The Baltimore Ravens and CB Lardarius Webb have reached an agreement in principle on a six-year contract, general manager/executive vice president Ozzie Newsome announced Thursday.
Webb, who enters his fourth NFL season, became a restricted free agent following the 2011 campaign after leading the Ravens with a team-high five interceptions – including a 73-yard touchdown return – and 20 passes defensed. In two playoff games, the 5-10, 182-pounder added an NFL-high three interceptions. He started 17 of the Ravens' 18 total contests last season.
"We have a good history of completing second contracts for targeted players we want to keep for the long haul," Newsome stated. "We did that recently with Jameel McClain, just like we did with Haloti [Ngata], 'Sizzle' [Terrell Suggs], 'J.J.' [Jarret Johnson], Marshal [Yanda] – and many more through the years. Lardarius is an important player for the Ravens, and we're very happy he will be with us for a long time."
An integral piece of Baltimore's 2011 pass defense, Webb helped the unit rank fourth in the league in passing yards allowed (196.3 ypg). The Ravens also permitted the NFL's fewest passing touchdowns, surrendering just 11 on the year.
In addition to his defensive efforts, Webb has been a standout return specialist. In 2011, he led the Ravens with a 10.0-yard punt return average (30-301), including a 68-yard touchdown return. As a rookie in 2009, he posted a 95-yard kickoff return touchdown, averaging 26.2 yards per attempt (35-918).
Appearing in 45 career regular season games (19 starts), Webb has totaled 164 tackles (136 solo), seven interceptions (113 return yards) and 37 passes defensed. He owns a 26.4-yard career kickoff return average (37-977) and a 9.8-yard punt return average (51-499).
Webb was selected by Baltimore out of Nicholls State in the third round (88th overall) of the 2009 NFL Draft.
Media Availability: Webb is scheduled to sign his contract in Baltimore at some point next week. We will set up interview availability with him at that time.
