Ravens Named As A Potential Trade Partner For Pass Rusher Connor Barwin
Eagles pass rusher Connor Barwin may be on his way out of Philadelphia, via release or trade, and The Star-Ledger reported the Ravens are one of three potential trade partners.
"If they cut him, teams will be lining up for him,'' a pro personnel man with another NFC team told The Ledger's Mark Eckel. "He wouldn't be out of a job for long. I would think they could trade him and get something back. He has value. His deal this year isn't that bad."
Added Eckel: "Among the teams who could have interest in Barwin are the Green Bay Packers, the Baltimore Ravens and the Indianapolis Colts to name just three."
Barwin, 30, is no longer a good fit in Philadelphia after the defense switched to a 4-3 scheme last year and forced him to play as a hand-in-the-dirt defensive end. In that role, he totaled just 34 tackles, five sacks, two pass deflections and a forced fumble. He had the third-worst Pro Football Focus grade for edge rushers in 2016.
That's a big decline from when he was in his more natural outside linebacker position in a 3-4 defense. In his previous three years with the Eagles in that role, Barwin amassed 244 total tackles, 26.5 sacks, 34.5 tackles for loss and four forced fumbles.
As such, in the right scheme, Barwin brings value. Not coincidentally, all three teams named as potential suitors run a base 3-4 defense.
The Ravens have not publicly expressed interest in Barwin, which is no surprise because he's still currently under contract for the next two seasons.
If they did make a trade, they would either pick up Barwin's remaining base salaries in his contract – $7.75 million in 2017 and $9.25 million in 2018 – or condition a trade on striking a new contract. As for what they'd give up in return, Yahoo! Sports' Robert Molnar says the most the Eagles could probably get for Barwin is a late day three draft pick.
To put Barwin's contract in perspective, his 2017 base salary is higher than what Elvis Dumervil ($6 million) and Terrell Suggs ($4 million) are each scheduled to earn next season.
That's a high price tag for a player who notched just two more sacks (five) last year than Dumervil (three), who missed half the season with an Achilles injury, while Barwin started all 16 games.
Dumervil has been a speculated cap casualty this offseason – which the Ravens have not indicated is true – but it seems unlikely that Baltimore would trade draft assets and replace Dumervil with a *higher *salary for a player that didn't offer much more production while healthy.
The other route is to wait and see if Barwin is released, and if the Ravens are really interested, they could offer a deal they believe is fair and more suitable for their needs.
Kiper: WR Corey Davis Could Fall To Ravens At No. 16
Few people in Baltimore would be upset if ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper's latest mock draft came true. He has the Ravens selecting Washington cornerback Sidney Jones, who is the top-rated corner by Mike Mayock, with their 16th-overall pick.
While cornerback is perhaps the Ravens' biggest need, as my colleague John Eisenberg pointed out, it is far from their only need. Eisenberg would also be happy if the Ravens targeted a leading pass rusher, a top offensive lineman or another playmaker.
The Ravens could be tempted by a potential playmaker in Western Michigan wide receiver Corey Davis, who Kiper confidently said could still be on the board when Baltimore is on the clock. Mayock rated Davis atop his receiver board, even above Clemson's Mike Williams, who had a monster game in the Tigers' national championship victory over Alabama.
"Corey Davis is really good. Should he be a mid-first? Yeah, he will be a mid-first, I think," Kiper said on Glenn Clark Radio. "He could be there for Tennessee [at No. 18]. There are teams like that – Tampa Bay [at No. 19] – that are right after the Ravens that could use a Corey Davis.
"I think he'll probably be the first or second receiver taken. It's between Corey Davis and Mike Williams from Clemson to see who will be the first receiver off the board. If he becomes more consistent, I think Davis could be one heck of a pro."
Davis has the size and production that would make Joe Cool smile. The 6-foot-3, 213-pound receiver caught 331 passes for 5,278 yards and 52 touchdowns during four years at Western Michigan.
He won't have a chance to show off his ability at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis next week due to a recent ankle surgery, but that isn't expected to affect his draft stock much.
"Davis can be a Day 1 starter opposite a true primary receiver who he can complement," a Pro Football Focus draft report reads. "Initially he will heavily need to rely on his sharp route-running as he is unlikely to outmuscle or outrun defensive backs in the early stages of his career. He is also capable of making big plays by using double moves and exploiting open holes in zone coverage."
Harbaugh Takes Daughter On A Lacrosse Recruiting Trip
Sheesh, little Alison Harbaugh is sure growing up fast.
It seems like yesterday when she came to Baltimore with her dad as a 6-year-old little girl. Now, she's a stud high school freshman lacrosse player who is already looking at potential college teams to join.
Her dad, Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh, took her on a recruiting trip last weekend to Virginia Tech and, while there, they took in the Hokies' 18-12 victory over Boston College.
"It's been great, we've had a chance to get on campus," Harbaugh told the Collegiate Times, the school-run newspaper. "My wife and daughter had been here another time, so they had been bragging about Tech. It's my first time here on campus. Well, actually we were here in 1989, I was coaching for Cincinnati, so I didn't exactly get a tour back then.
"It's just beautiful, it's a beautiful campus and a beautiful town. The facilities are ridiculously nice. Coach [John] Sung has been amazing, he's a great recruiter and a great guy."
The paper reported that Alison is also being recruited by Boston College, Notre Dame and Johns Hopkins.* *
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