Tuesday’s deadline to use the franchise tag passed with the Ravens forgoing an expensive safety net to keep free-agent inside linebacker C.J. Mosley for the 2019 season.
That means the four-time Pro Bowl selection is now scheduled to hit the open market next week where other suitors with more salary cap space than Baltimore will be waiting to negotiate. The decision came on the same day the Ravens elected to release Pro Bowl safety Eric Weddle, another integral part of the defense in recent years.
First-year general manager Eric DeCosta sounded lukewarm to using the $15.433 million franchise tag on Mosley when asked about the possibility last week, making Tuesday’s news unsurprising.
“I think our preference would always be to do a long-term deal with a player like C.J.,” said DeCosta at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis. “He’s a great player. We have to use every means to build our team that we can, whether that’s the draft, free agency, undrafted free agency, looking at prospective trades. All the different tools that we have that the league office lets us build our team, we’ll consider it.”
The Ravens could still re-sign Mosley since a similar scenario played out two years ago with nose tackle Brandon Williams, who signed a five-year, $52.5 million contract after the start of free agency. However, the probability seemingly declines daily with other teams allowed to begin negotiating with free agents on Monday afternoon.
The debate over Mosley’s value has continued for months with some viewing the 2014 first-round pick from Alabama as the indispensable leader of the Ravens defense and others criticizing his coverage ability in an increasingly pass-happy NFL. Mosley led the Ravens with 105 tackles last season and recording the playoff-clinching interception against Cleveland in Week 17, but his Pro Football Focus pass coverage grade ranked a pedestrian 17th among linebackers in 2018.
Mosley’s agent, Jimmy Sexton, is believed to be seeking a contract exceeding the five-year, $61.795 million deal signed by six-time Pro Bowl linebacker Luke Kuechly with Carolina nearly four years ago.
