Ravens Cap Update Isn't Pretty!

**TL24x7** · 08-09-2017, 02:48 PM

If the Ravens season started today, barring any restructures and barring any surprise veteran cuts, they would be roughly $1.7M over the cap. More than likely they will have no choice but to restructure a contract or two. Details here: LINK

**Jsmoove** · 08-09-2017, 02:51 PM

ah boy, well there have to be some moves made, I just don't get why we so bad with the cap.

**bravens23** · 08-09-2017, 02:57 PM

Originally Posted by Jsmoove

ah boy, well there have to be some moves made, I just don't get why we so bad with the cap.

I mean I don't think this is really a situation where we are "bad with the cap". I think teams that are "bad with the cap" give out large contracts to fringe players with significant guaranteed money and are forced to eat large portions of it when they move on from the deal before it expires.

Granted, we've had our fair share of those in recent years with guys like Monroe, Pitta and Rice, but the way our team is currently constructed, we've got a lot of these veteran type deals that are easy to get out from after a season or two if we so choose.

Guys like Howard, Maclin, Wallace, etc. were all very team friendly contracts... one year guarantees with team options thereafter, and not a whole lot of dead money if you want to move on. The guys that we actually give big, guaranteed deals to currently are guys we feel good about. Guys like Yanda, Jimmy, Weddle, Brandon Williams, etc.

In the end though, its kind of hard to listen to fans complain about the cap, for two main reasons.

1. Its pretty clear most fans have a very, very limited understanding of the cap
2. Fans spend the whole offseason clamoring for us to sign all these veteran players in FA, and when we do go and make a signing like Austin Howard, they don't realize that it makes our cap situation significantly worse.

There's been no shortage of people who, day after day, post on here and tell everybody that if you want a Howard or a Mangold type player, THIS is what happens. These guys ain't free. So everytime you see the same people day after day saying "why haven't we signed Mangold" or "why haven't we signed Boldin", you can have these things if you want them. But its at the cost of other players or at the cost of restructuring contracts. And those contracts you restructure might be the same contracts fans are asking to get rid of sooner rather than later, and those restructures make it more difficult to do so.

**Goode05** · 08-09-2017, 03:17 PM

What's Joe's base salary this year? Convert a bunch to bonus and extend him a year. He'll hire him on the board of Stevie Bs company and then he can take a "pay cut"

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**GreatWhiteNorthRaven** · 08-09-2017, 03:18 PM

Throw me in the group of fans who have a very, very limited understandign of the cap. Don't have a damn clue what's going on with the numbers.

All I know is they find a way to make it work.

**Goode05** · 08-09-2017, 03:21 PM

Originally Posted by GreatWhiteNorthRaven

Throw me in the group of fans who have a very, very limited understandign of the cap. Don't have a damn clue what's going on with the numbers.

All I know is they find a way to make it work.

If I'm the players I'd think real hard about doing away with it. It's what I would strike over it's what holds salaries down

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**boller4president** · 08-09-2017, 03:23 PM

Resign Wallace

**boller4president** · 08-09-2017, 03:27 PM

Originally Posted by bravens23

I mean I don't think this is really a situation where we are "bad with the cap". I think teams that are "bad with the cap" give out large contracts to fringe players with significant guaranteed money and are forced to eat large portions of it when they move on from the deal before it expires.

Granted, we've had our fair share of those in recent years with guys like Monroe, Pitta and Rice, but the way our team is currently constructed, we've got a lot of these veteran type deals that are easy to get out from after a season or two if we so choose.

Guys like Howard, Maclin, Wallace, etc. were all very team friendly contracts... one year guarantees with team options thereafter, and not a whole lot of dead money if you want to move on. The guys that we actually give big, guaranteed deals to currently are guys we feel good about. Guys like Yanda, Jimmy, Weddle, Brandon Williams, etc.

In the end though, its kind of hard to listen to fans complain about the cap, for two main reasons.

1. Its pretty clear most fans have a very, very limited understanding of the cap
2. Fans spend the whole offseason clamoring for us to sign all these veteran players in FA, and when we do go and make a signing like Austin Howard, they don't realize that it makes our cap situation significantly worse.

There's been no shortage of people who, day after day, post on here and tell everybody that if you want a Howard or a Mangold type player, THIS is what happens. These guys ain't free. So everytime you see the same people day after day saying "why haven't we signed Mangold" or "why haven't we signed Boldin", you can have these things if you want them. But its at the cost of other players or at the cost of restructuring contracts. And those contracts you restructure might be the same contracts fans are asking to get rid of sooner rather than later, and those restructures make it more difficult to do so.

I have a moderate understanding of the cap. The issue for me has always been Ozzie loyalty and refusal to play hardball with players like Tsizzle, Pitta. Rice and also his tendancy to backload contracts.

You ever notice that very, very rarely it's the players that he brings in that hurt us. I can really think of one and thats Monroe over the last five years. It's always the extensions of the existing players already on the roster. Ngata. Pitta. Rice. Tsizzle, Webb.

How much money did Webb steal from us . I mean he gave him that ridiculous deal and then kept restructuring it. From 2013-2016 Webb made $7.5, $9.25, $9.5, $2.0 (dead). Until finally this year we were able to get out from under it. His cap hit 1.3 million.

Thats the fundamental problem quite often are best players aren't our best paid players.

**GOTA** · 08-09-2017, 03:31 PM

It's just too much dead money this year. The good news is much of that problem goes away next year.

**WrongBaldy** · 08-09-2017, 03:32 PM

not sure why you surprised, FO finally realized how to do contracts in the 21st century.
pat and the rest need a refresher

**bravens23** · 08-09-2017, 03:38 PM

Originally Posted by Goode05

If I'm the players I'd think real hard about doing away with it. It's what I would strike over it's what holds salaries down

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Would be both good and bad. You'd see an overall increase in player spending, but you'd also see a much, much, much wider gap in compensation by positions.

And you'd see the elimination of the rookie wage scale, which would give guys with no NFL experience the opportunity to make a lot more than a quality veteran will, which we saw when there wasn't a rookie wage scale. That's something the players actually did lobby pretty hard for.