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Ravens release 2016 preseason schedule

Luke Jones

With the regular-season schedule set to be announced later this month, the Ravens unveiled their 2016 preseason schedule, which begins at home against the reigning NFC champion Carolina Panthers on Aug. 11. Baltimore will also host the Detroit Lions and take preseason road trips to Indianapolis and New Orleans. This will mark the first preseason meeting between the Ravens and the Colts. As expected, the Ravens’ typical preseason meetings with Philadelphia and Washington will not take place since Baltimore will play the NFC East in the 2016 regular season. Season-ticket holders frustrated over preseason prices can again take some satisfaction in knowing that the Ravens’ final preseason game — which rarely includes any starters — will be played on the road for the eighth straight year when the Ravens travel to New Orleans on Sept. 1. The Saints came to Baltimore for the preseason opener last year. The Ravens are 47-32 all time in preseason play and are 20-12 in the John Harbaugh era. Final dates and times will be announced at a later time. Week 1: Thursday, Aug. 11 vs. Carolina Panthers Week 2: TBA at Indianapolis Colts Week 3: Saturday, Aug. 27 (tentative) vs. Detroit Lions Week 4:

Three elite defensive prospects visit Ravens on Wednesday

Luke Jones

A day after general manager Ozzie Newsome said the Ravens still had more of their 30 allotted visits with college prospects to complete, three of the top defensive players in the 2016 draft were in town. Ohio State edge rusher Joey Bosa, UCLA linebacker Myles Jack, and Florida cornerback Vernon Hargreaves visited the Ravens on Wednesday, according to NFL Network. The organization also worked out Ohio State wide receivers Braxton Miller and Mike Thomas in Columbus. Once regarded as a strong candidate to be the top overall pick, Bosa has seen his stock slip a bit after an underwhelming scouting combine performance in February, but he is still expected to be one of the first players selected. He would fit a clear need as an edge rusher and outside linebacker to complement and eventually replace Terrell Suggs or Elvis Dumervil. The Ravens expressed confidence Tuesday that he would be a good fit in their 3-4 defensive system that features multiple looks. In three seasons with the Buckeyes, the 6-foot-5, 269-pound Bosa accumulated 26 sacks. “You guys can actually see him on film dropping off [into pass coverage] on occasion — the zone drop, far zones and all of that —

Ravens must hit home run in this year's draft

Luke Jones

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — When you draft two future Hall of Fame players with the first two picks in franchise history, the standard is going to be impossible to live up to. But that didn’t stop general manager Ozzie Newsome and the Ravens from coming very close for the better part of the next decade. After Jonathan Ogden and Ray Lewis in that franchise-defining 1996 draft came Peter Boulware, Chris McAlister, Jamal Lewis, Todd Heap, Ed Reed (another future Hall of Famer), Terrell Suggs, Haloti Ngata, and Ben Grubbs in first rounds over the next 11 years, all of them Pro Bowl selections. Sure, there were a couple misses along the way, but you simply expected the Ravens to find a Pro Bowl player in the first round of the draft every year. Those emphatic early hits began to dissipate, however, and Baltimore has seen just one first-round pick — C.J. Mosley in 2014 — make the Pro Bowl since 2008. The previous home runs and triples have been replaced by more singles and doubles — and a few more strikeouts — in recent years, which are still better than other teams in the NFL, but that decline came into

Former Ravens linebacker Upshaw agrees to deal with Atlanta

Luke Jones

Veteran outside linebacker Courtney Upshaw became the latest Ravens free agent to depart as he agreed to a deal with Atlanta on Friday evening. The 26-year-old visited with the Falcons on Thursday after previously meeting with the New York Jets and reportedly drawing interest from San Francisco and New England. Head coach John Harbaugh suggested earlier this week that Upshaw was still on the radar of general manager Ozzie Newsome, but the Ravens never indicated that they were seriously interested in keeping him. Making 51 starts and having never missed a game in his four seasons, the 6-foot-2, 272-pound Upshaw served as a dependable edge-setting linebacker against the run, but he never developed into a serious pass-rushing threat and collected just five career sacks in Baltimore. “If we can bring back our full team from last year, we would. But we just don’t know,” said Newsome when asked about Upshaw’s future at last month’s scouting combine in Indianapolis. “History will say we’ll get some signed and some will go to other clubs. When that happens, I wish them well.” The Ravens have made it clear that they want to add an edge rusher or two this offseason, and second-year outside

Ravens-related thoughts from league meetings

Luke Jones

Even with an active start to free agency in which they’ve addressed the safety, wide receiver, and tight end positions, the Ravens still have plenty of work to do if they want to bounce back from last year’s 5-11 campaign. While pass rusher, cornerback, and left tackle have been discussed at great length, an inside linebacker spot is wide open next to C.J. Mosley with the recently-released Daryl Smith signing with Tampa Bay, ending any thought about his potential return. John Harbaugh mentioned the predictable candidates — Zach Orr, Arthur Brown, and Albert McClellan — to replace the veteran Smith, but the head coach discussed another interesting option when speaking to reporters at the league meetings earlier this week. “We could move a safety down in there,” Harbaugh said. “A lot of teams are doing that now, and one of those guys might move in there. We have the draft still in front of us, so there’s going to be competition. That’s how we like it.” Harbaugh didn’t mention any names when discussing the possibility of a safety shifting to linebacker, but other safeties such as Mark Barron of Los Angeles and Arizona’s Deone Bucannon have successfully made that transition

Ravens playing "good cop, bad cop" with Monroe?

Luke Jones

Members of the Ravens brass have presented a lukewarm attitude regarding incumbent left tackle Eugene Monroe throughout the offseason, but Steve Bisciotti took a different approach speaking at the league meetings on Tuesday. And while much could change between now and the start of the season, the Baltimore owner sure made it sound like the man who’s been limited to just 16 starts over the last two years will again be entrusted to protect Joe Flacco’s blind side this fall. Monroe is scheduled to enter the third season of a five-year, $37.5 million contract and would carry an $8.7 million salary cap figure for 2016. “He is our left tackle going into next year,” Bisciotti told The Sun in Boca Raton, Fla. on Tuesday. “It’s like [third-year wide receiver Michael] Campanaro. We think the world of him. But you have to know what you get out of the guy, and Eugene has been a pretty durable player these last couple years. But nobody works out harder than he does. “I just feel bad. I think a lot of the speculation about us moving on from him clearly comes down to the fact that he’s been hurt a lot, because he’s

Harbaugh updates health of Gillmore, Flacco, Perriman, Suggs

Luke Jones

While speaking at length about the tragic death of cornerback Tray Walker as well as NFL rules changes and instant replay, Ravens coach John Harbaugh also provided health updates on several players at the league meetings in Boca Raton, Fla. on Tuesday morning. Tight end Crockett Gillmore continues to recover from offseason shoulder surgery, but the Ravens learned recently that he would not need surgery for torn labrums in both shoulders as was previously thought. Gillmore’s uncertain status as well as the 10-game suspension of second-year tight end Nick Boyle prompted Baltimore to sign veteran Benjamin Watson two weeks ago, but their 2015 starting tight end appears to no longer be a question mark for the start of the coming season and could even be back on the practice field for organized team activities this spring. “It turned out that as time went on, the other shoulder didn’t need to be done,” Harbaugh said. “He’s had one shoulder done, and they say now that the other one does not need to be done. He’s going to be fine, probably for OTAs — certainly for training camp. That [information came] within the last two weeks, so that was great news for

Walker's death takes on different meanings for Ravens

Luke Jones

The Ravens have dealt with tragedy before in their 20-year existence, but never quite like this. The death of 23-year-old cornerback Tray Walker takes on different meanings for various members of the organization, very little of it having to do with football. Fans were limited in their experiences watching the 2015 fourth-round pick as he played just eight defensive snaps as a rookie, but he left an impression with team executives, coaches, and teammates in his far-too-short time in Baltimore. We’ll never know what kind of football player Walker might have become, but that pales in comparison to such a loss of young life. It’s gut-wrenching to know a family that celebrated the start of his NFL career less than 11 months ago must now bury a young man whose adulthood was just getting started. “Tray was one of the most humble persons we brought in for a pre-draft visit,” general manager Ozzie Newsome said. “That was striking. After we drafted him, he and his family were so excited to receive the call that he was about to become a Raven. It was one of the calls I will always remember. There was such joy for Tray and his family.”

Ravens' Tray Walker dies from injuries sustained in Thursday crash

Luke Jones

Ravens cornerback Tray Walker died Friday from injuries sustained in a motorbike accident in southeast Florida the previous night. He was 23 years old. A fourth-round pick out of Texas Southern in the 2015 draft, Walker was treated at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. According to WPLG-TV in Miami, he had been in “bad shape” due to head trauma and was in surgery after his bike collided with a sport utility vehicle around 8 p.m. on Thursday. Walker was wearing dark clothing without a helmet, and his dirt bike was not equipped with lights. Walker’s agent, Ron Butler, told ESPN earlier on Friday that he was unresponsive and “fighting for his life” after the accident and a full night in surgery. Head coach John Harbaugh sent a powerful letter to his players on Friday in response to Walker’s accident. Team officials were traveling to Miami to support Walker and his family before the start of the league meetings in nearby Boca Raton, Fla. on Sunday. Walker dedicated his rookie season to his father, who died of a heart attack in November 2014. “That’s all he wanted,” Walker said a week after being drafted by the Ravens. “He just wanted the

Ravens propose two rule changes to discuss at league meetings

Luke Jones

The NFL announced Thursday an extensive list of proposed rule changes for the 2016 season that will be discussed at the league meetings in Boca Raton, Fla., and the Ravens offered two of their own. The Ravens were one of a few teams to propose changes to the instant replay challenge system as they would like to see coaches have three challenges instead of two and for the system to be expanded. Under Baltimore’s proposal, replay would cover all play situations except offensive or defensive holding, offensive or defensive pass interference, illegal contact, illegal use of hands, whether a forward passer has been forcibly contacted, whether a defenseless receiver has been forcibly contacted, whether a kicker has been forcibly contacted, and unsportsmanlike conduct. The second proposal is the silliest of the entire list of proposed rule changes on the docket and would require an offensive player to wear a jersey vest with a number appropriate to the position at which he’s lining up for a given play. In other words, instead of an offensive player with an ineligible number reporting as eligible to the referee — or one with an eligible number reporting as ineligible — the Ravens are suggesting

Former Ravens linebacker D. Smith joining Tampa Bay

Luke Jones

On the same day that the Ravens retained two of their own free agents by re-signing receiver Marlon Brown and linebacker Chris Carter, veteran linebacker Daryl Smith found a new home. Released by Baltimore earlier this month, Smith agreed to a one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday, according to multiple reports. General manager Ozzie Newsome had left the door open for Smith to possibly return after giving him the opportunity “to see his market value” via free agency. Smith will return to the state of Florida where he spent the first nine years of his NFL career as a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Entering the offseason as a restricted free agent, Brown was not tendered a contract last week, but the Ravens have a history of re-signing some of their restricted free agents to cheaper deals than the tender amount. The 6-foot-5 Brown once appeared to be the Ravens’ next great undrafted find after he caught 49 passes for 524 yards and seven touchdowns as a rookie in 2013, but his production has declined rapidly in the last two years. In 2015, a back injury limited the University of Georgia product to 10 games in which

What happened to Weddle's beard?

Luke Jones

For a guy who includes the word “beard” in his official Twitter handle, new Ravens safety Eric Weddle arrived in Owings Mills with a startling look on Wednesday. The longtime San Diego Charger shaved off his trademark facial hair last month, but he has been asked the question over and over. Why? “I’m regretting it by the second that I shaved it,” said Weddle, who is now sporting a much thinner beard. “It was a spur of the moment. I was working out one morning, and I got done, and it was just everywhere. There was sweat and water and who knows — probably bugs in there. I’m like, ‘What am I doing? I look ridiculous right now.’” His wife, Chanel, tried to convince the 31-year-old defensive back to wait and think of something creative, but Weddle instead used Twitter to let his fans know what was happening after nearly three years of growth and much notoriety. The beard could be making a comeback in his new city, however, and based on what we’ve seen in the past, he would be the favorite to unseat five-time Pro Bowl guard Marshal Yanda for the title of having the best beard on

Ravens' Monroe continues speaking in support of medical marijuana research

Luke Jones

A week after encouraging the NFL to research the benefits of medical marijuana in an interview with CNN, Ravens left tackle Eugene Monroe discussed the topic at length using his official Twitter account on Tuesday morning. Citing Monday’s admission from NFL executive vice president of health and safety Jeff Miller that there is a link between playing football and developing degenerative brain disorders, Monroe wrote about the need for research to determine whether marijuana can “curb traumatic brain injury” and called for fellow players to “stand up” for this issue and provide funding. The 28-year-old says he is not advocating using the drug for recreational purposes. “It’s a shame that Roger Goodell would tell [our] fans there’s no medical vs. recreational distinction,” Monroe wrote. “If I’m a fan, I’m pissed at the time I wasted listening to Goodell lie to me at the Super Bowl. As a player, I sure am. Let’s do some research.” Monroe suffered a concussion on the Ravens’ first offensive series of the 2015 regular season and did not return until Week 5. Because of an assortment of injuries, he has started just 16 games since signing a five-year, $37.5 million contract before the 2014 season.

Ravens agree to deal with three-time Pro Bowl safety Weddle

Luke Jones

After failing to fill the void of future Hall of Fame safety Ed Reed over the last three seasons, the Ravens finally decided to spend for a three-time Pro Bowl selection. Baltimore agreed to a four-year deal with longtime San Diego Chargers free safety Eric Weddle and will pay the 31-year-old a total of $9 million in 2016, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. The deal is worth up to $29 million. He will arrive in Baltimore on Wednesday to take his physical and sign his contract. RAVEN BOUND!!!!!!!!!! — Eric Weddle (@weddlesbeard) March 14, 2016 Weddle had spent his first nine NFL seasons with the Chargers after being selected in the second round of the 2007 draft out of Utah. He has 19 career interceptions and will ideally bring strong pass coverage to the back end of the secondary, a place where the Ravens have struggled since Reed’s departure after the 2012 season. Though he missed three games with a groin issue in his final season with San Diego, Weddle has missed only seven contests in his nine-year career and has been a full-time starter since 2008. In 137 career games, the 5-foot-11, 200-pound safety has collected 850 tackles,

Free-agent receiver Wallace reportedly set to visit Ravens

Luke Jones

Looking to add more speed to their passing game, the Ravens continue to look at free-agent wide receiver Mike Wallace. According to Sports Illustrated, the 29-year-old will visit the Ravens on Monday and remains an option at the right price. Wallace was cut by the Minnesota Vikings last week after the worst season of his seven-year career in which he caught just 39 passes for 473 yards and two touchdowns. Since leaving the Pittsburgh Steelers after the 2012 season, Wallace hasn’t been the same receiver who posted back-to-back 1,100-yard seasons in 2010 and 2011, but he’s also played with quarterbacks in Miami’s Ryan Tannehill and Minnesota’s Teddy Bridgewater who lacked the arm strength to take full advantage of his speed. That wouldn’t figure to be an issue playing with the strong-armed Joe Flacco, who acknowledged at the end of last season that he wouldn’t mind seeing the Ravens copy Pittsburgh’s approach of having multiple vertical threats. The Ravens would like to add another speed receiver to go along with 2015 first-round pick Breshad Perriman, who missed his entire rookie season with a partially-torn posterior cruicate ligament in his right knee. Perriman had yet to be fully cleared as of last

Osemele thanks Ravens after critiquing their commitment

Luke Jones

After officially signing his five-year, $58.5 million contract to join the Oakland Raiders on Thursday, Kelechi Osemele took time to thank the Ravens and the place he called home for the last four years. But that message came after the 2012 second-round pick complimented the Raiders’ commitment to their offensive line and appeared to question his former team’s. “They have a really up-and-coming young team [in Oakland]. That was sold to me a lot,” Osemele said in a conference call with the Bay Area media. “Going through the roster, I kind of saw what everybody was saying and the emphasis on building the offensive line, coming from a place where [that’s] not really appreciated, you know? Coming to a team where offensive line play is a focus and it matters and they want to build that up, that was a big factor.” Head coach John Harbaugh said last month that the Ravens made an “aggressive” offer to Osemele, but it soon became clear that they weren’t going to come close to the record-setting contract Oakland handed to the fifth-year guard. It’s true that Baltimore hasn’t spent as much on its offensive line as the Raiders, but that doesn’t mean a

Ravens get "positive news" on Gillmore, move receiver to tight end

Luke Jones

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — On the same day veteran Benjamin Watson was introduced to the local media, the Ravens continued making news at the tight end position. After signing the 35-year-old to a two-year, $7 million contract on the first day of free agency and surprisingly tendering the relatively-unknown restricted free agent Chase Ford $1.671 million, general manager Ozzie Newsome said the organization received “some positive news” on Crockett Gillmore last week. The third-year tight end needed surgeries for torn labrums in both shoulders this offseason. Newsome first revealed that Gillmore might not be ready for the start of training camp at last month’s NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, but he remains confident that the 2014 third-round pick will play this season. “He’s still has a recovery road that he has to go down in order to get himself ready for the beginning of the year,” said Newsome, who admitted that Gillmore’s health and Nick Boyle’s 10-game suspension turned the tight end position into an unexpected priority that needed to be addressed. “But I feel very good about it, barring any setbacks.” The Ravens also revealed that they are moving 2015 sixth-round pick Darren Waller from wide receiver to tight

Ravens place second-round tender on Aiken

Luke Jones

(Updated: 5 p.m. Wednesday) With the deadline to tender their restricted free agents falling on Wednesday afternoon, the Ravens officially placed a second-round tender on wide receiver Kamar Aiken. The tender is worth $2.553 million and makes it unlikely that another team will pursue his services in what looks to be an underwhelming free-agent market of available receivers. Other teams are still allowed to sign the 26-year-old to an offer sheet, but the Ravens would have the opportunity to match the offer and would receive that team’s second-round pick if they chose to decline. Baltimore could have saved some money by offering Aiken the low tender worth $1.671 million, but teams could have signed him to an offer sheet with the Ravens only receiving a right to match and no draft compensation attached. Aiken broke out in 2015 filling in for the injured Steve Smith, catching a career-best 75 passes for 944 yards and five touchdowns. With Smith turning 37 and coming back from a torn Achilles tendon and 2015 first-round pick Breshad Perriman missing his entire rookie season with a knee injury, Aiken is Baltimore’s surest commodity at the position for now. Starting 14 of 16 games in 2015,

Osemele set to join Oakland when free agency opens

Luke Jones

More than 24 hours before free agency officially opened, the Ravens have all but officially lost their best player from this year’s class. According to NFL Network, fifth-year offensive lineman Kelechi Osemele has agreed in principle to a deal with the Oakland Raiders that’s expected to pay him more than $11 million per season. The contract will reportedly make the 2012 second-round pick one of the five highest-paid offensive linemen in the league. The Ravens had hoped to keep Osemele and planned to permanently move him to left tackle, but it soon became apparent after they made an “aggressive” offer that interest from competing teams with more salary cap space were going to be too much to overcome. With Osemele having only started four games at left tackle in his NFL career and the Ravens already extending five-time Pro Bowl right guard Marshal Yanda last fall, it would have been too great a risk to pay Osemele lucrative money solely to play a position where he remains relatively unproven. Much of the angst regarding Osemele’s status has stemmed from the disappointing return on the five-year, $37.5 million contract awarded to left tackle Eugene Monroe two years ago. Since signing that

Ravens ink Pro Bowl long snapper to five-year extension

Luke Jones

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Ravens retained another key member of their special teams Monday by announcing a five-year agreement with long snapper Morgan Cox. The 2015 Pro Bowl selection was set to become an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday, but Baltimore has instead locked up the veteran snapper after placing the franchise tag on kicker Justin Tucker and re-signing special-teams standout Albert McClellan earlier this offseason. Cox has served as the Ravens long snapper since signing as an undrafted free agent out of Tennessee in 2010. “People who study the game know how good Morgan is, and he was certainly deserving of a Pro Bowl honor last year,” special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg said in a team statement. “His consistency is what makes him a great player, and his role in working with both Sam [Koch] and Justin is instrumental to the reliability of the trio.” Cox has remained one of the most consistent long snappers in the NFL despite suffering torn anterior cruciate ligaments to both knees over the course of his career. The first came in 2010 when Cox tore his left ACL early in the second quarter of a game in Cleveland and managed to finish

Ravens re-sign veteran cornerback Wright to three-year deal

Luke Jones

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — With a need at cornerback, the Ravens didn’t want to allow veteran Shareece Wright to hit the free-agent market later this week. Instead, the sides agreed to a three-year contract on Monday to keep the 28-year-old in Baltimore after he started seven games in 2015. The deal is worth up to $16 million and includes $5 million guaranteed. “This is something that we knew if we could get this much, [I’d] come back here,” said Wright, who settled for a one-year, $3 million deal with San Francisco last offseason when he became an unrestricted free agent for the first time. “It’s more than the money. You see a lot of players leave teams that they were with to chase the money and their careers don’t really go the direction that they thought it would. To come back here with a team that knows me and I got to get to know them, I knew it was important.” Wright offered a strong clue about the agreement on his official Twitter account late Sunday night. He had been scheduled to officially hit the market at 4 p.m. on Wednesday if a deal was not reached, but he noted

Ravens can't compound Monroe mistake with another

Luke Jones

Kelechi Osemele is a heck of a football player. In a perfect world without a salary cap, the Ravens would re-sign one of the better guards in the NFL and continue their experiment from last December to see if he can be a franchise left tackle. If Osemele couldn’t, Baltimore would just move him back to his normal position and allow him and five-time Pro Bowl selection Marshal Yanda to continue serving as the best guard tandem in the NFL. But the league doesn’t work that way, and it’s for that reason that the Ravens are probably wise to let their 2012 second-round pick sign elsewhere this week, especially if other teams are willing to pay him upwards of $10 million per year as some reports have indicated. Osemele is a very good guard who has shown ability to swing outside, but we don’t yet know whether that translates to being a long-term left tackle. Other teams with more cap space and less money invested in the guard position can afford to experiment knowing that they can always move Osemele back to guard where he’s established himself as a commodity approaching Pro Bowl stature. Other teams would be happy to

Ravens kicker Tucker officially signs franchise tender

Luke Jones

A week after becoming the sixth player in Ravens history to receive the franchise tag, kicker Justin Tucker officially signed his tender. The team announced Friday that Tucker signed his franchise tender worth $4.572 million, diminishing the possibility of the fifth-year kicker holding out like other franchise players have done in the past. Of course, the Ravens would like to sign the 2013 Pro Bowl selection to a long-term extension to lower his hefty salary cap number for the 2016 season. The sides have until July 15 to reach a long-term agreement before the 26-year-old would be forced to play out the season under the franchise tag amount. Tucker is the second-most accurate kicker in NFL history  

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