Who do you pay in the next 2 years if you can maybe afford 3

[QtR Nevermore]

Say it’s the AFC Championship game and LJ got banged up the week before. He’s not going to be mobile but he can play. Do you wish they had Stanley then or are you fine with a James Hurst type? Say it’s any game really. You’re going to give a guy 40 million to be a QB and tell him to run the other way if he even sees what’s going on from his blindside.

Some of you guys really seem to want to learn this lesson the hard way about what Stanley means to have sustained success.

Stanley's great but the decision about paying him maybe 13 - 14% of next year's cap isn't as cut and dried as you're saying.

Say it's the AFC Championship game and Mahomes is victimising Anthony Averett because you couldn't afford to keep Marlon. All these choices could be painful.

[Desert Raven]

Stanley's great but the decision about paying him maybe 13 - 14% of next year's cap isn't as cut and dried as you're saying.

Say it's the AFC Championship game and Mahomes is victimising Anthony Averett because you couldn't afford to keep Marlon. All these choices could be painful.

Don’t want to talk in circles, but it all starts with the QB. It won’t matter if Mahomes is abusing Averette because RG3 is in at QB after some lousy LT play knocked LJ out of the game.

[Jesse Stovall]

Great arguments on both sides about Stanley. There are so many variables that need to be determined first.
Does he have a healthy 2020-2021 season? Does he have an All-Pro season?
This will go a long way toward detemining his value.

Once we Franchise him in the off-season...
How much $$$ does he demand?
How many teams badly want him? Two 1st round picks? Tunsil type compensation or more?
EDC will need to way quite a few options.
I think we might end up Franchising him for 2 years running, as it's cheaper than signing him to a 4year/90mil deal.
On the other hand, if a bidding war ensues, there is a scenario where EDC trades him for draft picks.

[tnsmith90]

I think we might end up Franchising him for 2 years running, as it's cheaper than signing him to a 4year/90mil deal.

If we do that, he will hold out, and force a trade. No player would be willing to play under the Franchise tag for 2 straight seasons; outside of being strung along in negotiations lacking in good faith.

Instead, our front office should use those 2 years as leverage in the negotiations. That way they can pay him fair value without getting bent over a barrel like the Texans were.

[PTORaven]

if you're gonna pay lamar 40-50m (which you will have to) you are paying him to find success with affordable receiving options. that's just how it is. all this is way too early cuz we still have to see what this years draftees become, next year's draft, who we can resign/restructure next year to afford the 2022 timebomb, injuries, random one-off deals that EDC somehow pulls out of thin air, etc. but right now the two most likely keepers are LJ and Stanley. Humphrey would be next on the list i think.

[Jesse Stovall]

If we do that, he will hold out, and force a trade. No player would be willing to play under the Franchise tag for 2 straight seasons; outside of being strung along in negotiations lacking in good faith.

Instead, our front office should use those 2 years as leverage in the negotiations. That way they can pay him fair value without getting bent over a barrel like the Texans were.

I agree with your reasoning 100%. It's all part of what EDC needs to be considering. Each month that passes without a long term contract the more leverage we lose. Signing him before the stupid contract the Texans gave to Tunsil would have made a ton of sense. But now he can use that contract as a baseline. If he doesn't budge from wanting 22-25 million/year.... We have to consider trading him while his value is higher than Tunsil's ever was. We just have to find a GM as desperate or clueless as the GM in Houston. Or perhaps he is worth $90million or more over 4 years, with close to 60mill guaranteed. I'm curious to see how the Ravens value him.

I would lean toward trading him for a pair of 1sts, especially if those 1st rounders have a chance to be higher picks we can use to build out our roster with young stars around Lamar.

I think we are both saying that it is better for the Ravens to be proactive in satisfying Stanley sooner rather than later.

[Captain Silver]

Sorry fellas, disagree on Stanley. Stanley is going to command a Salary cap crippling contract. LJ's talent provides you the luxury of inserting a 80% skill level of Stanley at 40% the price caliber LT and not have a huge precipitous dropoff. Sure game day cant be scrubs like James Hurst or a DJ Fluker at LT, but I have faith in EDC that he would be able to find a solid starter at LT late in the 1st round as a functional replacement.

Two things with Stanley -
1 He gets nicked up quite a bit. Injury concerns would be a factor
2 He isnt a JO type of pass blocker that basically erases the rusher. If you insert a pocket QB in that lineup, would Stanely be lauded as the best? Maybe, but I bet he'd give up a lot more sacks. Lets face it, LJ makes everyone on that OL much better than they truly are.

Cant pay everyone, and Stanley's contract would be crippling compared to a solid but much cheaper LT on his first contract.

Unless that rusher was named Dwight Freeney.