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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  

Ravens release veteran linebacker Daryl Smith

Luke Jones

The man who was asked to replace future Hall of Famer Ray Lewis has been released by the Ravens. Veteran inside linebacker Daryl Smith was cut on Thursday morning, ending his three-year run in Baltimore. The longtime Jacksonville Jaguar led the Ravens with 121 tackles last season, but he will turn 34 later this month and carried a $4.375 million salary cap figure for 2016. However, general manager Ozzie Newsome left the door open for a potential return as the Ravens did in with Chris Canty and Vonta Leach in recent offseasons. “While we are releasing Daryl, we are not closing the door on the possibility of him returning to the Ravens,” Newsome said in a released statement. “He deserves an opportunity to see his market value at this time. With Buck, you’re talking about one of the NFL’s highest-quality people. We have been fortunate to have him with the Ravens, and his production has been outstanding.” His departure will create $2.625 million in cap space, but inside linebacker now becomes a greater position to address with young linebackers Zach Orr and Arthur Brown as well as veteran Albert McClellan being the only reserves on the current roster behind starter

Ravens working on adding former draft bust to roster

Luke Jones

INDIANAPOLIS — As the Ravens evaluate the incoming rookies at the scouting combine in Indianapolis this week, they are looking into adding one of the biggest busts in recent NFL draft history. Head coach John Harbaugh confirmed Thursday that the organization has had discussions with running back Trent Richardson and could add the third overall pick of the 2012 draft to the 90-man roster. The 25-year-old has not played in the NFL since being cut by the Oakland Raiders at the end of the 2015 preseason, but general manager Ozzie Newsome has shown an affinity for fellow Alabama products over the years. Is Richardson next? “We’re talking to him right now. He seems like a good guy,” Harbaugh said. “I’ve talked to him on the phone a few times. Ozzie’s got all the ties at Alabama, so we’ll see where it goes. It’s in the works. It’s possible.” Even with a relatively successful 950-yard season as a rookie with the Cleveland Browns, Richardson has struggled mightily in the NFL, averaging 3.3 yards per carry over 46 career games. His issues with weight while playing for both Cleveland and Indianapolis were no secret as coaches also questioned his overall commitment and

Ravens have made "really aggressive" offer to Osemele

Luke Jones

INDIANAPOLIS — While general manager Ozzie Newsome has downplayed the need to restructure Joe Flacco’s contract to clear precious salary cap space for the start of free agency, the Ravens are pushing to keep free-agent offensive lineman Kelechi Osemele. According to NFL Network, the Ravens have offered to make the fifth-year lineman their second-highest paid offensive player behind their franchise quarterback. Head coach John Harbaugh wouldn’t delve into the specifics of the offer, but he made it clear what the Ravens are trying to do with Osemele, who started the final four games of the 2015 season at left tackle. “I’m sure he’s shopping the deal. I can tell you — Ozzie said it already — it’s a really aggressive deal,” Harbaugh said. “I think it shows a lot of respect to K.O. It shows him that we really want him here, and I hope he takes it.” Of course, incumbent left tackle Eugene Monroe remains under contract as he would enter the third season of a five-year, $37.5 million contract signed two offseasons ago. However, Monroe has started only 16 games over the last two seasons, and Newsome provided a lukewarm endorsement for him when speaking to reporters at

Pro Bowl just not worth effort for anyone

Luke Jones

Against my better judgment, I watched some of the Pro Bowl draft. Because I had nothing better to do on a Wednesday night was excited to know whether Ravens specialists Sam Koch and Morgan Cox would be drafted to opposing teams, I attempted to watch ESPN’s coverage and expected clever trash talk and over-caffeinated enthusiasm for a fake football game. What I witnessed was something different entirely. It was dull — painfully dull. No fun. The highlight was New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning reminding his top receiver and Pro Bowl captain Odell Beckham Jr. why it was wise to draft him, quipping that he could have 100 catches or no catches next season. But everything else reeked of just going through the motions and running out the clock for the two-hour special. Hoping to at least come away with some sarcastic fodder for Twitter, I instead tapped out after 32 minutes that felt much longer than that. Credit ESPN for producing a nice little segment recognizing a surviving veteran from the attack on Pearl Harbor with the 75th anniversary coming later this year, but the rest of the coverage from Hawaii felt as pointless as the upcoming game itself.

Ted Talk: My chats with Marchibroda – a Baltimore football icon

Nestor Aparicio

So many memories of Ted Marchibroda. They started with me on Bank Street in Dundalk taking the No. 22 bus to Memorial Stadium to see his Colts teams play in 1975-76-77. Then, watching as our team was gone as he led the K-Gun offense in Buffalo. Then, of course, I got to know Ted Marchibroda when he was named the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens and had a press conference on February 15, 1996. Marchibroda called my show that day and the audio is here and in the Buy A Toyota Audio Vault. He also spent an entire evening with a group of fans at The Barn in May 1997. That chat is also here and will be presented on WNST.net & AM 1570 radio this week. We join everyone associated with both the Colts and Ravens organizations in wishing Ted Marchibroda an eternity of peace and happiness in football heaven. Ted Marchibroda passed away on January 16th, 2015, at the age of 84. Marchibroda coached the Baltimore Colts from 1975 through 1979, the Indianapolis Colts from 1992 through 1995, and was hired to coach the newly relocated Baltimore Ravens in 1996. He coached in Baltimore for three years,

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