knee that kept him out of the conference finals. He made his lone start in the finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers. WR Diontae Johnson burned him for the game-winning 71-yard touchdown.
The Ravens initially had seven players with contracts due to void. They removed the void years from WR Odell Beckham Jr.’s contract but worked out extensions for the others. Most recently, they brought back WR Nelson Agholor, but previously did the same with DT Michael Pierce.
Pierce’s new contract with the Ravens includes three void years totaling $2,834,000, by the way. Agholor’s contract appears to have void years as well, but I’m less confident in the verification of those details.
