Luke Jones and Nestor discuss the march of a month of tampering, free agents, owners meetings and the preparation for another NFL Draft for the Baltimore Ravens.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
year, ravens, point, play, salary cap, ronnie stanley, bk, player, cap, sacks, draft, talking, day, couple, tag, tackle, aaron donald, starter, quarterback, mata
SPEAKERS
Luke Jones, Nestor J. Aparicio
Nestor J. Aparicio 00:02
We are wn st Towson, Baltimore and Baltimore positive we are positively going to take the Maryland crabcake tour back out on the road. I don’t know when it’ll be in March How about that after the extended February that we had here 10 times to cash these will be the tickets we’ll be giving away at John Martin on this week talking about Gambling Awareness and we all saw a Saturday Night Live skit last week. You got people out there with a problem you get them on the phone the 100 gambler get some help out there are friends or window nation or put us back out on the road I’ll be telling you about windows and doors at 866 90 nation if you do multi care and our newest sponsor Liberty pure water so she’s not really new sponsor sort of a new old sponsor but I’ve been drinking all this clean water I told Doug I want to scream out that if you’ve got well water, nasty water and green water we can help you out with that this guy here is in beautiful blue water sailing calm water because we got an extra day in February. We are contemplating the spring training run later on this month just because I need some sunshine and Luke needs to baseball and we all need a holiday celebrate. But we’re not going to talk baseball in this one. Although the Orioles did sign a couple of minor leaguers. So actually football here look Jones joins us now we’re not in Indianapolis. I did see that it got to be 60 degrees in Indianapolis and the figures just when we stopped going global warming and climate change takes over even in Indianapolis outside of that little hobbit trail they have their Yeah, look at the cost a horrible thing now like I remember covering these things as a real reporter back in the day where they were gang bangs in the corner that were not podiums. There were there was one room with reporters all crowded in stocking coaches as they came down a ramp at the old Hoosier dump. This thing is pretty orchestrated now at every level and bright lights and junior cub reporters and d’acosta having descripted Chad Steele in the legal department over there from Sashi. Brown gave him to talk about ze I mean, there’s nothing that comes of it other than the things we’ve been predicting for 60 days. It’s amazing. Like you told me Matt at BK was getting tagged Thanksgiving, maybe even before that, maybe Halloween. And, you know, the play is playing out now. We’re in the first act of the offseason, right? Yeah.
Luke Jones 02:14
And with each event like this, which, you know, you’re not getting major bombshells, you’re not getting major headlines, you’re getting a couple little nuggets here and there. You start to contextualize what the offseason is going to look like. And you know, the couple of weeks ago, it was Kevin Zeitler. His deal voiding knowing that he’s unlikely to be back at this point compared to a month ago. And I think most people thought he’d be back. Mata BK, to your point, and I wasn’t saying that at Halloween, but I definitely was saying that by Thanksgiving and I wasn’t alone. In assessing look when you have a guy leads NFL interior defensive lineman in sacks has the most sacks by ravens players since Terrell Suggs, seven, eight years ago, you’re not letting them get the market. So and it was actually Eric to cost the kind of his walk off statement at the end of his 1520 minutes session, whatever it ended up being and saying, Yeah, we’re probably going to tag just to be gay if we don’t get a long term deal by next week’s deadline. So not shocking.
Nestor J. Aparicio 03:13
Does that I know you’re that you know, everybody knows that right? Literally.
Luke Jones 03:17
And that’s the thing. I mean, when you’re talking about someone who already was betting on himself going into his contract here, as many players up and coming type talents are apt to do he bet on himself and he won. So it’s now a matter of is he going to get a lucrative contract with the Ravens at some point between now and mid July wins, which is the deadline for signing a franchise tag player to a long term deal to prevent them playing on the tag on that high $22.1 million number for defensive tackle. Does he play on the tag? You know, we’ll see how it plays out he’s gonna get paid one way or the other at some point here, you know, either imminently or at some point in the next I guess calendar year because I’m guessing they wouldn’t tag them next year, if it comes to it, but Eric d’acosta made clear that’s one of the big priorities and as I’ve said, as we’ve talked about a number of times for years now probably going back to I don’t know the days of Lotte nada how rare it is to find that interior pass rusher how it’s like a unicorn you know you can find edge guys but the problem is in this day and age so many quarterbacks get the ball out quickly that those what used to be sacks are now just pressures coming from the edge and that’s still valuable don’t misconstrue but when you have that guy that can line up, you know whether it’s off the nose, whether it’s a three technique like Mata BK primarily, and they can get to the quarterback and bring the quarterback down. I mean, that changes everything. And we talked about that years ago with Tom Brady. What was it what was said about him, you couldn’t necessarily sack him coming off the edge, but you can move his feet and if you make Brady moves his feet in the pocket that throws him off rhythm. And that changed the Patriots passing game pretty, pretty dramatically at times, you know when you were able to do it. So,
Nestor J. Aparicio 05:10
I mean, the stats are great right to say sack sac sack and it’s so unusual and John Randle and Warren sat we we could talk about guys that could play in the inside Sam Adams wasn’t bad at it either. You mentioned a loading out around here. We’re familiar with that. But an Aaron Donald sort of perfected it right in the modern era. But the just getting a quarterback off the spot. Lamar wants to be off the spot, or did before this year, maybe maybe less this year, but creating less space for the quarterback and being just the word disruptive, whatever disruptive would mean to a play, changing the play changing the dynamic of the play, when you go back and break it down and I in the sky later on and say that first step, second step, third step, if the quarterback has to move, you’ve already disrupted and they could still throw a touchdown pass. Right? I mean, what you know, in LaMarcus case, he could run for a touchdown, right? But but being disruptive in that way, that’s as effective as sacking to me if you do it more often. And I think he’s as disruptive as he is stat driven. You know, we see the stats, there are a lot of other places he was disruptive where you didn’t get to the quarterback,
Luke Jones 06:18
no question about it. I mean, and that’s really become such a big debate. And in the modern day, in terms of sacks, verse, pressure and pressure rate and hurries and quarterback hits. Look, at the end of the day, you want to be a player who can finish off plays, right? I mean, you can pressure a quarterback but if it’s a quarterback, that’s really good in the pocket, or as you mentioned, in the case of a Lamar Jackson, someone who off script is just as good, if not more dangerous than just standing in the pocket. You know, that’s one thing, but you wanna be able to bring the quarterback down to so meta BK shown an ability to do that at the same time. I think it’s important. And this is where I think we’ve seen pass rush evaluation change, or evolve a little bit in recent years, because you have sites like Pff, next gen stats, all these different sites that are measured, measuring pressure rate, pass rush, win rate, things of that nature, that gives you a little bit more of a complete picture, rather than than just saying, Oh, this guy had eight sacks, I mean, you can literally have a player who doesn’t make a huge down to down impact as a pass rusher. But just the stars aligned on a set number of plays, and they bring down the quarterback. And that looks really good. But maybe they’re not. That’s not a complete picture of the player. Think about late career, Chris Davis, okay, and I’m not talking about the very end I’m talking about, like 2016 2017 before it completely fell apart. He was still hitting homeruns. But you weren’t seeing as much of everything else. Right. So I’ll give you another baseball example. You can have an infielder who has a really great fielding percentage. But if he has no range, Is he really a good infielder? No. So I think that’s where you kind of look at a pass rusher and say, okay, beyond those eight sacks, 10 sacks are no matter the case case 13 sacks, what else were they doing to be impactful? And I think that’s where you’re looking at, at this. And certainly, the fact that he blew up and had 13 sacks, as opposed to I think what five and a half had been his career high prior to that, which, you know, he was really good in 2022. Also, he just didn’t finish quite as many plays. But that’s all part of the evaluation. But to bring it back specifically to matter, BK, it’s just so rare to have that kind of player. That’s why Aaron Donald is already widely regarded as maybe the maybe the best defensive tackle in NFL history. I mean, that’s what how that guy is viewed at this point. Now, as he’s, you know, certainly well into the back nine of his career, you look at someone like Chris Jones in Kansas City franchise tag, and certainly a lot of, you know, effort that they’re going to try to bring them back up, and we’ll see if the chiefs are able to do it. But what he’s been able to do as a pass rusher, I mean, that’s rare. And I think that’s something for a Ravens defense, that is going to undergo some change. We know already. On the coaching side, they’ve got undergone a lot of change. But understanding the free agents that they have guys that are likely to walk, maybe they can bring back one of clowny or Vannoy. I’d be shocked if they’re bringing back both given their cap. Now to BK, someone I think they they view as a pillar kind of player for them moving forward. And he’s certainly going to be paid that way, whether it’s in Baltimore, or whether it’s somewhere else at some point in time. That’s why I’ve said I’d be shocked it, whatever the long term deal is, whether it’s with the Ravens or whether it’s with another team down the line. I’d be shocked if he’s signing a long term deal that’s not at least approaching 100 million now. dollars. I mean, that’s just what kind of player we’re talking about here. So it might be 90 might be four years 90. What when it’s all said and done, but it’s gonna be very expensive. It’s gonna be lucrative you’re gonna be talking about, if just a matter BK is a raven long term in terms of average annual value, he’s gonna be the second highest paid player on the team behind Lamar Jackson, of course. So the franchise tag always felt inevitable to me. Again, they have until next week, preferably, yeah, you’d like him to sign a long term deal because a long term deal year one and 2024 would be much cheaper on the cap than what that $22.1 million tag is going to cost. But Mater BK knows that his representation knows that. And as we’ve said, year after year after year, you go back and play the tape from previous years, when you’re talking about a player, especially of that ilk, this close to free agency, we’re now just a couple of weeks out from the start of the new league year, really tough to keep them off market. So the only the only device the only tool the Ravens currently have other than just giving him whatever he wants for a long term deal is to use the franchise tag. And again, Eric caster confirmed that that’s likely to be the case. And Eric asked the saying It’s likely you can bet that that’s all but guaranteed at this point in time. So we’ll just see how these next few days play out. But certainly expecting Mata BK to be tagged if there is no long term deal, which, again, tough to tough to get a long term deal done when you’re this close to the start a free agency, any of those players are at least representing the idea that they want to try to get to market even if it’s not going to happen. Well, you only marry
Nestor J. Aparicio 11:37
the girl she loves. I mean, so if they really are seriously offering them $100 million in your in the way that they loved ro Quan Smith before they met him. Literally and you know, they love Marlon Humphrey, they love Ronnie Stan, you know, the people they marry in that way. I’m wondering in Mata BKs case, I mean, I wonder that as a fan as an observer of it is saying is he you know, they didn’t love Matt Jude on like that they didn’t, you know, they didn’t want any player that signs somewhere else, whether it’s Kyle use check running around a decade later, if they love them, they would have married them. And they they speak that language and they shall, with Linder balm, and they will with Kyle Hamilton. And they did with Humphrey and Stanley and Mark Andrews. Right and Lamar. So I do wonder aloud. You know, do they want to tag him in and let somebody else pay him that and squeeze out whatever they get for 21 million this year? Because they would play it that way with Jude on they’ve played it that way with other guys. I’m just wondering, are they in love with him or not? Do they really want to sign him to a lot of money? Because that is a good question for the middle of the interior line when there can be a lot of other questions coming down the line?
Luke Jones 12:51
Well, and look, I mean, all those other contracts that you just spelled out other than Lamar himself, those were all signed with Lamar Jackson on a rookie contract. The reality is at this point in time, you need to be you’re much more aware of your salary cap, you have much more scrutiny for any players on your roster, whether you’re talking about those other four to five guys, five, six guys, you know, whatever it is that have premiere contracts, in addition to your franchise quarterback who has an average annual value of what $52 million a year, even though the cap number isn’t at that level just yet. It’s still something that your from a long term planning standpoint you have to be aware of. So I’ve thought this I’ve opined about this. We’ve talked about this on the air at a couple of different points over the last couple of years. I think there’s certainly some merit to the idea of being not reluctant that you don’t want Justin Matta BK long term, but at what cost. Every player has value. Every player has cost. Every player has a label in terms of what you perceive a great example right now and you’re hearing it right now CJ Mosley, what’s going to happen with him with the Jets. I mean, this is his fifth year of that contract. Remember, it was bumped back a year because he opted out during the COVID year but lots of questions as far as that cap number. He’s their captain. You know, the Jets loves CJ Mosley, the Ravens really liked CJ Mosley, but they didn’t like him at the cost that he was going to go to the Jets, you know, back in what 2019 now, five years ago
Nestor J. Aparicio 14:24
was an overall lot of money. That was more you know, I mean, the Ravens offered a lot of money. And the Ravens really wanted him that that was not like a joke. They weren’t trying to short trip them. The Jets just came in and bang got another million and a half a year as I remember it.
Luke Jones 14:37
I can’t remember the exact discrepancy but it was real. I mean,
Nestor J. Aparicio 14:41
it wasn’t an F is it? I’m not saying what I’m, what I’m saying is the Ravens would have loved if CJ signed the deal that they put in front of him for whatever the price was because they loved them. They weren’t trying to they weren’t trying to lowball them or say I get lost. They were like we think you’re a $14 million linebacker in the Jets think you’re in 16 Really no linebacker, go there, you know, I mean, and they’ve done that with a lot of guys at that level. And that’s why I feel like everybody can’t be Hello Dnata you know, at some point, Patrick Queens gonna go get paid somewhere else because they made that decision doesn’t make him less of a football player. It just means like, we can only afford so much. And that’s where my rich blood would say, you know long term two years from now you will Kyle Hamilton or do you want just a man a BK? Yeah, because you’re both gonna be $20 million players. Yeah,
Luke Jones 15:27
but but the reality is two years from now, Ronnie Stanley is probably not going to be around. I mean, we’re talking about him not being around this year. Marlon Humphrey knows what’s going to happen with him at that point in time. I mean, yeah. So I mean, it’s always a, it’s a living canvas, right? I mean, the roster. And it’s always evolving guys that were slam dunks five, five years ago to be on the team, like Ronnie Stanley are certainly, you know, we’re now talking about in very different terms. And we Marlon Humphrey, we’re viewing differently now than two or three years ago. So I mean, that’s just how that’s just the evolution of it. And when you have a franchise, quarterback at the top of your salary cap in terms of CAP number, you have to be a little more discerning, you have to be a little more critical in how you look at it, you have a smaller margin for error. It’s not an excuse. It’s not to say, Oh, we have a franchise quarterback, we can’t pay this guy. No, you can pay certain guys, but you have to identify how much you’re going to go, what kind of structure? Are you going to use void years and things like that to kick the can down the road in terms of salary cap? So I mean, that’s just part of it. So for me, I, I think there’s a fair question, not so much that you don’t want Matt to be gay. I mean, he just he’s coming off a 13 Sack season, you know that that would be silly to say you don’t want them, however, is there some merit to the idea of if you can make it work and you can restructure some other deals, and you make some tough calls, cutting some other guys like Titus Bowser comes to mind right away, to save enough from a cap standpoint, to carry that tag number, because you want to see Mata BK do it again. And that doesn’t mean he has to match 13 sacks again, but you don’t want to drop back down to five and a half, right? You know, you don’t want that to be if it’s a career year, fine. But you don’t want 13 to drop back down to five and a half if it if it’s 13, this past year, and then he has 10 or 11 sacks this year, then I think you feel and assuming the pass rush rate, you know, when rate and pressures and all that stuff, then you feel like okay, this is who he is, this is legit. He’s done it two years in a row. He didn’t set a career high again, but he’s double digit sacks again, then to me at that point. And he would also be saying at that point, while the price probably went up from where it was a year ago, but then I think you’re much more comfortable with the idea of marrying him long term at a deal that’s approaching $100 million, whatever it is. And again, I’m spitballing here, we don’t know exactly what it’s going to shake out to be but, but
Nestor J. Aparicio 17:57
the new acts on him coming out of college, they’ve moved past all that. Right. I mean, he’s,
Luke Jones 18:01
I mean, he’s developed, you know, I mean, it’s, look, he’s the third round pick, you know, no third round pick is going to come out and be a completely clean prospect. I mean, that, you know, especially talking about a defensive tackle with some pass rush ability. I
Nestor J. Aparicio 18:14
mean, especially a guy we’re comparing to Aaron Donald right now, right? I mean,
Luke Jones 18:18
he and he’s not Aaron Donald day, I
Nestor J. Aparicio 18:20
met Aaron Donald Phil savage introduced me to him in Mobile, Alabama, and told me that guy is going to the Hall of Fame. Like literally, that’s what Phil savage told me. Phil savage said, we have a guy named Aaron Donald here. He’s going to emcee he’s going to speak for all the players. You’re gonna see him you’re gonna be really he’s from Pittsburgh, gonna be really impressed by him. He’s gonna get a Hall of Fame one day, he’s the best player here. That’s what Phil told me. So Phil knows things.
Luke Jones 18:42
Yeah, yeah. Well, I can I can still remember that was the same year as CJ Mosley. It was 2014. I remember. And I remember some Ravens fans being upset because most I think, mostly finished second and defensive Rookie of the Year that year. And you know, nothing against CJ, he had a really good rookie year and what I think even made that he made the Pro Bowl that year as a rookie, but I felt like anyone who was saying that was you know, it was kind of a case of Did you watch Aaron Donald play at all this year? Like that guy’s He’s, uh, you
Nestor J. Aparicio 19:14
showed up? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So but point is like other guys take time. Right. And then you say, is he flashing? Was it a product of our defense? You know, is he gonna be motivated after we pay him which is a question you ask anybody anytime?
Luke Jones 19:31
It’s fair. Right. And I can’t help but think not, not that the Ravens would feel this way. But if you’re a Ravens fan that has taken some pause, and again, it’s not that you don’t like Mata BK it’s the idea of paying them $90,000,000.95 whatever it ends up being. There is some thought, at least in my mind of look what happened with Broderick Washington this past year now, Broderick Washington is not remotely the same player. It’s just a matter BK, but same drive have class, similar story guy who popped in his third seat? Or yeah, third season? Washington at a really good year in 2022. I mean, there, there were some fans and people that just looked at it. On a more casual level, not a level like the Ravens would be evaluating who kind of thought you know what, I’ll take this guy because he’s gonna be a little bit cheaper than that a BK and he had a really good 2022 season. Well, we saw what happened this year. I mean, Project Washington was a non factor for them up front, I mean, to the point where, if you recall that Thursday night game against the Bengals, he was a healthy scratch in that game. Now, that was the only time that happened all year. But the point is, he got paid last August, I’ll be it a much more modest contract, I think was $16 million $17 million over a few years. So we’re not talking about dramatic, dramatically high money. But he didn’t have a great year on the heels of getting an extension. So I think there’s at least a few fans out there. And look, I think most fans absolutely want to keep just a matter be gay around. And let’s be clear, we’re not talking about him going to free agency. We’re talking about a scenario where maybe you want to see him do it again. And he does play on the tag problem is that wreaks havoc on your cap and your ability to roster build, and it does make things more challenging, so yeah, we’ll see. We’ll see how it plays out. But yeah, Eric d’acosta, the biggest headline from Tuesday’s session in Indy, where there weren’t many headlines. As we said, it’s definitely matter, BK getting the tag, if there’s not going to be a long term deal. I think they’re still hoping it sounds like they’re still talking. But how realistic is that? I mean, you see it year by year, this time of year, talking about guys that are getting getting the franchise tag. How often do you see them sign a long term deal agree to a long term deal in late February and early March before that deadline for the tag. That doesn’t happen too often. I mean, around the league, maybe you’ll find one per year. But generally speaking, those guys aren’t signing anything before the deadline for the tag and then they end up playing this chick game of chicken that can go all the way through the middle of July. Here’s Luke
Nestor J. Aparicio 22:08
Jones. He is Baltimore Luke you could find them out anywhere the interweb is served downtime with an extra day in February into sort of a quiet March week I am re releasing the Peter principles currently at Baltimore positive for get some new ownership for the baseball team, as well as not just recapping the past there, but also the free the birds movement that’s now 18 years old. If the birds are actually going to be freed. It was a book about my father, my love of baseball, my father’s love of baseball and taken me to games 19 chapters and I’m going to be releasing for my father’s birthday, which is Tuesday, March 5, my dad would have been 105 years old, so but my dad loved the Orioles. And we will take a little walk down memory lane. I’m actually going through some of the pictures and releasing them. There’s a little documentary of being put together about our history year and 25 years. So big appreciation to Korean and foreign daughter as well for sponsoring our 25th anniversary in our 25 stories of glory. One thing that Luke brought up gloriously, a couple of days ago on the program was wondering if I really knew what the salary cap was in 1996 when John Ogden and Ray Lewis came in and I found this beautiful picture of David Modell and I at the barn really, really early on. And I’m going to be sharing a whole bunch of old memories of all that but cap number and the cap number going up a little bit and questions for d’acosta and where they are that they would have a couple of million bucks more to throw in a matter BK or to throw out a contract or wherever it would be around the edges of the roster. They knew this money was coming I guess I mean, I don’t think there’s any secrets for Pat Moriarity or you know, within the league numbers to know how much money they’re making and how that’s gonna affect the cap. I think they knew that when they signed Lamar it always goes up just like the ticket season ticket renewals to letter Raskin and I discussed that as well. But that cap number and that little bit of money and I had Dennis on this week for the first time in a long time. And Dennis and we’re talking about the importance of the draft and like getting a starter two out of the draft, you gotta get impact players out of the draft, especially once you start giving this money to Lamar Jackson. And then you and I are talking about do they love Mata BK? Should they love Mata BK? Should they love Hamilton more? Should they love Linder balm more? Like where are they in all of this? And oh, by the way, I guess at the heart of all of this. If you and I were chasing the cost around Indianapolis and hardball was given us free rides in his in his taxi cab. We’d be talking about the offensive line right now because that’s really that’s the story for them. And it’s, well you got some money back from Zeidler. And you’re gonna figure your money out with Stanley But who’s gonna be on the field?
Luke Jones 24:51
Yeah, I mean, it’s it’s a big question. I mean, John Harbaugh even acknowledged I mean, it’s the quote most important thing we do on offense is going to be rebuilding the offensive line. And I think the question is right now to what degree are you rebuilding it? The only set known commodity where you say no questions about it? He’s gonna be on the field week one, assuming he’s healthy is who? Tyler Linder bomb after that? It’s kind of a mystery. Now, let’s be clear. Ronnie Stanley is under contract. Morgan, Moses is under contract for one more year, Morgan, Moses, his cap number is doable, right? It’s not that it’s not a major value concern. It’s more a question of his age, the fact that he had some injuries this past year, a guy who was very durable for a decade and as I always say, unfortunately, with football, because it’s a 100% injury rate, guys are durable until they’re not anymore. And that’s where you start to run the the question, but Zeidler, barring something, you know, a change of heart on one side or the other over the next couple of weeks, or another team to give him more money? Well, that’s my point. I mean, it’s, it’s gonna change your heart. It’s
Nestor J. Aparicio 25:54
a changing market, right? That’s one, right. Well, it’s
Luke Jones 25:57
that’s but that’s my point. I mean, it’s, you know, unless the Ravens change their mind or unless he says, whatever the Ravens say is, okay, he’s gonna hit market and someone’s gonna pay him a two or three year contract, I’m guessing even at age 34, because he played at a high level this past year, so you’re gonna be replacing him? Most likely. John Simpson, their left guard is also a free agent. You know, I don’t think that one is he was the weak link of their start there five starters. But he started all 17 games, all 19 Counting the playoffs, and it’s another starter you need to replace. So you look at the internal options. I’m sorry, I look at them at offensive tackle right now. I don’t see Daniel fall Lele as a starter, at least in 2024. I think Patrick mCherry is what he is, which is that extremely valuable guy who can start at really all five offensive line spots in a pinch. But not someone that you’re penciling in to be your starting left tackle. At least that’s how I view it. So, you know, it’s great to see you want to rebuild your offensive line. But here’s the reality, Nestor, you’re picking 30th. Jonathan Ogden was the fourth overall pick in the 1996 draft. Ronnie Stanley was the sixth overall pick in the 2016 draft. I mean, Jared Gaither started for a minute. And I get it. He was a, you know, a supplemental draft pick years and years ago that and stepped in after Jonathan Ogden. But that was a short term fix. And Jared Gaither wasn’t a long term answer there. That my point is not that you can’t find the left tackle the future 30th Overall, which is where the ravens are picking. But is that going to be a guy that’s ready to start week one of his rookie year? That’s a that’s a big risk you’re talking about there. So I think for and, look, I’ve been talking about this as much as anyone you know, going back to the middle of the season, when it was clear that Ronnie Stanley was struggling, staying healthy again and struggling to perform at the same level, we had grown accustomed to be him being four or five years ago. But it’s easier said than done to replace him in terms of finding someone that’s going to be one and upgrade to even as good as him right now. And look, I know that’s not people, we’re gonna roll their eyes and say that’s not the highest bar. But Ronnie Stanley wasn’t the worst left tackle in football this year or anything like that. Let’s be clear, he wasn’t the 20 plus million dollar player that the Ravens signed him to be a but he wasn’t the worst in the league either. So you’re talking about still replacing a certain level of production. And I get it, he hasn’t been on the field for 17 games, I understand that. But it’s still easier said than done replacing that player. And certainly from a standpoint of replacing that player immediately. So I’ll continue to say that when I look at this picture, I have a tough time believing the ravens are going to replace three starters, let alone for starters on the offensive line. So
Nestor J. Aparicio 28:58
I think they want to be trading from 13 up to 17. Because the third best tackle is there and they see him as they see three tackles and say we could any of these three and the one guy falls to 1214 60. I mean, you’re 30 trading up from 30 Looks like the one next year no matter what. Well,
Luke Jones 29:18
and that’s the thing. And then you go back to what you were just saying, You
Nestor J. Aparicio 29:22
need to draft in order to get around Lamar, right? Is that what you’re thinking? Well, it’s
Luke Jones 29:26
what you said that you were discussing with Dennis, I mean, you’re at a point now, when you consider where the salary cap isn’t, and it helps that it went up to $255 million, as opposed to 240 or 245. That helps but keep in mind that helps all 32 teams so it’s still relative all when the salary cap goes up as much as it did for the Ravens. What’s what it’s really good for is fixed commodities that were already on your payroll already on your salary cap are now more valuable. Lamar Jackson, the more and more the salary cap is going to go up In the coming years, that deal will look like relatively speaking. Let’s be clear, because it sounds silly saying this about any player with a 250 plus million dollar contract, it becomes more of a bargain. Mark Andrews contract is more of a bargain now than it was a week ago with the salary cap being $30 million less than what it is now. So
Nestor J. Aparicio 30:18
it makes Stanley’s less of a liability to it does no it does. It absolutely does. So
Luke Jones 30:24
you view it through that lens. Mata BK I mean, my biggest takeaway when the cap went up to $255 million, I said this to you, when we talked a few days earlier, was for me that makes tagging Mehta, BK, less prohibitive, then it would have under a 240 or $240. million cap. So point is, I think it’s gonna be really challenging given where they are, from a cap standpoint, given where they are, in terms of draft capital picking 30th, you’re picking very late in each round. I think it’s very ambitious to think that you’re gonna sit there and replace more than a couple starters on your offensive line. Now, I already said, for me, the ideal scenario, I’ve said this, I’ve written this, I’ll continue to say this until it doesn’t happen, because I’m not that smart. And the Ravens will have a plan that’s different than mine. And that’s fine. But I still view this through the lens of the best way to proceed with Ronnie Stanley and the left tackle picture for 2024, I think is to try to work out a deal where he takes a pay cut, add in incentives to try to make them whole, the reality is, and people would say, well, he can say no to that. Well, I would say good luck getting the kind of money that the Ravens potentially pay you with incentives out on the market, considering how the last three years of your career have gone. I mean, it’s just, I’m not trying to be mean, it’s just the reality for where he is at this point, health wise and performance wise. So take a pay cut, built in incentives for for him, if he’s healthy, he’s playing at a high level, you make them whole. In the meantime, that gives you some cap relief. And for me, then I’m looking whether we’re talking about 30th Overall, whether we’re talking about a day to pick I mean, obviously, we’re not talking about picking someone in the fifth round here. But you identify a guy that you think could be your left tackle the future. But he doesn’t have to play day one, week one. And maybe it becomes a Jonathan Ogden scenario where he plays left guard for a year or maybe
Nestor J. Aparicio 32:22
hero Ronnie Stanley if he hit the market next week, but anybody sign him for anything? Yeah,
Luke Jones 32:28
I mean, he’s not, again, let’s
Nestor J. Aparicio 32:30
be clear, like the perception of injury, the perception of, of where he is for another team, would they look at him and say, I’m going to invest $30 million for two years and him or whatever, whatever the just, we’re gonna bring him in and give him guaranteed money, and guarantee that he’s gonna beat out the left tackle that we already have, who’s 10 years younger, and less. I mean, that’s where I mean, Zeidler is different for me, because I think he’s perceived as being captain of the ship and the way Coleus Campbell went, got a job last year in that way that he could still play. I don’t know with Ronnie Stanley that. To your point, you want to renegotiate with him and rub his back and bring him back in? My question is do they want him to be the left tackle this year for Lamar? Is he the guy you want out there in week 12? And December? On a you know, nine and five football to whatever they’re going to be at that point? Is he the guy you want to be your left tackle next season? A meta BK? Yes. For all the reasons we talked about at whatever price. Maybe they don’t want it to be that guy three years from now, Ronnie Stanley. My question is, do they want him on the field? And would another team want him?
Luke Jones 33:40
Yeah, I mean, look, I mean, it’s a fair question at the same time. I mean, you’re not drafting Trent Williams 30th. Overall, you know, I mean, you’re not, you’re not drafting the next Jonathan Ogden 30th overall. So it’s great to say you want someone better. It’s another thing to be able to go get that guy.
Nestor J. Aparicio 33:56
So you went out and sign that guy the way they brought Morgan Moses in. And so we brought Ronnie Stanley and we fixed our left tackle. Ah, right. Oh, I would call Bucha on that. If I’m the sports radio guy in Minneapolis. City, they pick any city, if you’re telling me you’re bringing that guy in and saying that guy is going to be our reliable star sure echo for any price. Even if it was cheap, I’d say okay, you better draft somebody at 30. That’s what I would say. At
Luke Jones 34:24
the same time that there aren’t 32 great franchise left tackles in the league. So a team that had a worse situation than the Ravens last year, which again, Ronnie Stanley was not the worst left tackle in the league. I want to be clear about this. Don’t look at him and say, You know what? He was healthier this past year. Look, he only missed what you know, 12 You know, you only miss four games, five games, whatever it was compared to the year before that, and certainly the year before that. We might take an $8 million flyer on this guy and I’m just throwing 8 million. I’m throwing it out there because that’s how What’s your ravens plate paid l 100. Villa Nueva a couple years ago, like you’re just
Nestor J. Aparicio 35:03
throwing it out there as well, because you’d like for them to go to his agency. This is what you’re worth right now. And that’s play for a that, that that is your part of the dance. Right? Right.
Luke Jones 35:12
That’s part of the dance right now where if you’re the ravens, you’re saying, Okay, how would we assess this player? If he hits the open market? And it’s weird to say that because he’s your guy, you married a few years back? Obviously, he’s been through heck, you know, with the the ankle and the recovery and the knee this year? I mean,
Nestor J. Aparicio 35:29
it’s been through, they call this right sizing is what they call it, right? So
Luke Jones 35:34
but if you’re the ravens, you’re viewing it through the lens of okay, how would we value this player if he hit the open market? And then they’re doing that with the thought in mind of, presumably, if you want to do this now, it’s possible, they might just say, We’re done with Ronnie Stanley, we think he was barely holding on this past year. We can’t bet on this anymore. We’re gonna cut them with a post June 1 designation. Problem with that, yeah, you save more cap space, but you don’t get any of it until June. And that’s when most of Frieden see not all. Because Kyle van Noy Engine today via uncloudy would beg to differ. Most of the free agency is over at that point in time. And certainly your that’s not going to help you land your next left tackle, you know, with that kind of a scenario. That’s why I keep saying, I still think in a vacuum and again, is that player going to be there at 13? Is that player gonna be there in the second round? You know, again, these are unknowns. I’m speaking in hypotheticals right now, because that’s all it is. Because we don’t know. But I still question and wonder if the best case scenario for them, viewing it through the lens of how difficult it is to find a left tackle. Where they are from a salary cap standpoint, where they are in terms of draft capital and where they’re picking. If, if it’s to work something out, on the short term to alleviate some cap, give Ronnie Stanley another chance, give them some motivation, where you say, Hey, you cut my pay, hey, you’re giving me some incentives to make it back. I’ll show you guys I’m finally getting healthy. I didn’t deal so much with the ankle this past year, I had a knee issue that I you know, MCL injury and week one that I dealt with for the bulk of the year, you know, so it gives him plenty of motivation. And then, like I said, You look to draft, someone that you feel can be your left tackle. And let’s be clear, it might not. I might not even be talking about a scenario whether your left tackle in 25, and might be someone that that might be ready to take over in week 10. If Ronnie Stanley hurts his ankle, or his knee or shoulder or something like that, I mean, but but it just can’t carry for real. It’s just right. I mean, and I have a tough time looking at anyone in this draft where you would pick it 30th Or even let’s say someone that maybe you’d move up to 23rd to get right. I mean, to your point would be tough to move up more than five or 10 spots. If you are then you are talking about giving up really meaningful future draft capital to get a guy. But you know, it’s gonna be really tough to envision someone in that area, the draft where you’re just going to say, all right through the left tackle, I mean, even when they drafted Michael Lauren, remember, they traded up to draft Michael war back in 2009. That was done with the thought of okay, you do have Jared Gaither at left tackle. They they thought at that point, yeah, Mike, or is probably going to, it’s going to be the left tackle of the future. But where did he start? right tackle that year. So maybe that’s the scenario. And if that happens, maybe you’re saying goodbye to Morgan, Moses under that scenario, and then you can create some cap space doing that. So there’s always there are always multiple roads, right? I mean, there, there’s always an alternative to whatever your plan A is. But problem is, again, these are challenging variables that the ravens are dealing with as it pertains to replacing Ronnie Stanley so we’re gonna see how it plays out. But John Harbaugh and Eric Acosta both said that, yeah, it’s a big objective. Zeitler is out the door, or at least halfway out the door at this point in time, John Simpson’s presumably out the door. I think they do have some legitimate internal options at guard. I think Ben Cleveland is very likely going to be a starter. And I think for as much as people might be rolling their eyes hearing that when he filled in for Kevin Zeitler, the last couple of years, he actually played pretty well. So I think Ben Cleveland can do what Ben powers did a couple years ago, which was become a starter and suddenly you say, hey, after waiting around three years, this guy did a pretty nice job.
Nestor J. Aparicio 39:26
Well, you wonder who the guards aren’t so mad at BK shows up on the other side? You have to go. Right, right. Yeah. And if you lose a playoff game because of that, because your quarterback can’t operate. Right. So I mean, having having the O line, the difference in the Bengals being champions a couple of years ago, not being champions like literally.
Luke Jones 39:44
Absolutely, absolutely. So you know what, we’ll see how that plays out there with Ben Cleveland. Andrew Vorhees. Keep in mind they drafted him in the seventh round last year. He was the kid who tore his ACL at the combine. He was considered a mid round pick out of USC multi year starter in the Pac 12, which does didn’t mean anything now but a couple years ago it’s still meant something. But yeah, one other candidate big big solid so they have some guard candidates offensive tackle. That’s where if you are replacing these veteran players boy there’s a lot of work to do to do it I’m just saying
Nestor J. Aparicio 40:15
look Jones is a Baltimore and Luke will give our NFL team report cards at some point maybe early next week see if old Steve gets an A from NES maybe I’ll deliver his report card game at the owners meetings later on this month. Look to be found at Baltimore, Luca I can be found anywhere the internet travels on a lot of you are finding us in lots of ways that YouTube you’re subscribing, downloading listening podcasting, Apple and Spotify playing and doing all the things you’re doing. We do appreciate the sponsorship from all of our spots, cleaning rural farms. In my co roofing mug here we got all sorts of things happen in the Maryland lottery put us out on the road for the Maryland crab cake tour along with window nation Jiffy Lube, and our friends at the Liberty pure solutions. I’ll be telling you more showing you more and doing more as the Orioles get ready to play opening day later on in the month. The Ravens get ready for the underwear Olympics to be over with and the free agent Olympics to begin the owners meetings later on this month and a lot of sports things happening around here. We did a lot of charity last month as well. You can find all of it. It’s wn st am 1570, Towson Baltimore, where we never stop talking Baltimore positive
