2020 Baltimore Ravens depth chart

Ravens’ Week 10 snap counts vs. Patriots: Injuries beginning to pile up

With injuries beginning to pile up for the Baltimore Ravens, their Week 10 snap counts show some of the changes happening.

The loss on the scoreboard was one of many losses for the Baltimore Ravens in Week 10 after a 23-17 reverse against the New England Patriots. The defeat drops them to 6-3, now three games back from the AFC North-leading Pittsburgh Steelers and level with the feisty Cleveland Browns.

But while the result is painful, the team suffered a number of key injuries during the game including a gruesome-looking one to tight end Nick Boyle. The team has already confirmed that he’s done for the year, leaving the Ravens with just a single tight end on the 53-man roster.

Let’s dive into the Ravens’ offensive and defensive snap counts from Week 10.

Ravens’ Week 8 snap counts vs. Steelers: Changing the lineup

A look at the playing time for members of the Baltimore Ravens offense and defense in their Week 8 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Baltimore Ravens fell, 28-24, to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. The Ravens now sit at 5-2 on the year, while the Steelers remain unbeaten and atop the AFC and the AFC North. But the loss will be seen as more costly than just on Baltimore’s current record.

Days after signing a lucrative long-term extension, the Ravens lost left tackle Ronnie Stanley to a season-ending ankle injury. Matthew Judon allowed his emotions to get the better of him as he was ejected from the game for contacting an official. Cornerback Marlon Humphrey tested positive for COVID-19. Meanwhile, one of the young stars of the offense broke ranks to make his displeasure regarding his role known to the watching world. There are worrying cracks beginning to develop on this roster.

Let’s dive into the Ravens’ offensive and defensive snap counts from Week 8.

Ravens’ salary cap implications after trading for Yannick Ngakoue

After trading for DE Yannick Ngakoue, how does the Baltimore Ravens’ salary cap look for 2020? We take a closer look at the financials

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The Baltimore Ravens’ trade for Minnesota Vikings defensive end Yannick Ngakoue is a move that will have lasting repercussions on the rosters of both teams. The Vikings had Ngakoue in their building for less than two months, and appear set to enter a period of rebuilding. For Baltimore, it gives an already fierce defense another dangerous playmaker. The trade also has lasting implications for the Ravens’ salary cap.

Before the trade took place, Baltimore had $4,962,802 in salary cap space, according to Over The Cap. Ngakoue had been playing on a one-year, $12 million deal with the Vikings, which will now count as $4.706 million against the Ravens’ 2020 salary cap. With so little salary cap space remaining after the trade, it points to Baltimore likely either restructuring another player to free up some money or inking Ngakoue to a long-term deal to lower the cap hit.

There are some long-term implications of the Ngakoue trade as well. On just a one-year deal, Ngakoue is effectively a 10-game rental right now. Having given up two draft picks to land him, it seems unlikely Baltimore general manager Eric DeCosta is just going to let Ngakoue play out this season and potentially hit free agency. That means a long-term deal is likely in the works, which will have a major impact on the Ravens’ future salary cap numbers.

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Ngakoue has been looking for a new deal for quite some time, having a public feud with the Jacksonville Jaguars over the matter this offseason. Having amassed 37.5 sacks over four seasons in the NFL prior to this year, Ngakoue is among the most productive pass rushers in the league. And with how pass-happy offenses have become, productive pass rushers get paid. A long-term contract will likely set Baltimore back around $20 million a year on average, though the terms could be worked out to make some seasons far cheaper than others.

Currently, the top pass rusher contract belongs to Los Angeles Chargers’ Joey Bosa, who signed a five-year extension this offseason worth $135 million with $78 million guaranteed. It’s unlikely Ngakoue will command quite that dollar amount but he’ll undoubtedly be around those figures whenever a contract extension happens.

Luckily for the Ravens, they’re set to have plenty of cap space in the next few years. As it stands now, before other deals for guys like left tackle Ronnie Stanley are done, Baltimore is slated to have $43.799 million available on the 2021 salary cap, according to OTC. While Ngakoue’s potential long-term deal could eat up a large chunk of that, they should have enough money in the wallet to still be active in free agency if they wish.

This is another calculated risk from Baltimore’s front office, almost a year after trading for former Los Angeles Rams cornerback Marcus Peters. That move worked out splendidly for the Ravens, who will be hoping for more of the same from Ngakoue.

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Ravens 3rd QB spot still up for grabs as training camp closes

Who will win the Baltimore Ravens’ third quarterback spot on the 53-man roster? It’s too close to tell with roster cuts coming down.

Final cuts are coming, but that doesn’t necessarily mean all the major roster decisions have been made already. With teams having until 4:00 p.m. ET on Saturday to get their rosters down to 53 players, the next few hours will see front offices and coaches making their final cases to keep some players and to cast others aside.

One of the bigger issues affecting the Ravens would seem to be the identity of their third quarterback. The team has spoken quite openly about retaining three signal-callers this season after historically only going with two. That means the team faces a choice between second-year player Trace McSorley and undrafted rookie Tyler Huntley to sit behind Lamar Jackson and Robert Griffin III.

McSorley and Huntley are similar athletes, effectively running the same 40-yard dash times (4.56 at Huntley’s pro day and 4.57 for McSorley at the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine). Though McSorley made the 53-man roster last year, he was hardly featured during his first season, playing in a single game in 2019. In that game, he had a single rushing attempt for one yard. McSorley stuck on the roster behind Lamar Jackson and Robert Griffin because, as Harbaugh alluded to earlier this offseason, they didn’t think he would stick on the practice squad and would be poached by another team.

Huntley has seriously turned some heads with his play during Ravens training camp. His senior season with Utah in 2019 was the best year of his college career, completing 73.1% of his passes for 3,092 yards while tossing 19 touchdowns to just four interceptions. He also scored 16 rushing touchdowns in his four seasons with the Utes. Huntley was named to the first-team All-Pac-12 over former Oregon quarterback and first-round pick Justin Herbert last season.

Huntley has taken advantage of an increased workload with Lamar Jackson missing time over the last few days and seems to have impressed onlookers with his play. Jamison Hensley of ESPN suggested the final call could be as close as a coin flip.

With both players eligible for the practice squad, it is likely that they will both be around in the future. But if the Ravens have pre-existing doubts that they’d be able to keep McSorley on the practice squad, then they may feel justified in keeping him on the 53-man roster. We’ve given Huntley a 50% shot of making the team in our look at all of the Ravens UDFAs ahead of cut day but have him on the final 53-man roster prediction.

Either way, both young players will be anxious to avoid a call from The Turk on Saturday afternoon.

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