Iggy’s Ravens Report – February 22, 2013

Ravens:
Well, with Joe Flacco’s head swelled larger than the Good Year Blimp, things are going to be tough next season. The kind of money Joe is asking (over $20M/year, to make him the highest paid QB in the NFL), will put us further into Salary cap hell. Ravens really can’t negotiate with other free agents until Joe is settled, which is supposed to start taking place this weekend. Options are to use the restricted Franchise tag (worth about $14.6M, but other teams could make him an offer, and we would have to match), use the unrestricted franchise tag (worth just over $20M), or sign him to a long term deal. Obviously, the latter is preferred, and I would recommend giving him a ridiculously long contract (8 or 10 years), with a base of $17M this year, which goes up $1M or $2M per year, and tag on a big signing bonus. That would give us wiggle room in the future. There are other complications that can arise, like Flacco protesting the Franchise tag, and having to cut several key players to make salary cap space, but first things first, we need to make “average” Joe, well above average.