Ravens tight end Josh Oliver is headed to the Vikings after making the move on the first day of 2023 free agency
The Baltimore Ravens need to clear a significant amount of cap space to sign quarterback Lamar Jackson to a long-term deal. There have already been multiple moves that the team has made to get under the threshold for the salary cap, including moving on from star defensive lineman Calais Campbell.
Outside of clearing cap space, Baltimore also was never going to be able to retain all of their own free agents. That was the case with tight end Josh Oliver, who is headed to the Minnesota Vikings following two years with the Ravens.
Former Raven TE Josh Oliver is expected to sign with the Vikings, per sources
Oliver was traded to Baltimore by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021 for a conditional seventh-round pick. He’s tallied 26 catches for 230 yards and two touchdowns over the course of his four-year career, and has blossomed into one of the best blocking tight ends in the league.
The Ravens can now turn the keys fully over to their two second-year tight ends in Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar, playing alongside Mark Andrews. Oliver’s presence won’t be easily replaced, but Baltimore has plenty of tight end depth to get the job done.
The Minnesota Vikings are focusing on their internal issues before working on bringing in talent. @jzulgad explains why.
Vikings fans who spent Monday refreshing their Twitter feed or tuned into their favorite sports channel eagerly watching the bottom-line scroll waiting for news to break, were likely disappointed.
On the first day in which NFL teams could agree to deals with free agents, the only news emanating from TCO Performance Center for much of the day was the reported signing of 25-year-old blocking tight end Josh Oliver to a three-year contract and the reworking of linebacker Jordan Hicks’ contract to lower his salary.
Things did pick up a bit in the evening with the report that the Vikings had agreed to a one-year, $13 million deal with defensive end Marcus Davenport. Davenport, who struggled with injury issues during his five years in New Orleans, is coming off a season in which he had only half-a-sack in 15 games. Two years ago, Davenport recorded a career high nine sacks.
On the excitement scale, the day rated about a 2 out of 10. But on the savvy scale, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and his crew hit a home run.
There is plenty of time for the Vikings to sign more free agents — deals can’t be officially signed and announced until 3 p.m. Wednesday — but Adofo-Mensah has spent the past few weeks doing something far more important than trying to bring in outside help. He has focused on cleaning up the Vikings’ salary-cap issues and getting his own house in order. (The Vikings were still $7.4 million over the cap on Monday, according to the Over The Cap website.)
It’s long overdue.
Veterans Adam Thielen and Eric Kendricks were jettisoned last week. Running back Dalvin Cook and safety Harrison Smith could be next and linebacker Za’Darius Smith is likely to be traded or released before Wednesday.
Adofo-Mensah’s every move this offseason has indicated that he and coach Kevin O’Connell want to hit the reset button on a team that won 13 games but had many aging players. Reset is the right word. The Vikings have too much talent to consider going with a rebuild, but general manager Rick Spielman and coach Mike Zimmer weren’t fired after the 2021 season so their successors could maintain the status quo in perpetuity.
A year ago, the Vikings’ new leadership embraced the veteran players. Now, they are turning the page on them and it’s pretty clear that if the veterans want to stick around it’s going to be on the Vikings’ terms and that means less money. That includes what appears to be the decision to allow Kirk Cousins to play out the final year of his contract.
Cousins is set to count $36.25 million against the cap next season. If the Vikings put a priority on pursuing a Super Bowl in 2023, they would be desperate to extend Cousins’ contract (again) and lower that cap hit. That’s what Cousins would like, but by taking on an immediate dead money hit of $13.55 million in cutting Thielen, the Vikings are making their priorities very clear.
Combine that part of the strategy with the fact that clearing cap space is more important than anything and you have a dull start to free agent agreements. But the Vikings also are putting themselves in a position to be flush with cash when free agency opens in 2024. Over The Cap projects that right now the Vikings will have effective cap space of $100.347 million next March.
That room will be necessary to retain key players, such as Justin Jefferson and Christian Darrisaw. It also will provide room to target and secure a few big-name free agents that can help O’Connell’s team pursue the first Super Bowl in franchise history. This will be especially huge if the Vikings are finally able to draft and develop a replacement for Cousins and have that quarterback on a rookie contract.
All of this might not help alleviate the disappointment for Vikings fans who were hoping the 2023 team could build on the success of O’Connell’s first season, but the brass at TCO Performance Center was smart enough to realize that that was success turned out to be largely fool’s gold.
There needed to be a plan in place to clean up and build up what had begun to deteriorate under Spielman and Zimmer. Trying to make a significant splash on Monday didn’t fit with that plan. Exciting? No. Smart? Yes.
Judd Zulgad is co-host of the Purple Daily Podcast and Mackey & Judd podcast at www.skornorth.com
The Minnesota Vikings surprised everyone by prioritizing tight end. @TheKevinFielder explains what the move means for the Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings have agreed to terms with a former Baltimore Raven.
No, they didn’t sign Lamar Jackson. Instead, they’ve agreed to a deal with a tight end. According to Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network, the Vikings are set to sign tight end Josh Oliver to a three-year contract. The contract is worth $21 million, with $10.75 million guaranteed. The deal can not be signed officially until Wednesday.
The #Vikings have agreed to terms with TE Josh Oliver on a three-year, $21 million deal, source says. He gets $10.75 million guaranteed and has incentives that can take the deal up to $24 million. One of the best blocking tight ends in the league.
Oliver, who turns 26 in eight days, is a former third-round pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars later traded Oliver to the Ravens for a conditional seventh-round pick. In Baltimore, Oliver was a backup tight end behind Mark Andrews.
On Monday afternoon, the Minnesota Vikings announced their first move of free agency. Per NFL Network’s Mike Garofolo, they agreed to terms with former Baltimore Ravens tight end Josh Oliver on a lucrative three-year, $21 million dollar contract.
The #Vikings have agreed to terms with TE Josh Oliver on a three-year, $21 million deal, source says. He gets $10.75 million guaranteed and has incentives that can take the deal up to $24 million. One of the best blocking tight ends in the league.
While some fans may have anticipated a different first move, the news has sparked lively discussions on Twitter as fans and analysts alike share their thoughts on the Vikings’ latest addition.
I ain’t going to lie, I’ve never even heard of Josh Oliver.
While some are questioning the move made by the Vikings and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, this move could prove to be very beneficial. The contract itself might not be as bad as it’s being reported.
it's $10.75M guaranteed over three years for a really, really high-level blocker it's not only not a bad deal, it's actually a good deal https://t.co/SF1q1JpAbX
#Vikings TE Josh Oliver athletic testing. Obviously a bunch of injuries have more to do with his athleticism in his current state but here's the starting point pic.twitter.com/p7kr15cF7Z
The Minnesota Vikings have made their first addition in free agency, agreeing to terms on a three-year contract with tight end Josh Oliver.
The Minnesota Vikings have made their first addition of free agency. According to NFL Network’s Mike Garofolo, the Vikings have agreed to terms with tight end Josh Oliver on a three-year, $21 million deal with $10.75 millino guaranteed.
Mostly used as a blocking tight end in Baltimore, Oliver doesn’t have a lot of production as a pass receiver. Last season for the Ravens was his best, with 14 receptions for 149 yards and two touchdowns. In his four year career, Oliver has 26 receptions for 230 yards and two touchdowns.
PFF graded him highly across the board. In 2022, Oliver had a grade of 72.3 overall with a run blocking grade of 73.9 and a pass blocking grade of 63.1.
This move signals that the Vikings could be moving to more of a 12 personnel base and fullback C.J. Ham could be on the way out. If we really want to read the tea leaves, it could mean they are a ways away from an extension with T.J. Hockenson. Time will tell with both potential moves, but it certainly raises a lot of questions.
The #Vikings have agreed to terms with TE Josh Oliver on a three-year, $21 million deal, source says. He gets $10.75 million guaranteed and has incentives that can take the deal up to $24 million. One of the best blocking tight ends in the league.
Entering the 2023 offseason, the Miami Dolphins have already moved on from one of their tight ends, releasing Cethan Carter to save cap space before the start of the league year.
Mike Gesicki is also set to hit the market on March 15, leaving an opening for Miami’s top spot on the roster. While Durham Smythe technically outsnapped Gesicki in 2022, he clearly isn’t as talented as the Penn State product.
With that said, the Dolphins may opt to scour the free agent market for a veteran tight end to fill the hole left by Gesicki in 2023 and beyond. Here are a few names they could look at:
Here’s a look at five free-agent TEs the Colts could consider.
The Indianapolis Colts will enter free agency next week looking to add some depth to positions across the roster.
While there are far more pressing needs than the tight end position, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Colts wanted to add some depth in the form of a blocking tight end.
With Mo Alie-Cox, Jelani Woods, Kylen Granson and Alec Ogletree making up the room, the tight end position for the Colts is solid. But they’ve missed that blocking tight end in the run game since Jack Doyle retired.
Here’s a look at five free-agent tight ends the Colts could target in free agency:
We analyze how the Baltimore Ravens’ tight ends performed in 2022
The Baltimore Ravens have one of the deepest tight-end groups of any team in the NFL, and leveraged that strength to great effect in 2022. Two of their top four receivers by yardage were tight ends, and veteran Mark Andrews out-gained the team’s second-most productive receiver by nearly 400 yards.
Andrews led the way for the tight ends group with 847 yards and five touchdowns in 2022 and was complimented by rookie Isaiah Likely, who managed to catch 36 balls for 373 yards and three touchdowns.
The Ravens’ third option at tight end, Josh Oliver, was substantially less productive than the first and second-string options, catching just 14 passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns. However, he came on extremely strong as a blocker, and had an impressive year overall.
Behind Oliver, the team’s second rookie at the position in Charlie Kolar was the least utilized tight end on the team due to injury, managing to catch four passes for 49 yards in two contests.
It’s important to keep in mind that any receiver’s production is heavily influenced by the play of the quarterback who throws them the ball, and Baltimore had its share of injury adversity under center this season. The absence of Lamar Jackson after his injury in Week 12 surely hampered the production of this group, though third-string quarterback Anthony Brown Jr. seemed to have quite the connection with his tight ends in the regular season finale against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Moving forward, Baltimore isn’t likely to need to make significant investments at the tight end position, especially given that Likely and Kolar will enter their second season with what should be plenty of momentum. Under the guidance of Mark Andrews and John Harbaugh’s coaching staff, the Ravens’ depth at the position should pay dividends for Baltimore for years to come.
Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely has been downgraded to out for Week 12 against the Jacksonville Jaguars
The Baltimore Ravens travel to Jacksonville to take on the Jaguars in Week 12 of the 2022 season. It was announced earlier in the week that cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis and offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley would be out for the game, but another player has since joined them in not suiting up for the contest.
Rookie tight end Isaiah Likely won’t travel with the team as his status was downgraded to out on Saturday. Likely wasn’t on the injury report until Friday, when he made his appearance on the list with an ankle injury that limited him in practice.
TE Isaiah Likely (ankle) has been downgraded to “out” and will not travel to Jacksonville. T Ronnie Stanley (ankle), who has already been ruled out for Sunday’s game, will also not travel with the team. https://t.co/6wErPC1KOh
Without Likely, it’s possible that fellow rookie tight end Charlie Kolar could make his NFL and season debut. Even though Likely is extremely talented, the Baltimore tight end department won’t have to worry about a lack of depth at the position without Likely, as the team still has veterans Mark Andrews, Nick Boyle, and Josh Oliver on the roster along with Kolar.
