Ridiculously early 2012 Final 53 man roster projections

[LukeDaniel]

I need something to distract me from the frustration that covers my life today, so here goes


1) QB Joe Flacco (27 years old)
2) QB Tyrod Taylor (23)
3) RB Ray Rice (25)
4) RB Mike Tolbert (26-free agent)
5) RB Anthony Allen (24)
6) FB Vonta Leach (30)
7) LT Bryant McKinnie (33)
8) LG Ben Grubbs (28)
9) C Philip Blake (23- 3rd round pick- Baylor)
10)RG Marshall Yanda (28)
11)RT Michael Oher (26)
12)OG/C Justin Boren (24)
13)OT Jah Reid (24)
14) OT Ricky Wagner (2nd round pick-Wisconsin)
15) TE Ed Dickson (25)
16) TE Dennis Pitta (27)
17) TE Michael Williams (5th round pick-Alabama)
18) WR Anquan Boldin (32)
19) WR Torrey Smith (23)
20) WR Early Doucet (26- FA)
21) WR Tandon Doss (23)
22) WR Laquan Williams (24)
23) WR/KR David Reed (25)
24) DT Haloti Ngata (28)
25) DT Terrance Cody (24)
26) DT/DE Arthur Jones (26)
27) DT/DE Bryan Hall (25)
28) DT Hebron Fangupo (6th round pick-BYU)
29) DE Pernell McPhee (23)
30) OLB Terrell Suggs (30)
31) MLB Ray Lewis (37)
32) MLB Vontaze Burfict (22- 1st round pick)
33) OLB Jarrett Johnson (31)
34) MLB/ST Albert McClelland (25)
35) LB/ST Brendan Ayanbadejo (36)
36) rush LB Paul Kruger (26)
37) rush LB Sergio Kindle (25)
38) rush LB Michael McAdoo (22)
39) LB/ST Josh Bynes (23)
40) CB Lardarius Webb (27)
41) CB Cary Williams (27)
42) CB Jimmy Smith (24)
43) CB Chris Carr (29)
44) CB Danny Gorrer (26)
45) CB Chykie Brown (25)
46) S Ed Reed (34)
47) S Bernard Pollard (27)
48) S Haruki Nakamura (26)
49) S Emmanuel Cook (24)
50) S Blake Gideon (5th round pick-Texas)
51) LS Morgan Cox (26)
52) K Billy Cundiff (32)
53) P Sam Koch (30)

Free Agent Additions: Mike Tolbert, RB Early Doucet, WR

Free Agent losses: Andre Gurode, Cory Redding, Jameel McClain, Tom Zbikowski, Brandon McKinney, Kris Wilson

Free Agents retained: Ben Grubbs, Ray Rice, Brendan Ayanbadejo, Haruki Nakamura, Jarrett Johnson

Retired: Matt Birk, Ricky Williams

Fail to make 2012 roster: Dannell Ellerbe, Lee Evans, Ramon Harewood, Damien Berry, Edgar Jones, Chavis Williams, Domonique Foxworth

2012 Draft Picks to make team:

1) Vontaze Burfict-ILB- Arizona St
2) Ricky Wagner- LT- Wisconsin
3) Philip Blake-C-Baylor
5) Blake Gideon-S- Texas
5) Michael Williams-TE-Alabama
6) Hebron Fangupo-NT/DT- BYU

[AntiMoon]

No way we only add 2 quality free agents. And JJ is not coming back. And I think we keep Gurode and draft Center to replace him in 2013

[52decleetzu]

I need something to distract me from the frustration that covers my life today, so here goes


1) QB Joe Flacco (27 years old)
2) QB Tyrod Taylor (23)
3) RB Ray Rice (25)
4) RB Mike Tolbert (26-free agent)
5) RB Anthony Allen (24)
6) FB Vonta Leach (30)
7) LT Bryant McKinnie (33)
8) LG Ben Grubbs (28)
9) C Philip Blake (23- 3rd round pick- Baylor)
10)RG Marshall Yanda (28)
11)RT Michael Oher (26)
12)OG/C Justin Boren (24)
13)OT Jah Reid (24)
14) OT Ricky Wagner (2nd round pick-Wisconsin)
15) TE Ed Dickson (25)
16) TE Dennis Pitta (27)
17) TE Michael Williams (5th round pick-Alabama)
18) WR Anquan Boldin (32)
19) WR Torrey Smith (23)
20) WR Early Doucet (26- FA)
21) WR Tandon Doss (23)
22) WR Laquan Williams (24)
23) WR/KR David Reed (25)
24) DT Haloti Ngata (28)
25) DT Terrance Cody (24)
26) DT/DE Arthur Jones (26)
27) DT/DE Bryan Hall (25)
28) DT Hebron Fangupo (6th round pick-BYU)
29) DE Pernell McPhee (23)
30) OLB Terrell Suggs (30)
31) MLB Ray Lewis (37)
32) MLB Vontaze Burfict (22- 1st round pick)
33) OLB Jarrett Johnson (31)
34) MLB/ST Albert McClelland (25)
35) LB/ST Brendan Ayanbadejo (36)
36) rush LB Paul Kruger (26)
37) rush LB Sergio Kindle (25)
38) rush LB Michael McAdoo (22)
39) LB/ST Josh Bynes (23)
40) CB Lardarius Webb (27)
41) CB Cary Williams (27)
42) CB Jimmy Smith (24)
43) CB Chris Carr (29)
44) CB Danny Gorrer (26)
45) CB Chykie Brown (25)
46) S Ed Reed (34)
47) S Bernard Pollard (27)
48) S Haruki Nakamura (26)
49) S Emmanuel Cook (24)
50) S Blake Gideon (5th round pick-Texas)
51) LS Morgan Cox (26)
52) K Billy Cundiff (32)
53) P Sam Koch (30)

Free Agent Additions: Mike Tolbert, RB Early Doucet, WR

Free Agent losses: Andre Gurode, Cory Redding, Jameel McClain, Tom Zbikowski, Brandon McKinney, Kris Wilson

Free Agents retained: Ben Grubbs, Ray Rice, Brendan Ayanbadejo, Haruki Nakamura, Jarrett Johnson

Retired: Matt Birk, Ricky Williams

Fail to make 2012 roster: Dannell Ellerbe, Lee Evans, Ramon Harewood, Damien Berry, Edgar Jones, Chavis Williams, Domonique Foxworth

2012 Draft Picks to make team:

1) Vontaze Burfict-ILB- Arizona St
2) Ricky Wagner- LT- Wisconsin
3) Philip Blake-C-Baylor
5) Blake Gideon-S- Texas
5) Michael Williams-TE-Alabama
6) Hebron Fangupo-NT/DT- BYU

Don't know much about the draft right now but the only thing I disagree with is Redding being gone.

He plays a position that you can't find in the draft, won't be that expensive due to his age and absolutely loves being part of a winning team after being tortured for 8 years on losers.

We have plenty of room to re-sign him so I don't see why he would not be back.

[LukeDaniel]

Don't know much about the draft right now but the only thing I disagree with is Redding being gone.

He plays a position that you can't find in the draft, won't be that expensive due to his age and absolutely loves being part of a winning team after being tortured for 8 years on losers.

We have plenty of room to re-sign him so I don't see why he would not be back.

It's funny because Antimoon said no way JJ is back. You say that Redding is back.

Personally, I think we can afford just one of them and I think JJ is the more likely to return because:

a) he will take a more team-friendly deal since he's entrenched here and has already made a boatload of $ on his last contract from us.

b) I think it's harder to replicate what JJ does in the draft than what Redding does. I love the way Cory plays, but I think you can find a player in the draft who can fill his position. I'm not sure there is a player in the draft, in any round, who could come in and set the edge the way he does. That's a skill that supercedes physical ability and talent. It takes experience and I'm certain that any rookie we brought in to replace JJ would give up far more runs around his corner than JJ does presently.

It is an interesting debate though.

[jhoff66]

Phillip Blake is 26 not 23 if that matters......

[Jeremiah W]

I have always been a big JJ fan, but I think what he provides has lost a lot of value due to the lack of good teams that have power running games. He has offerend next to nothing as a pass rusher recently, and I have not noticed him making plays in coverage. I am not saying I do not want him back, but I want Redding back more if it is one or the other, both if they are on the cheap though.

[LukeDaniel]

No way we only add 2 quality free agents. And JJ is not coming back. And I think we keep Gurode and draft Center to replace him in 2013

Aside from pricey WRs like Jackson, Jackson, Colston, Bowe, etc and a handful of so-so running backs, there really aren't a lot of positions of need for the Ravens that have a good free agent crop.

The Ravens could use a 3rd WR to replace Evans and I think Doucet might give us a somewhat proven, affordable, relatively young guy to grow with Flacco for more than just a year and potentially move into a starting role in 2013 or 2014 once Boldin is done here. Doucet makes sense in every way.

Tolbert makes sense too because the Ravens aren't likely to go into 2012 with Allen as their backup and I have a suspicion that Ricky will retire. If Ricky does return (at an affordable cap figure to boot), we have no need for Tolbert and might be able to commit that money to resign Redding or JJ.

If you look at the OT market, it's awful. There is nobody available for a reasonable salary aside from a bad list of retreads.

There are some decent OGs out there, but most of them are going to command money in the neighborhood of what Grubbs will receive, so why not just keep him since he's better than every FA guard out there other than Jahri Evans.

I guess we could go out and get a Kris Wilson-like 3rd string TE, but I think we might just draft that position.

We have no Free Agent need in the secondary at all. We're stacked with good, young CBs and, assuming Pollard, Haruki, and Reed are back at S, it wouldn't make sense to commit a lot of money there.

The only other two positions where I could see us bringing in a FA would be to replace JJ or Redding, but the list of free agents at both positions is unimpressive, and I think we'd be better off bring Johnson or Cory back than paying equal money to a less-established FA.

I'm sure there will be more than 2 Free Agents added to the 2012 Raven roster, but I'm working with who is available at this moment in time and I just don't see a lot of free agents who are better players than the younger, less-expensive players we already have under contract. An injury or two in preseason will certainly bring that opening for maybe 2-3 more veteran, waiver wire free agent types to make the squad.

[LukeDaniel]

Phillip Blake is 26 not 23 if that matters......

Yikes. That's a bit old for a rookie. I thought Pitta was old as a 25 year old rookie. I guess for a 3rd rounder, I can live with that. Michael Brewster from Ohio St is another intriguing option.

[52decleetzu]

It's funny because Antimoon said no way JJ is back. You say that Redding is back.

Personally, I think we can afford just one of them and I think JJ is the more likely to return because:

a) he will take a more team-friendly deal since he's entrenched here and has already made a boatload of $ on his last contract from us.

b) I think it's harder to replicate what JJ does in the draft than what Redding does. I love the way Cory plays, but I think you can find a player in the draft who can fill his position. I'm not sure there is a player in the draft, in any round, who could come in and set the edge the way he does. That's a skill that supercedes physical ability and talent. It takes experience and I'm certain that any rookie we brought in to replace JJ would give up far more runs around his corner than JJ does presently.

It is an interesting debate though.

Eh, finding a 3-4 end is hard in the draft, one that will contribute right away at least. Pittsburgh has drafted 2 very high recently and they have done nothing. Hood has pretty much been a disappointment, the book still has to be written on Cameron Heyward.

College teams just don't play that scheme and you are usually taking an undersized 4-3 DT, or a a big 4-3 DE and trying to convert them to a completely different scheme.. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Look at the Chiefs with Tyson Jacskon and Glenn Dorsey. Top ten talents who couldn't make the transition and were pretty much complete busts although they are still on the roster.

I don't know what the plans are for Art Jones but he is the only one I could see filling that role on the roster right now. And again I doubt you are taking a guy high in the draft and praying you get lucky and he picks it up right away.

[Mista T]

Free Agents retained: Ben Grubbs, Ray Rice, Brendan Ayanbadejo, Haruki Nakamura, Jarrett Johnson

Retired: Matt Birk, Ricky Williams

Grubbs walks for a bigger pay-day (hint: if your name isn't Ogden, Ozzie won't overpay to keep Offensive Linemen)

Ricky Williams looks too energetic to retire.

[LukeDaniel]

I have always been a big JJ fan, but I think what he provides has lost a lot of value due to the lack of good teams that have power running games. He has offerend next to nothing as a pass rusher recently, and I have not noticed him making plays in coverage. I am not saying I do not want him back, but I want Redding back more if it is one or the other, both if they are on the cheap though.

Valid point. JJ is a liability on passing downs, which wasn't the case as recently as 2009. He is a declining player, but he still does one thing extraordinarily well. Considering the AFC north is still one of the more run-heavy divisions historically, I think I'd still see a nice value in having JJ around if we could lock him down in the 2 year-$5 million/3 year-$8 million range. I wouldn't go much higher than that in terms of annual commitment to him.

[jhoff66]

Grubbs walks for a bigger pay-day (hint: if your name isn't Ogden, Ozzie won't overpay to keep Offensive Linemen)

Ricky Williams looks too energetic to retire.

Yanda??? No way Grubbs goes, by cutting Foxworthless and posb Evans with a few other we should have enough cap room to get Grubbs back. Back load some contracts so when Ed and Ray retires it works out. Look at our line when Grubbs was out, with how bad they played these last two games I cant see letting your arguably best OL walk...

JJ is the vet that will be let go posb Redding even though i think he will be brought back with a team friendly contract seems to me he is one who wants to win....