Change Coming to Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens made it to the final weekend of the NFL regular season with a chance to make the playoffs.  For a team who's won the Super Bowl as a wildcard team in their recent history, giving the Ravens life in the playoffs is dangerous.  Unfortunately for the Ravens, a 31-27 loss to Cincinnati ended their season.  The loss left Baltimore without playoff football for a third consecutive season.

The Ravens had the right mix to be a factor in the NFL this past season.  The team finished in the top 10 in points scored and points allowed while also having the best turnover differential in the NFL.  Despite all of that, the Ravens needed a win on the final weekend of the season to make the playoffs.

Baltimore is in a different situation at quarterback than many other teams with veteran starters.  While the Saints, Patriots, Falcons, Steelers and Packers feature quarterbacks well into their 30's that provide great production, the Ravens have now had three straight seasons of average quarterback production.  Joe Flacco is now a 33 year old quarterback who has posted QB ratings of 80.4, 83.5 and 83.1 over those seasons.

WIth Flacco dealing with serious injuries in recent seasons, the Ravens must now explore drafting a younger understudy to take over the position sooner rather than later. 

Joe Flacco has his Super Bowl victory.  Joe Flacco has had 10 years as the starting quarterback in Baltimore.  But the lesson of the 2017 Ravens is that better quarterback played would have made them a bigger contender in the AFC.  Change is coming to the Ravens as team general manager Ozzie Newsome plans to retire after 2018.  

Offensive Ranking: 27th

Defensive Ranking: 12th

Key Free Agents:  

Ryan Jensen - C - Emerged in 2017 as a legitimate starter on the offensive line.  Will be just 27 years old by the start of training camp.  The most sought after free agent in Baltimore.

Mike Wallace - WR - Caught 52 passes for 748 yards and four touchdowns in 2017 after positing a 1,000 yard season in 2016.  Turns 32 years this summer.

Terrance West - WR - Followed up his 774 yard season in 2016 by gaining just 138 yards over five games this past season.

James Hurst - LG - A 16 game starter in 2017.  Has played left tackle when called upon early on in his career.

Potential Cuts/Restructures:  

Brandon Carr - CB - A solid but unspectacular starter in the NFL.  Carr was a solid cornerback last season but the Ravens will go younger in 2018.  Cap savings: $4M

Danny Woodhead - RB - The 33 year old running back played in just eight games last season and had limited production.  Cap savings: $1.8M

Ladarius Webb - S - Not an overly expensive player, but Webb lost his starting job and now place a reduced number of snaps.  Would be a quality backup.  Cap savings: $1.75M