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The Baltimore Ravens are feeling the pressure of a light wallet as they enter the 2020 regular season. But with the help of defensive tackle Brandon Williams, the Ravens gained a little cap space.
According to ESPN’s Field Yates, Williams agreed to a restructure that frees up $3 million in cap space right now in exchange for some guaranteed money over the next two years.
Williams was owed a total of $18.75 million in base salaries over the next two seasons. But outside of his prorated signing bonus, there was no guaranteed money left on the deal. According to Yates, the reworked deal now pays Williams $15.75 million over the next two years with $8.25 million guaranteed. While the exact breakdown of the contract isn’t known, the Ravens have an estimated $11.26 million, according to Over The Cap. This move buys Baltimore a little breathing room.
This is a pretty important deal considering the NFL salary cap could actually go down next season due to a loss of revenue from the coronavirus pandemic. Though the Ravens are one of only a few teams that’s expected to be above water next year if the cap dips down to $175 million, Williams was a potential salary-cap casualty. Prior to the restructured deal, Baltimore would have freed up $9.5 million on the 2021 salary cap by cutting Williams next offseason.
With new guaranteed money on top of his prorated signing bonus, this seems to be the Ravens signaling to Williams that they plan on keeping him around for at least another year.
Baltimore completely revamped their defensive line this offseason. They traded for former Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Calais Campbell and signed free-agent defensive tackle Derek Wolfe to bolster a unit that was inconsistent last season. Those two moves push Williams back inside to nose tackle where he’s been a far better and more consistent player throughout his career.
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