Ravens, Rice without deal hours before deadline; Reed acting childish

Super Bowl-winning teams are always a perfect storm of elements: the roster is loaded with talent and depth, key players stay healthy, play peaks late in the season, and off-field distractions are minimal, if present at all.

With the deadline to sign franchise-tagged players rapidly approaching--it's todayat 4:00 p.m.--and a first-ballot hall of fame safety becoming increasingly disillusioned and selfish, the Ravens are stumbling into training camp unsure about their ability to satisfy half of the aforementioned tenets.

Graphic courtesy of ESPN Internet Ventures and Getty Images

In an last Saturday today with baltimoreravens.com's Ryan Mink, Jason LaCanfora of CBS Sports says, "I don't have high expectations of seeing this deal get done. He sees himself as a top-5 running back in the league; I think nine [million dollars] a year is probably the magic number here and I'm not sure that Ray's going to get that right now. And I don't know that he's going to back down."

Back in April I gave my projection for the contracts that Rice and Flacco would likely be expecting. I shot a little high with Ray, apparently, as my projected contract had him averaging slightly over $10 million per year.

Regardless, the prevailing sentiment among sports analysts and insiders from major networks is that there is very little chance of the Ravens signing Ray Rice to a long-term deal before the franchise deadline arrives. That's bad news for the team's salary cap, because inking Rice to a lengthy contract is the only way the organization can free significant cap room. The Ravens currently have the least cap room of any team in the league.

The ramifications of Rice's contract stalemate are far-reaching:

I.  Ray Rice will sit out of training camp and most of the preseason

Even though Rice will probably sit out of training camp, fans shouldn't worry about him showing up for the regular season out of shape. Ray takes great pride in his preparation and physical health, and he's been keeping up an intense workout schedule.

The worry is that Rice loses time developing further chemistry with his lead blocker, Vonta Leach, and a revolving door corps of young offensive lineman. Over the course of the season, this will evolve on its own, but for the first few games, Ray may have to concentrate on getting to know his blockers more than he naturally should.

II.  Joe Flacco has little to no chance of receiving a new contract

A long-term deal with Ray Rice would free up a large amount of cap space, which would mean the team could focus on signing Flacco to an extension throughout the season. Flacco has never indicated that he would hold out for a contract or skip mandatory training camps, but a new deal would alleviate a lot of subconscious pressure obviously building in his mind.

On a side note, Phil Simms recently summed up all of my arguments about Flacco in a couple of sentences, saying, "It's really amazing. Put Joe Flacco on a football team where it's all about the quarterback and the offense and he will put up staggering numbers. I don't think he's good, I think he's awesome. I know I'm right. I don't need your stamp of approval."


III.  Ed Reed has even less a chance than Flacco of getting an extension

Reed has maintained that his actions over the past few weeks have been that of an experienced employee treating the game like any smart businessman. I would go in another direction to describe Reed's recent ploys; he's acting like a petulant child. If he understands the business aspect of the game, he would see that the team's priority is retaining the services of young talent.

He would also see that the Ravens have the least amount of cap room in the league, and you don't need to be a savvy businessman to understand that you can't buy something if you don't have enough money.

IV.  At the end of the 2012-2013 season, Ed Reed, Joe Flacco and Ray Rice will all become free agents

This has to be the most troubling consequence of the bunch. The Ravens might enter next offseason staring down the barrel of losing three of their top play makers. If that is the case, there is no doubt in my mind that one of these gentlemen will be the odd man out.

(And guess what, Reed? If the team has a choice between a young franchise quarterback, a young franchise running back or a 34-35 year-old future hall of fame safety with constant injury concerns and yearly retirement talks, who do you think they're going to sign?)


Ray Rice should have no question as to whether or not the Baltimore Ravens are interested in retaining his services for the bulk of his playing career. Thank you to Ryan Mink (again) of baltimoreravens.com, who provided a rundown of the team's history with the franchise tag as well as each player's final contract and statistics during the franchise year.

"2003 & 2004 – CB Chris McAlister 

McAlister responded to his designation as the Ravens' franchise player by having a Pro Bowl year in 2003. He got the tag again before the 2004 season, but midway through the season, McAlister inked a seven-year, $55 million contract and went on to have another Pro Bowl year.

2008 & 2009 – OLB Terrell Suggs

The year after posting a career low in sacks and receiving the franchise tag, Suggs returned with eight sacks and two interceptions in helping Baltimore to the AFC championship. Like McAlister, Suggs got the tag again. Before the July deadline, however, Suggs signed a six-year, $63 million contract, making him the highest-paid linebacker in NFL history.

2011 – DT Haloti Ngata

After going to his second straight Pro Bowl, Ngata got slapped with the franchise tag. It looked like he might play the year out under the tag, but the two sides reached a deal minutes before the Sept. 21 deadline, which came two weeks into the season. Ngata signed a five-year, $61 million deal.

2012 – RB Ray Rice

Following the best season of Rice’s four-year career, the Ravens put the tag on him on March 2. It’s worth $7.7 million. “As we have in the past, placing the franchise designation on a player allows us to keep negotiating on a long-term contract,” Ravens General Manager Ozzie Newsome said when the tag was applied. “Our goal is to keep Ray Rice a Raven.”"

The analysis above is the work and intellectual property of Ryan Mink, condensed and edited to serve our purposes. 

The Ravens have the fourth most difficult schedule this year, and have dealt with one of the most tumultuous offseasons in the league so far. As a reminder, here are some of the challenges the Ravens have faced since their devastating loss to the Patriots in last season's AFC Championship game:

Seeya, fellas

• Chuck Pagano leaves to become the new head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, as the 2011 Colts finished 2-12 and set their sights on drafting superstar quarterback prospect/ Kermit the frog impersonator, Andrew Luck
• Jarret Johnson becomes a free agent and signs with the San Diego Chargers as minimal cap space prevents the front office from offering him a competitive deal
• Ben Grubbs, widely regarded as one of the best young offensive guards in the NFL, becomes a free agent and signs a lucrative contract with the New Orleans Saints. The Ravens are again unable to retain the services of a top talent
• Ricky Williams, who had a year left on his contract with the Ravens, retires suddenly and leaves the offense without an experienced, productive running back to spell (substitute for) Ray Rice periodically during games
• Four more solid, contributing players depart in free agency, including:
• Cory Redding, DT: 43 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 2 pass deflections and 6 tackles for loss in 2011
• Brandon McKinney, DT: 14 tackles, 1 forced fumble in 2011
• Tom Zbikowski, SS: 23 tackles (21 solo) and 1 sack in 2011
• Haruki Nakamura, FS: 12 tackles (10 solo) and 2 pass deflections in 2011
• Terrell Suggs tears his Achilles tendon, eliciting a media frenzy concerning the circumstances of his injury and threatening his chances of contributing to the Ravens defense in 2012
• Ray Rice and Ed Reed are absent from voluntary workouts and OTAs (organized team activities); the Ravens have the highest number of players missing offseasons activities in the league
• Ed Reed misses mandatory OTAs; his absence is unexcused and Reed makes no effort to contact head coach John Harbaugh to explain

Always savvy and well-prepared, here are the ways the team has attempted to improve this offseason:

Jacoby Jones, Marshal Yanda, Jim Caldwell, Dean Pees (clockwise from top left)

• Front office acquires veteran free agents Jacoby Jones, WR/ return specialist, Bobby Williams, G, Tony Wragge, G/C, Ryan McBean, DT (suspended for beginning of season), Corey Graham, CB
• Harbaugh and coaching staff promote linebackers coach and former defensive coordinator for the Super Bowl-winning New England Patriots Dean Pees to defensive coordinator 
• Ozzie Newsome and Pat Moriarty agree to a contract extension for Marshal Yanda, one of the premier young guards in the league
• Ravens hire former quarterbacks coach, offensive coordinator and head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, Jim Caldwell, to be the team's quarterbacks coach (the Ravens did not carry a quarterbacks coach last year, and Caldwell will be the third--fourth, if you count Cam Cameron--quarterback coach Flacco has had in his short career)
• Ozzie has a moderately successful draft, maneuvering impressively to land a coveted prospect in OLB Courtney Upshaw early in the second round, while adding needed depth and youth to the offensive line and running back positions

Are these moves enough? Hall of fame quarterback Joe Theisman seems to think so, telling Aaron Wilson of the Carroll County Times, "You can be the first to write it: I believe the Ravens will represent the AFC in the Super Bowl... they'll make somebody pay the price."

Cross your fingers that Ray gets paid today, people!