The coronavirus pandemic has thrown this offseason into a tizzy of uncertainty. The 2021 salary cap is at the top of the list of things teams still don’t know, though the offseason is underway. With limited fans in attendance last season due to COVID-19, it’s expected the NFL has taken quite a hit in revenue, which will ultimately see the 2021 salary cap take a hit along with it. However, not all hope is lost apparently.
The NFL and NFLPA had set a salary cap floor of $175 million this summer in preparation for the first drop in over a decade. But, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, several teams believe the 2021 salary cap could be around $185 million, if not a little higher. That would still be a drop from the $198.2 salary cap set for 2020 but it would give plenty of teams a little more breathing room.
Among the teams needing some extra cap space are the Baltimore Ravens, who are one of just a handful of teams starting the offseason without a negative balance. According to Over The Cap, 15 teams are currently set to be in the negative if the salary cap is set at $176 million. Baltimore, while in better shape than 21 other teams, aren’t exactly flush with cap space either. At a $176 million salary cap projection, the Ravens would have just $15.7 million to spend, while a $185 million salary cap would give them $24.7 million in available space.
Regardless of the projection, that’s still not a ton of cap space to use on re-signing their own players, acquiring new free agents, and signing their draft picks. Baltimore has two of the top free agents set to hit the market in Yannick Ngakoue and Matthew Judon, and they’ll need to either re-sign one of them or acquire a similarly priced pass rusher in free agency. In addition, the Ravens desperately need to give quarterback Lamar Jackson more weapons around him, and shoring up a decent but inconsistent offensive line is a priority as well. While even $15.7 million sounds like a ridiculous amount of money, it can be gone in an instant if general manager Eric DeCosta isn’t smart and frugal this offseason.
We’ll just have to wait until the NFL announces the 2021 salary cap to really know where the Ravens stand this offseason. And according to Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt via Pelissero, that might not happen until hours before the league year begins on March 17.
It’s shaping up to be an interesting and tense offseason, and it all starts with the salary cap.
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