Jason La Confora: Kruger looking for 9m/year...

[ursula]

People that say Kruger might get re-signed need to evaluate our salary cap situation. We only have 37 players under contract, 42 if you include some camp bodies we signed recently. There is no way in hell we are spending anywhere close to nine million a year on Kruger. I bet they will make him a modest offer, probably around four million a year. Some team with a ton of cap space will give him six to seven, maybe more. Defensive ends are in high demand, and he has had a fairly good season on a playoff team. There are some teams that will be loaded with cap space next year so he will get a pretty decent deal.

This. Even if we signed Kruger at $4-5M we would have to cut one or more core players to do it. Adrian Hamilton! Your time has come.

[TheEliteUnibrow]

He's not gonna get that much ehre, but you got two more games to prove it Kruger, play for that $$$.

[LukeDaniel]

1)By my calculations, we have 36 players under contract for next year + Ray Lewis' dead money. Their total cap hit is 99.86

2) That does not include the four players who are sure to get a RFA offer (2nd round for Pitta, McClellan, Jones, round-of-draft for Dickson). That takes us up to 107.01 with 40 players under contract.

3) We are left with 4 remaining RFAs---Morgan Cox, Ramon Harewood, David Reed, Emanuel Cook. None of those guys will be tendered, but I would expect all to be given contracts at the league veteran minimums. That's now 44 players under contract for 109.05.

4) We have 7 more exclusive right FAs for 2013. They are Bobby Rainey, Anthony Allen, Adrian Hamilton, Josh Bynes, Omar Brown, Bryan Hall, Damien Berry. I am not entirely sure what the allocated salary for these players are, but let's approximate $500k per player. Not all of these players are assured of making the 2013 team (particularly with Allen/Rainey/Berry all playing the same position). Hamilton, Hall, and Bynes have to be considered very strong candidates to make the team though. Again, for the sake of painting the picture, lets allocate $3.5 million to these 7 players. That gets us to our 51 players at $112.55.

5) Ravor would be able to say more accurately what the 2013 projected cap would be, but lets just estimate $121.55 sake of making it easy. Last year's cap was a little shy of $121, so I think that's a conservative estimate. That leaves us $9 million under the cap, and that # is before we factor in any salary upgrades from our 2013 draft class and any Unrestricted Free Agents. Keep in mind that Flacco will be a UFA and hasn't even been accounted for yet. We also have Cary Williams, Ellerbe, and Kruger on the outside yet.

6) So let's look at the obvious cuts. For the moment, I only see two that I consider likely. Matt Birk being cut/retiring would save us $2.75 million. However, it would also double his dead money count from $700k to $1.4 million since his 2014 bonus would now count against the cap. That saves us $2.05. Bobbie Williams will also be gone, saving $1.2 with $400k in dead money. That puts the cap at $109.3 and puts us at 49 players. So right there, we have $12.2 million under the cap.

7) Flacco will take up the lion's share of that amount, and clearly there is no room to pay Flacco and Kruger (without making several cap cuts). Let's approximate that Flacco commands $80 million over 5 years. I think that's probably about his market value. I would expect a signing bonus in the neighborhood of $30 million. So let's say the Ravens give him a base salary of $3-4 million in 2013. When you factor in his prorated signing bonus, his 2013 cap # is $9-10. Let's pick $9.5 as his 2013 cap #. That now puts us $118.8, or 2.7 under the cap, with 48 players on the roster... before we even factor in any rookie salary upgrades or any other free agents.

8) There are four players who are cap casualty candidates.

#1- Anquan Boldin- $7.53 million cap----$6 million savings by cutting-$1.53 in dead money
#2- Jacoby Jones- $4.9 million cap- $3 million salary. $1 million roster bonus savings. $900k in dead money
#3- Vonta Leach- $4.33 million cap-$3 million salary savings, $1.33 million in dead money
#4 Jameel McClain- $4.2 cap- $3 million salary savings, $1.2 dead money. However, he has two years of $1.2 signing bonus left, so cutting him would create $2.4 million in dead money and $1.8 in cap savings. Not sure if that makes a lot of sense or not.

Those cuts would lower our cap #, including Flacco's salary, to $104. If we factor in $2.5-3.5 million in rookie contract additions/ upgrades (to get us to 51 players and to account for any upgrades that a 1st/2nd rounder might make in salary over someone on the 51 who they'd be replacing), that would put us at $106.5-$107.5. So, under those circumstances, we now have $14-$15 to give to our free agents. That's not a hideous position to be in, but when you consider we have 2 priority UFAs (Kruger, Ellerbe) and 3 key offensive players lost (Boldin, Jacoby, Leach) to replace, it doesn't give us a lot of room either. Yes, we could re-sign Kruger, and still have room to re-sign some combination of Leach/Boldin/Jones/Ellerbe or push that money into 1-2 incoming free agent.

9) The danger of signing Kruger might not be felt in 2013, but the Ravens are headed towards a flat-out salary cap inferno in 2014. If we pay him $7-8 million a year, the punch will be felt in a year where we can't afford it. I'm sure the Ravens could structure his salary so that his 2013 # is only $5 million, leaving another $9 million towards other FAs. However, let's look at 2014:

Ngata's cap # goes up $4.5 million to $16 million. That includes $15 million in bonuses from 2014-15, so there really isn't much flexibility in terms of cutting him/restructuring him.

Rice's cap # goes up $3 million in 2014 (and then it actually goes down in 15 and 16). This includes $14.25 in bonuses, making it very hard to cut/restructure him)

Webb's cap # goes up $5.1 in 2014.

Flacco's cap # from 2013 to 2014 is bound to up dramatically as well. Kruger, if we were able to find a way to bring him back, would fall in this category as well.

We are looking at an increase of roughly $20 million from 13 to 14 with the salary increases of just 5-6 players. We are approaching a dangerous stage in our salary cap positioning. If Kruger is going to get that type of money, the danger doesn't really exist as much in 2013 as it does 2014 and beyond.

[wickedsolo]

1)By my calculations, we have 36 players under contract for next year + Ray Lewis' dead money. Their total cap hit is 99.86

2) That does not include the four players who are sure to get a RFA offer (2nd round for Pitta, McClellan, Jones, round-of-draft for Dickson). That takes us up to 107.01 with 40 players under contract.

3) We are left with 4 remaining RFAs---Morgan Cox, Ramon Harewood, David Reed, Emanuel Cook. None of those guys will be tendered, but I would expect all to be given contracts at the league veteran minimums. That's now 44 players under contract for 109.05.

4) We have 7 more exclusive right FAs for 2013. They are Bobby Rainey, Anthony Allen, Adrian Hamilton, Josh Bynes, Omar Brown, Bryan Hall, Damien Berry. I am not entirely sure what the allocated salary for these players are, but let's approximate $500k per player. Not all of these players are assured of making the 2013 team (particularly with Allen/Rainey/Berry all playing the same position). Hamilton, Hall, and Bynes have to be considered very strong candidates to make the team though. Again, for the sake of painting the picture, lets allocate $3.5 million to these 7 players. That gets us to our 51 players at $112.55.

5) Ravor would be able to say more accurately what the 2013 projected cap would be, but lets just estimate $121.55 sake of making it easy. Last year's cap was a little shy of $121, so I think that's a conservative estimate. That leaves us $9 million under the cap, and that # is before we factor in any salary upgrades from our 2013 draft class and any Unrestricted Free Agents. Keep in mind that Flacco will be a UFA and hasn't even been accounted for yet. We also have Cary Williams, Ellerbe, and Kruger on the outside yet.

6) So let's look at the obvious cuts. For the moment, I only see two that I consider likely. Matt Birk being cut/retiring would save us $2.75 million. However, it would also double his dead money count from $700k to $1.4 million since his 2014 bonus would now count against the cap. That saves us $2.05. Bobbie Williams will also be gone, saving $1.2 with $400k in dead money. That puts the cap at $109.3 and puts us at 49 players. So right there, we have $12.2 million under the cap.

7) Flacco will take up the lion's share of that amount, and clearly there is no room to pay Flacco and Kruger (without making several cap cuts). Let's approximate that Flacco commands $80 million over 5 years. I think that's probably about his market value. I would expect a signing bonus in the neighborhood of $30 million. So let's say the Ravens give him a base salary of $3-4 million in 2013. When you factor in his prorated signing bonus, his 2013 cap # is $9-10. Let's pick $9.5 as his 2013 cap #. That now puts us $118.8, or 2.7 under the cap, with 48 players on the roster... before we even factor in any rookie salary upgrades or any other free agents.

8) There are four players who are cap casualty candidates.

#1- Anquan Boldin- $7.53 million cap----$6 million savings by cutting-$1.53 in dead money
#2- Jacoby Jones- $4.9 million cap- $3 million salary. $1 million roster bonus savings. $900k in dead money
#3- Vonta Leach- $4.33 million cap-$3 million salary savings, $1.33 million in dead money
#4 Jameel McClain- $4.2 cap- $3 million salary savings, $1.2 dead money. However, he has two years of $1.2 signing bonus left, so cutting him would create $2.4 million in dead money and $1.8 in cap savings. Not sure if that makes a lot of sense or not.

Those cuts would lower our cap #, including Flacco's salary, to $104. If we factor in $2.5-3.5 million in rookie contract additions/ upgrades (to get us to 51 players and to account for any upgrades that a 1st/2nd rounder might make in salary over someone on the 51 who they'd be replacing), that would put us at $106.5-$107.5. So, under those circumstances, we now have $14-$15 to give to our free agents. That's not a hideous position to be in, but when you consider we have 2 priority UFAs (Kruger, Ellerbe) and 3 key offensive players lost (Boldin, Jacoby, Leach) to replace, it doesn't give us a lot of room either. Yes, we could re-sign Kruger, and still have room to re-sign some combination of Leach/Boldin/Jones/Ellerbe or push that money into 1-2 incoming free agent.

9) The danger of signing Kruger might not be felt in 2013, but the Ravens are headed towards a flat-out salary cap inferno in 2014. If we pay him $7-8 million a year, the punch will be felt in a year where we can't afford it. I'm sure the Ravens could structure his salary so that his 2013 # is only $5 million, leaving another $9 million towards other FAs. However, let's look at 2014:

Ngata's cap # goes up $4.5 million to $16 million. That includes $15 million in bonuses from 2014-15, so there really isn't much flexibility in terms of cutting him/restructuring him.

Rice's cap # goes up $3 million in 2014 (and then it actually goes down in 15 and 16). This includes $14.25 in bonuses, making it very hard to cut/restructure him)

Webb's cap # goes up $5.1 in 2014.

Flacco's cap # from 2013 to 2014 is bound to up dramatically as well. Kruger, if we were able to find a way to bring him back, would fall in this category as well.

We are looking at an increase of roughly $20 million from 13 to 14 with the salary increases of just 5-6 players. We are approaching a dangerous stage in our salary cap positioning. If Kruger is going to get that type of money, the danger doesn't really exist as much in 2013 as it does 2014 and beyond.

Good break down.

We also aren't sure of how the cap is going to look in 2014. Supposedly, the cap is supposed to increase at some point to reflect new revenue. (or so I thought).

[GOTA]

Good break down.

We also aren't sure of how the cap is going to look in 2014. Supposedly, the cap is supposed to increase at some point to reflect new revenue. (or so I thought).

What does change for the cap this year is that the cap floor begins. Those teams that haven't spent money like the Bucs and the Bengals are going to have to get up to the cap floor this year. That could mean that free agents in certain positions get a lot more money. We saw that last season with the bidding up of wide receiver contracts. I would expect that pass rushers, corners and tackles are all going to be more expensive in 2013 than they were in 2012.

[LukeDaniel]

What does change for the cap this year is that the cap floor begins. Those teams that haven't spent money like the Bucs and the Bengals are going to have to get up to the cap floor this year. That could mean that free agents in certain positions get a lot more money. We saw that last season with the bidding up of wide receiver contracts. I would expect that pass rushers, corners and tackles are all going to be more expensive in 2013 than they were in 2012.

Good point(s). I'm not sure if the Bucs are still in that cap poverty stage anymore with the contracts given out to Nicks, Jackson, and Wright last year, but I'm sure other teams are. I'm thinking the Browns might be big free agent players this year, provided they can convince anyone to want to play in Cleveland. Can you see Kruger lining up in Brown against Oher next year??? gulp

[RavensDomination]

1. NFL salary cap for 2013 is tentatively placed at or just under 121 million according to reports.

2. No way Boldin is coming back under his current contract, will have to renegotiate or be released.

3. Yanda, Suggs, Ngata, could restructure if we need it even though that could hurt us down the road.

4. Jacoby is definitely staying, Leach is probably staying.

5. Birk, Williams gone for sure.

Ravens could be headed for a (hopefully short) rebuilding stage starting next season.

[ursula]

Ravens could be headed for a (hopefully short) rebuilding stage starting next season.

Which will make this draft with our 11 picks a crucial one.

[LukeDaniel]

1.

Ravens could be headed for a (hopefully short) rebuilding stage starting next season.

Good post. I agree with most of what you say. I would argue that Jones at $4 million against the 2013 cap is really not that much more of a "deal" than Boldin against the cap for $6 million. Boldin is a more valuable player IMO and the two million more he costs is probably a better value to our franchise. I do agree that one of the two will be cut. If we cut Boldin, I think we might be able to re-sign him for a cheaper contract. If Jones is cut, he's going to get a 2-3 year offer elsewhere and would be gone.

I'm not sure the Ravens are going to be in rebuild mode at all. Even without Reed and Lewis, they still are loaded with talent. Out of Kruger, Ellerbe, C.Williams, Boldin, Jones, and Leach, we are likely going to retain at least 2, possibly 3-4 on that list.....or at a minimum, find players of similar talent via free agency. I think we can consider C. Williams a lost cause and try to find a way to retain 4 out of the other 5.

Ravor.....question....what would prevent us from adding a year onto the contract of Leach, Boldin, and Jones and then converting some of their 2013 salary into a bonus to be prorated between 2013 and 2014? For instance, Leach counts $4.33 against the 2013 cap ($3 million salary and $1.33 bonus). What's to say we don't give him a 1 year/$2.7 (with a $700k signing bonus) million extension for 2014 and then convert $2 million of his 2013 salary into a bonus. We could apply $1 million of that bonus to 2013 and $1 million to 2014. That would reduce his 2013 cap # to $3.33 million ($1 million base salary + $1.33 bonus from original contract+ $1 million restructuring). His 2014 cap # would be $3.7 ($2 million base+$700k signing bonus+ $1 million restructured amount). That would free up $1 million for our 2013 cap and secure a good player for another year. I'm sure Leach would be on board because he would not only pocket the $700k for signing the one year extension, but would also pocket a $2 million bonus right now, rather than waiting to collect in on a game-by-game basis next year.

Is this allowable under NFL salary cap rules?

[LukeDaniel]

Ravor---another example.

What if we were to offer Terrell Suggs a one-year extension for 2015 at $7.5 million. This would be delivered in the form of $5.7 base salary and $1.8 signing bonus. We then restructure his current 2013 salary by turning $4.2 of his $6.4 2013 base salary into a bonus and then distribute it evenly in increments of $1.4 million over 2013,14, and 15.

2013- Original cap # for Suggs was $13 million ($6.4 million, $6.6 bonus) New Cap # ($2.2 million salary, $8 million) $10.2 million

His 2014 cap # would go up $1.4 million from $12.4 to $13.8 ($7.8 salary+ $6 million bonus), however with a base salary of $7.8 million, there is even more room for another restructure.

His 2015 cap # would be $8.9 ($5.7+$3.2)

$7.5 might be a bit under market value for a player of Suggs' ability, but he will be 33 by the time 2015 rolls around and it's certainly not a unreasonably low amount.

Also, I don't think it would be hard for Sizzle to want to sign off on the extension, because it would bring him an immediate $6 million bonus ($1.8 million for extension + $4.2 for restructuring).

Most importantly, it would open up $2.8 against the 2013 cap, which is enough to bring in a nice free agent or to go a long ways to clearing room to resign Ellerbe/Kruger.

What do the rules say on doing something like this? Is it allowed?

[leachisabeast]

I love how people think we're going to be in re-build mode every year, and yet we still make the play offs one way or another. Ozzie's philosophy has kept us as competitive as the Patriots for years now, and I don't see things changing any time soon. We still have a lot of talent, especial on offense, and most of it is young talent. It's not as if we're an old team anymore. Guys like Ellerbe, Kruger, Flacco, Rice, Pierce, Webb, Yanda, KO, Torrey Smith, and Pitta have stepped up recently, and I see us remaining a competitive team even without Reed and Lewis. Leadership may be lost, but Ray Rice is a great leader, and we still have Ngata and Suggs. Until Ozzie stops finding gems every year like Corey Grahame, and starts drafting like AJ Smith, we wont be rebuilding any time soon. At worse, I see us going 9-7 just missing out on the play offs, but that is hardly a rebuilding year.

[RavensDomination]

Good post. I agree with most of what you say. I would argue that Jones at $4 million against the 2013 cap is really not that much more of a "deal" than Boldin against the cap for $6 million. Boldin is a more valuable player IMO and the two million more he costs is probably a better value to our franchise. I do agree that one of the two will be cut. If we cut Boldin, I think we might be able to re-sign him for a cheaper contract. If Jones is cut, he's going to get a 2-3 year offer elsewhere and would be gone.

The reason I feel Jacoby is a lock is because of his special teams ability. We really have struggled in the return department before his arrival. Regarding Boldin, he is getting older and the end is near. I think he will re-negotiate because he would probably have a hard time finding another starting job. I doubt the Ravens will flat out release him.