Inside linebacker C.J. Mosley is officially, officially a Raven.
The first-round pick has inked his rookie contract. It's a four-year deal with a club option for a fifth season, the same as every first-round pick.
The team does not release salary figures. According to the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that slots rookie salaries by their draft position, Mosley is signed for $8.878 million with a signing bonus of $4.711 million.
Mosley is the first AFC North first-round pick to be signed. He'll be on the field at the start of this week's organized team activities. Because of the new CBA that froze rookie salaries, long negotiations and holdouts are a thing of the past.
With Mosley's signing, the Ravens now have just one rookie left to get under contract. Third-round safety Terrence Brooks has not yet signed, which could be partly because he was away from the team for the birth of he and his fiancée's baby.
Mosley is the Ravens' highest draft pick since defensive tackle Haloti Ngata (No. 12 overall) in 2006. He's only 21 years old, so there's plenty of football in Mosley's future.
Mosley was named college football's top inside linebacker last year as the winner of the Dick Butkus Award. He was in the middle of an Alabama defense that secured back-to-back championships in 2011 and 2012.
Pundits widely expect Mosley to become an immediate starter this season. He'll compete with last year's second-round pick, Arthur Brown, for the spot next to veteran Daryl Smith.
He made a good first impression, and is already picking up the defense quickly.
"Probably the first impression is that he seems very comfortable in a defense. He understands the game very well. So, he's been really well-coached, obviously, down [at Alabama]," Head Coach John Harbaugh said.
"It's not like he doesn't know what gap he is fitting in. It's not like he doesn't know what adjustment to make. That's a long way ahead for a rookie. Plus, he is athletic, and he moves around really well."
