Ravens Reportedly Tried to Trade for Jarvis Landry, His Return to Miami in Doubt
There's been a lot of chatter over the last month about the Ravens potentially targeting Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jarvis Landry in free agency. Lots of fans … and safety Tony Jefferson … have made it clear that they'd love to see the 25-year-old in Baltimore.* *
The problem is that with Landry under contract for another team, the Ravens can't/won't give any indication about whether they are interested. But now, we've learned they were apparently interested enough last year to give the Dolphins a call.
"The Ravens spoke to the Miami Dolphins last offseason about a potential trade for Landry, but they found the asking price to be prohibitive," reported The Baltimore Sun's Jeff Zrebiec.
If this report is true, it's an interesting development because one would think that if General Manager Ozzie Newsome were to consider giving up assets (presumably in the form of draft picks), then he would do it with a long-term contract in mind. It wouldn't make sense to give up picks only to see the player walk by the end of the season. A trade and simultaneous contract extension is how Newsome got Anquan Boldin in town years ago.
If the Ravens still want Landry, they no longer would have to part ways with assets in a trade, but his asking price still won't be cheap.
"Landry is now a pending free agent, so he could be available to all bidders when the market opens in mid-March. The price, though, still figures to be extremely high," wrote Zrebiec.
"Frankly, I cannot imagine the cash-strapped Ravens paying north of $13 million per year for Landry, but they do like the player and they seem to understand that they need to do something significant to get more offensive talent on the field."
For the Ravens to consider Landry, he'll have to hit the market first, as the Dolphins are in contract talks with him now. But the possibility of him becoming a free agent appears to be getting stronger if you read reports out of Miami.
At the end of the season, Landry told reporters he "wasn't sure" if a deal would get done. Now, he seems to think it's not even likely.
"Landry has told associates that he is not optimistic that the long-term deal with the Dolphins he so desperately wants will be reached," wrote The Miami Herald's Adam Beasley. "This development is due to, at least in part, Landry's reaction to a report by the Miami Herald detailing the team's frustrations with their fourth-year star. Those issues include but are not exclusive to: poor attention to detail; Landry's inability to control his emotions, often to the detriment of his team; and a deficiency in leadership."
"Landry was so upset by the report that he contacted a Miami Herald reporter to say his negotiations with the organization on a new deal have been 'handled a bit disrespectful.'"
With free agency not scheduled to start for another month and half, there may not be any resolution for some time. But everyone in Baltimore will surely keep their eye on the situation.
You know Jefferson already is …
Ravens May Face Difficult Decision at No. 16
It's still early in the scouting process, which is probably why there seems to be a range of opinions about the talent of the wide receiver class.
ESPN's Todd McShay has two receivers in his top-32 prospects and NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah had two in his top 50. ESPN's Mel Kiper said nobody is worth a top-16 pick other than Alabama's Calvin Ridley. Meanwhile, Pro Football Focus is raving about the receivers at the Senior Bowl, and has four receivers being selected in the first round of their latest mock draft.* *
If some early indications hold true that it's not a class worthy of the No. 16 pick, then Zrebiec believes the Ravens will have a difficult decision to make.
"Again, it's very early in the draft process," Zrebiec wrote. "The Senior Bowl is going on now. The NFL scouting combine is over a month away. Then, there will be pro days and pre-draft visits. Receivers such as [Texas A&M's Christian] Kirk, Southern Methodist's Courtland Sutton and Oklahoma State's James Washington could have dynamic workouts to put them into the conversation to be picked in the upper half of the first round.
"… However, if the first half of the first round plays out like some of the mock drafts and rankings suggest it might, the Ravens could be facing a difficult choice come late April. Do they trade up at the cost of multiple picks to make sure they're in a position to grab Ridley or do they opt instead to fill one of their secondary needs, such as right tackle or inside linebacker?"
Ewww! Way Too Much Fraternizing With Enemy Ben Roethlisberger
What's going on down in Orlando?
Way too much fraternizing with "the enemy,"* *Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, that's what.
Eric Weddle's playing golf with him. Garrett Downing is his new BFF. Roethlisberger is saying it's a "no brainer" that Terrell Suggs is a future Hall of Famer, which is true, but … this is all getting a little too friendly if you ask me.* *
Ew.
At least Suggs hasn't completely forgotten what's up. You can see the outside linebacker still messing with Big Ben in the video below.
"I'm always behind him," Suggs whispers into the "Ravens Wired" mic as he sneaks up on Roethlisberger.
How Much Will It Cost to Keep Ryan Jensen?
The Ravens would like to keep center Ryan Jensen, who started all 16 games for the first time in his career last year.
But would they be willing to pay him $8.9 million in average annual salary? That's how much Spotrac thinks Jensen is worth after looking at five other players with similar playing time, stats and age.
Jensen sure picked a good time to have the best season of his career, as 2017 was the last year on his rookie contract. The Ravens selected him in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL Draft, and have helped him develop into a legitimate NFL starter. He was the ninth-ranked center last year, according to PFF.
"It would not be surprising if the Ravens allowed Jensen to walk. They have some of the least cap flexibility in the league, and will also be in the market for pass catchers," wrote Baltimore Beatdown's Vasilis Lericos. "Baltimore's front office allowed starting offensive lineman Kelechi Osemele and Rick Wagner to flee for greener pastures in each of the last two offseasons.* *
"Further complicating the decision, Matt Skura projects as a capable in-house replacement. The upcoming draft class also features multiple highly regarded center prospects. A potential 2019 compensatory draft choice if Jensen departs is also worth consideration."
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