6 biggest questions ahead of GM Eric DeCosta’s NFL Scouting Combine press conference

It will be the first time in 10 months we’ve heard from Baltimore Ravens GM Eric DeCosta and here’s what questions he should expect to hear

Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta will speak to reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine. It’s the first time we’ll have heard from DeCosta since the 2019 NFL draft and is a golden opportunity to find out some of the team’s plans for the offseason and 2020 NFL Draft.

However, there’s not a team in the league that will completely divulge their plans openly, so while DeCosta’s presser is sure to provide some answers, it’s likely going to bring about a lot more questions.

Here are some of the top questions we’ll expect from DeCosta’s NFL Scouting Combine press conference today.

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Potential trades

At this time of the year, trade rumors begin to swirl. Normally most can be taken with a huge grain of salt but DeCosta hasn’t been afraid to make a deal since taking over for Ozzie Newsome. He traded away a handful of Ravens players last year while trading for cornerback Marcus Peters, giving enough credence to the idea DeCosta could be looking for some more trade action this offseason.

The question is just how much will he reveal openly. DeCosta is sure to be asked about potential trades and he could decide to be transparent about it in order to drive more attention and hopefully some more phone calls.

NFL changes franchise tag dates for 2020 season

The Baltimore Ravens will have to wait two more days before they can use the franchise tag on OLB Matthew Judon this offseason.

The NFL and NFLPA are currently in negotiations to figure out a new collective bargaining agreement. With talks ongoing, the groups have agreed to alter the dates teams can apply the franchise and transition tags. With the Baltimore Ravens having outside linebacker Matthew Judon as a potential franchise tag recipient, the change in date matters a great deal.

Baltimore will now be able to apply the franchise tag on Judon as early as February 27 with the final deadline being March 12, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. It gives the Ravens two more days over the standard dates to hopefully work out a long-term deal with Judon before they’ll have the franchise tag available to use.

In the final year of the current CBA, teams can use both the franchise tag and transition tag if they wish. Normally, only one or the other would be available. However, the transition tag doesn’t make much sense for Baltimore to use. The franchise tag would either give the Ravens exclusive rights over Judon or would net them two first-round picks if another team were to sign him. The transition tag comes at a slightly reduced cost but would only give Baltimore the right of first refusal to match a deal from another team, something they likely can’t afford to do given their salary-cap situation.

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Decision on Matthew Judon looms large over Ravens this offseason

The Baltimore Ravens will need to decide whether to use the franchise tag on OLB Matthew Judon or let him go to free agency.

The Baltimore Ravens’ biggest and toughest decision this offseason revolves around outside linebacker Matthew Judon, who is set to hit free agency. Baltimore can’t afford to let another star pass rusher leave for a second consecutive season. But re-signing Judon would undoubtedly be costly, especially if he hits the open market, which will likely drive up his value.

One solution is the franchise tag, which becomes available for teams to use on Feb. 25 and has a deadline of March 10. Those two dates loom large over Baltimore’s free agency period and are among the most important days the Ravens will see this offseason. Should Baltimore use the tag on Judon?

Let’s look at why the Ravens would even contemplate using the franchise tag in the first place.

The franchise tag for linebackers is expected to be $16.3 million, according to Over The Cap. That would be a relative bargain over what Judon could actually get in free agency. While we’ve predicted $17 million per season, the reality is top pass rushers frequently exceed all expectations once teams with a ton of salary cap space get into bidding wars. Last offseason, both Za’Darius Smith and C.J. Mosley earned deals far greater than what anyone had predicted.

The franchise tag isn’t a perfect solution either. Once applied, the entire franchise tag figure comes out of Baltimore’s current salary cap total. In the case of Judon this offseason, the expected $16.3 million tag would more than cut the Ravens’ available cap space in half. They’d go from an estimated $30.74 million, according to Over The Cap, to just $14.98 million.

Also, using the franchise tag on Judon would severely limit what Baltimore could do in free agency. Granted, they could either trade Judon or re-sign him to a long-term deal to free up some of that used cap space, but they’d be gambling they could get something done in time to not miss out on pending free agents they’re interested in. There’s always the notion of Judon holding out and refusing to play on the franchise tag while keeping his contract demands above what Baltimore is comfortable paying, creating a stalemate.

There’s no way of knowing which decision is ultimately the right one. But the stakes that are riding on this decision are massive. Tying up that type of money could keep the Ravens from improving for the 2020 season. But not keeping their only real pass-rushing threat could actually make them worse if they can’t find help in free agency.

General manager Eric DeCosta has been on fire since taking over for Ozzie Newsome. He’s worked hard to re-sign key players before they hit free agency and has saved the Ravens quite a lot of trouble already. But his decision on Judon is one that will affect Baltimore’s entire offseason and could derail the team’s momentum if he makes the wrong choice.

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Mapping out the Ravens’ perfect 2020 offseason

The Ravens have a little cap space to burn but a bunch of pending free agents and holes to fill. How can they kill it this offseason?

The Baltimore Ravens enter the 2020 NFL offseason with a bitter taste in their mouths. They’ll try to turn the disappointment of their playoff loss into action this offseason in an effort to get better and make a serious run at Super Bowl LV.

In order to do that, Baltimore will need to have a great offseason. That means getting values in free agency and picking the right players in the 2020 NFL Draft to bolster the roster and hopefully patch up their biggest holes. Though both free agency and the draft offer never-ending scenarios that will affect what the Ravens can do, we’ll take a look at what the perfect offseason would look like for Baltimore.

The Ravens are expected to have roughly $27.75 million in available cap space to start, according to Over The Cap. So let’s take a look at how they can free up a little more.

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Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images

Cutting players:

Baltimore has a number of players who could be on the chopping block as salary cap casualties this offseason. But I feel like two players are pretty much guaranteed to be cut.

Safety Tony Jefferson was replaced well by Chuck Clark and cornerback Brandon Carr is just too expensive given his role as a depth player and floater in the secondary. Cutting both players would add roughly $13 million to the Ravens’ salary cap, according to OTC, giving them $40.75 million to play with.

We’ll also assume guard Marshal Yanda returns for the 2020 season, which won’t free up any additional money but won’t create a new hole for Baltimore to fill. Though if Yanda does retire, that would add another $7 million to the Ravens’ available salary cap, according to OTC.

Trading OLB Matthew Judon might be in Ravens’ best interest

The Baltimore Ravens have a tough decision to make with Matthew Judon that could involve trading him instead of re-signing him

Baltimore Ravens outside linebacker Matthew Judon offers an interesting dilemma this offseason. He seems destined to hit the free-agent market where Baltimore simply won’t be able to keep up with other franchises that have a wealth of cap space to burn. If the Ravens don’t feel they’ll be able to lock up Judon to a long-term deal, trading him might be their best scenario here.

Judon is going to be one of the top options in free agency and will likely command serious money if allowed to hit the open market. Of course, the Ravens have the franchise tag available to keep Judon in town if they absolutely want, but it also has some serious ramifications on Baltimore’s salary cap while only locking him up for the 2020 season. It also leaves the option open for Judon to not sign his tender and hold out, or worse; sign the deal and still walk next offseason.

Though Baltimore has more cap space expected than in previous years, they still rank the bottom third of the league, according to Over The Cap. As of right now, 15 teams are expected to have more than $50 million available to spend this offseason, with two teams having more than $90 million in cap space. With just shy of $29 million expected to be available, according to OTC, the Ravens cannot keep up with the checkbooks of other teams if Judon gets serious interest in free agency.

Baltimore is staring down a potential repeat of last season where they lost key starters C.J. Mosley, Za’Darius Smith and Terrell Suggs for only compensatory picks in return. If the Ravens are planning on being buyers at all in free agency, they could just as easily wipe out the compensatory pick they’d acquire for Judon’s departure, which would be adding insult to injury here.

General manager Eric DeCosta might have learned from last offseason and could decide to go on the offensive here instead. As a top pending free-agent pass rusher, Judon is sure to draw interest from plenty of teams. But not every team will be interested in getting into a bidding war for his services or taking the chance they might not get him. Those teams might be far more eager to guarantee they can land Judon by trading with Baltimore and signing him to a long-term deal themselves.

From just last offseason until now, the NFL has had a bevy of trades to prove that star players can carry a lot of trade value.

The New York Jets traded defensive end Leonard Williams for a third-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft and a fifth/fourth-round pick in 2021. The Jacksonville Jaguars sent cornerback Jalen Ramsey to the Los Angeles Rams in return for two first-round picks and a fourth-rounder. The Kansas City Chiefs paid a second-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft for San Francisco 49ers defensive end Dee Ford. The Chiefs also sent defensive end Frank Clark and a third-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for first-, second- and third-round picks.

By that history, it seems pretty likely Baltimore would net more than a third-round pick in exchange for Judon. If the Ravens can get a few teams interested, a first-round pick or more doesn’t seem to be out of the realm of possibility.

To play their options out and incentivize other teams to make a move, Baltimore could apply the franchise tag to Judon now. If Judon wants to have more control over where he goes, he could decide to not sign the tag unless he likes the destination. But that would also mean the Ravens could rescind the tag at any time before the deadline in May and still let Judon hit free agency like normal. It’s a win-win for Baltimore here given that re-signing Judon seems pretty unlikely at this point.

The Ravens still need help at pass rusher and one guy isn’t going to fix the problem, including just re-signing Judon. Baltimore would be better off picking up multiple second-tier players while using the draft to hopefully acquire an immediate game-changing talent. Trading Judon would mean the Ravens could spend their cap space on those types of free agents while giving them an extra early-round pick to either move up for a star prospect or take multiple shots at the position.

Of course, all this is dependent on other teams being interested in trading for Judon. But on the flip side, if Judon doesn’t draw much interest on the trade market, it might indicate his value as a free agent isn’t nearly as high as expected either and might push him to sign a long-term deal with Baltimore for cheaper.

There seems to be no downside to dangling Judon out as a trade option and a lot of serious upsides to trading him away.

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