As General Manager Ozzie Newsome recently told PR vice president Kevin Byrne, the Ravens still want to sign four players to extensions this summer.
Those players are defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, wide receiver Torrey Smith, cornerback Jimmy Smith and kicker Justin Tucker.
Which do you think should be the Ravens' top priority?* *
DT Haloti Ngata
Ngata still has two more years left on his contract, but giving him an extension now would provide big salary cap savings – more than the other players on the list. The five-time Pro Bowler is reportedly set to carry a team-high $16 million cap hit into 2014. He's still a huge part of the defensive front, and the front office would like to make him a Raven for life as they did with Ngata's close friend, Terrell Suggs, earlier this year. Ngata reportedly rejected the Ravens' first extension offer.* *
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WR Torrey SmithSmith is entering the final year of his rookie contract, and the Ravens would like to lock him up before he hits the open market. Speedster Mike Wallace, who has a similar attributes to Smith, got $60 million from the Miami Dolphins in free agency. Smith is still a burgeoning young player who works hard to improve his craft, and he's coming off his best season with 1,128 receiving yards. The locally-grown Smith has said, "Everybody knows I want to be in Baltimore for the long haul."* *
CB Jimmy Smith
Jimmy Smith is a budding young talent at cornerback, and the Ravens could look to deal with him in the same manner they did with fellow cornerback Lardarius Webb. Baltimore inked Webb to a reported five-year, $50 million extension after his breakout third season. Smith just finished his third season in similar fashion, and could be on the cusp of being the Pro Bowl-caliber cornerback the Ravens envisioned when they drafted him in the first round in 2011. Baltimore exercised the fifth-year option on Smith, so he's under contract through 2015.* *
K Justin Tucker
Tucker has certainly outperformed his rookie contract as an undrafted free agent. He didn't get a signing bonus and is reportedly due to make $570,000 this season. The Ravens want to keep the Pro Bowler around long-term. Baltimore rewarded Billy Cundiff with a reported five-year, $15 million contract after his Pro Bowl year in 2010. Unlike Cundiff, Tucker has known nothing but success in the NFL. Tucker's been one of the league's premier kickers and continues working to get better.
