The Baltimore Ravens could look to add more picks in the 2020 NFL Draft or move up for a player they love, trading one of their own to do so
The Baltimore Ravens are scheduled to have nine picks in the 2020 NFL Draft, including seven in the first four rounds. With so many early-round picks, you might not think the Ravens have much of a need for even more. But with Baltimore’s love of stockpiling picks by trading back and some opportunities to move up for great prospects, the Ravens might be eager to pull off some trades in the 2020 NFL Draft.
But Baltimore doesn’t have to just use their nine picks to make moves. The Ravens have a handful of players currently on the roster that could garner some attention from other teams. Under general manager Eric DeCosta, Baltimore hasn’t been afraid to send a player packing and could look to do so on draft day for the right price.
With wheelin’ and dealin’ in mind, let’s take a look at four players who could be on the trading block during the 2020 NFL Draft.
Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images
OLB Matthew Judon
The most obvious and likely candidate to be traded on draft day is Judon. The Ravens used the franchise tag on him, which set them back $15.83 million on their salary cap. If Baltimore thinks they can replace him reasonably enough in the 2020 NFL Draft or in free agency following and they get the right package of picks presented to them, I think the Ravens would be willing to part with their leading sack producer from last season.
It may seem like forever ago, but Robert Griffin III was once the next big thing in the NFL. Picked No. 2 overall in the 2012 NFL Draft, one spot after quarterback Andrew Luck went to the Indianapolis Colts, Griffin actually had the better start to his career of the pair. But all that promise quickly turned sour as Griffin suffered a serious knee injury during the playoffs as a rookie. He later found himself out of the NFL for the entire 2017 season. Having spent the last two years with the Baltimore Ravens as a backup, Griffin hasn’t given up on his dreams of starting again.
“My goal is to get back to that,” Griffin said on “The Zach Gelb Show,” per Tim Kelly of Radio.com. “I know that Lamar is the guy in Baltimore, but that doesn’t extinguish my fire to go out and want to be a starter. And not just be a starter, be a franchise player.
“I’m not in this to play for another four or five years as a backup. That’s not what I’m about.”
After his unceremonious departure from the Redskins and a brief stint with the Cleveland Browns in 2016, Griffin sat out all of 2017 before getting a chance to prove himself with the Baltimore Ravens. Signed as a depth quarterback, Griffin practiced well and showed plenty of polish in preseason action to stay onboard as the Ravens’ third quarterback that season. With Joe Flacco getting traded after the season, Griffin was back in 2019 as Jackson’s top backup. Slowly but surely, Griffin has been working his way back up the ladder in the hopes of getting another chance at a starring role.
“After sitting out of the league in 2017 and coming back in and having to earn everything all over again … starting from scratch … everyone saying, ‘Can he do it? Can he still do this? Can he still run? Can he still move? Can he still throw?’ And I think I’ve gone out and systematically shown over the course of the last two years that I can still do all those things and do it at a high level. So, that’s my goal. And it’s not just to get back to the top of the mountain and look at the scenery. I want to get back to the top of the mountain and go win — and win a lot.”
Griffin has done well in Baltimore, showing that he still had a good bit of speed and, more importantly, that he can stay healthy. Griffin believes that without his injuries, he’d “still be a franchise quarterback to this day.” But with some time in a backup role, the league can’t help but remain interested in what could be. The Ravens have gotten trade calls about Griffin before, showing at least a little interest this late in his career.
To those that might still wonder if Griffin can handle the rigors of being a starting quarterback and playing a full 16-game schedule, he pitched himself in a different light.
“What I would say is that one, I don’t get injured a lot,” Griffin said. “Football is a contact sport. A guy by the name of Matthew Stafford was hurt consistently for the first couple years of his career and then he turned it around and he’s had an illustrious long career throwing for tons of yards and having a ton of success.
“When you say, ‘Well, Robert, you haven’t started in a really long time,’ I say, ‘Well, football is football, and the more you play, the better you get.’ Now I’m sitting here as a seven- or eight-year vet, 30 years old. … I’ve seen a lot … I’ve done a lot and understand the game much better now than when I was a rookie and you saw what I did then.”
While franchise quarterbacks like Tom Brady and Philip Rivers are set to wear a different uniform for the first time in their careers, there’s no reason why Griffin can’t get another shot at the limelight. The question seems to be more a matter of when and where it’ll happen.
The former No. 2 overall NFL Draft pick is OK being Lamar Jackson’s backup, but not forever.
Around this time eight years ago, Robert Griffin III was selected by the Washington Redskins as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. And although he has yet to have a season that matches (or even belongs in the same conversation with) his rookie year, the 30-year-old quarterback said he believes “without a doubt” that he’ll be a starter again with a shot at a few Super Bowls.
Griffin had tumultuous path from the No. 2 overall pick to now being Lamar Jackson’s backup with the Baltimore Ravens, and, recently while on CBS Sports Radio’s The Zach Gelb Show, he recognized his current role could be a long-term thing and feels “like I have a home there.”
But the 2011 Heisman Trophy winner explained that he’s not relinquishing the idea of being an NFL starter once again. Griffin explained, via CBS Sports:
“It could be a long-term home, and I know that Lamar is the guy in Baltimore. But that doesn’t extinguish my fire to want to go out and be a starter – and not just be a starter, be a franchise player, be a guy that leads a team to multiple Super Bowls. So that’s my desire. I’m not in this to play for another four or five years as a backup. That’s not what I’m about. That’s not why I step in the building every single day, and I think I’ve proven that to my teammates and the coaches and the organization. So I’m just looking to help contribute any possible way that I can and obviously be compensated to the degree that I feel like I should be.”
After a series of injuries and clashes with the coaching staff, Washington ultimately released the 2012 Offensive Rookie of the Year, who then had a short stint with the Cleveland Browns and a year as a free agent before landing with the Ravens.
Although he acknowledged he wishes his tenure in Washington had a better ending, Griffin said he doesn’t “have any ill will in my heart towards D.C., towards any coaches or any ownership or any GMs or anything like that.” He added: “I know a lot of people expect me to bitter, expect me to be over-the-top angry about it, and I’ve moved on.”
“After sitting out of the league in 2017 and coming back in and having to earn everything all over again, starting from scratch – everyone saying, ‘Can he do it? Can he still do this? Can he still run? Can he still move? Can he still throw?’ – I think I’ve gone out and systematically shown over the course of the last two years that I can still do those things and do it at a high level.
“That’s my goal,” Griffin continued. “It’s not just to get back to the top of the mountain and look at the scenery; I want to get back to the top of the mountain and go win – and win a lot. That’s the focus, and that’s hand-in-hand what the Baltimore Ravens want to do in this moment. That’s where I’m at, so I’m going to maximize that.”
The Redskins have had a couple of successful draft classes in the past few years, but where do they rank among the best of the decade?
The last decade of drafts for the Washington Redskins has been a bit of a mixed bag. There were several years near the beginning of the decade where some blue-chip players were taken early on, starting their legendary careers in Washington — I’m talking Trent Williams and Ryan Kerrigan. However, in those same years, there wasn’t much depth beyond the top pick. In other years, there were few ground-breaking picks, but very few misses as well. Then of course, in a couple of years, one in particular, there were a number of misses that will haunt Washington fans for years. Take a wild guess which player headlined that draft class.
Ahead of the 2020 NFL Draft, an event that will kick off the new decade in a virtual, anything-but-normal Draft Day, we decided to rank the past 10 years of Redskins drafts and see what he can learn from it going forward. Enjoy.
No. 10 — 2016 Draft Class
Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images)
Best Picks: Kendall Fuller (84), Matt Ioannidis (152)
Worst Picks: Josh Doctson (22), Su’a Cravens (53)
Analysis: Picking WR Josh Doctson in the first round is something that will haunt the Redskins for years to come. A reach at the time, Doctson was never able to even come close to reaching his potential in the NFL, and after a handful of disappointing seasons, he left Washington and is still struggling to find a role elsewhere in the league. Cravens, on the other hand, represents a lot of the drama that has followed the Redskins over the past few years. A surprise retirement announcement a week before the 2017 season began a contentious dance between both parties that eventually saw Cravens on a new team, trashing the Redskins ownership on Twitter.
Washington was able to find steals in both Fuller and Ioannidis, though Fuller was traded away after a couple of seasons. Ioannidis has been a strong part of the defensive line, and now, after Fuller returned in free agency, the remaining pieces of this draft class have a bright future in Washington.
The Baltimore Ravens haven’t been shy about trading players to improve their roster. They could do it again this offseason
The Baltimore Ravens have been aggressive in getting what they want and managing their roster under general manager Eric DeCosta. Though the Ravens finished last season at 14-2 and could likely still be one of the best teams in the NFL if they kept their roster exactly the same, expect DeCosta and Baltimore to make some moves this offseason to create the best roster possible. While everyone has been looking at what players the Ravens could pick up in free agency and the draft, it could be who they get rid of that becomes even more important.
Baltimore hasn’t been shy about jettisoning players for draft picks or as a package to acquire a player over the last year. After taking over for Ozzie Newsome, DeCosta traded away several young players to ultimately set the team up for the future. Offensive linemen Jermaine Eluemunor and Alex Lewis were shipped off, as was kicker Kaare Vedvik. And linebacker Kenny Young was a part of Baltimore’s portion in the Marcus Peters trade in the middle of the season.
To think DeCosta is completely finished or wouldn’t trade players away at this point is pretty foolish. But which Ravens players could be on the trading block? I took a look at the roster and picked out a few players that Baltimore would at least entertain the idea of trading away for the right price.
Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images
TE Hayden Hurst
Hurst is an obvious choice given how stacked Baltimore is at the position. While Hurst has a valuable role in the Ravens’ offense, he could arguably be called their third tight end behind Mark Andrews and Nick Boyle, making him seemingly up for grabs.
Hurst is still on his rookie deal which is really where a trade makes the most sense. For a team that needs a starter at tight end, Hurst’s low cap hit is enticing. And with a fifth-year option still on the table, Hurst is effectively signed through the 2022 season, giving a team three more years as a cost-effective option.
Even though he’s buried on the depth chart, Hurst has done enough to point to him being a successful blocking and receiving tight end as a starter in an offense that would use him well. When combined with his rookie contract, it’s easy to see how teams would be calling DeCosta and asking what it would take to pull off a deal. The biggest hurdle here would likely be Baltimore’s asking price considering his value to the team in spite of his stats.
Eric Weddle’s former Baltimore Ravens teammates react to his retirement announcement, including Tony Jefferson
You can tell just how respected and beloved safety Eric Weddle was by his peers in the NFL when he announced his retirement. The outpouring of congratulations and respect from his former Baltimore Ravens teammates was immediate and staggering. Within minutes, several Ravens had tweeted at Weddle to give their own personal take on the news.
Though he only spent three years in Baltimore, Weddle was widely considered to be one of the smartest players on the roster. Thanks to nearly a decade of experience when the Ravens signed him, Weddle was an on-field general for Baltimore.
Fellow safety Tony Jefferson, who played beside Weddle for those three years, sent out two tweets to not only congratulate him but to offer thanks for his mentorship.
Will go down as a NFL great. You helped change the game on and off the field , enjoy the family 🙏🏾 https://t.co/XObDc3tNjh
The Baltimore Ravens could choose to cut any or all seven of these players in order to free up more room on their 2020 NFL salary cap.
The Baltimore Ravens now turn to the offseason in preparation for the 2020 NFL regular season. The Ravens are set to have plenty of salary cap next season but will also have to figure out how to handle their 21 pending free agents. A few big contracts could push Baltimore to look at their current roster for some players who have higher cap hits but little dead money as potential cap casualties.
Using Over The Cap, we took a look at the Ravens’ potential cap casualties this offseason. That’s not to say any or all of these players will actually be cut but that they have the largest cap savings, making them more tempting. If all seven of these players were cut, Baltimore could have as much as $67 million in cap space for 2020.
CB Brandon Carr
AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez
Carr has started every game for the Ravens over the past three seasons and been a consistent force in the secondary. But despite the team’s success in 2019, it was not a banner year for Carr. He gave up 11.6 yards per completion as well as five touchdowns in coverage. He had only six passes defended and no interceptions, his lowest number since 2015.
Carr was used more at safety this season thanks to the addition of Marcus Peters to the combo of Jimmy Smith and Marlon Humphrey. He still found plenty of playing time but is clearly not the starting outside cornerback he once was.
The Ravens can save $6,000,000 by releasing Carr. Though it wouldn’t be shocking to see Baltimore cut him only to re-sign him to a more cap friendly deal to finish out his career.
There wasn’t much to learn thanks to the Ravens playing backups against the Steelers but their dominance points us in the right direction
The Baltimore Ravens ended the season strong, winning their 12th consecutive game and finishing with a 14-2 record, beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 28-10.
With so many starters held out for this game, there wasn’t really much to take away from it. Making many judgments on how a bunch of backups functioned isn’t very fair to the entire team and how they’d normally play. However, we did learn a number of things thanks to the backups getting the job done that the Ravens can carry forward to the postseason.
Ravens backups are better than other teams’ starters
Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images
The Ravens got the job done on offense (four field goals and a rushing touchdown), defense (safety) and special teams (fumbled punt returned for a touchdown) in this game. In every capacity and every facet of the game, Baltimore’s backups beat up Pittsburgh’s starters.
Beating a division rival is impressive no matter how you slice it. But to have done it in spite of not playing most of the offensive starters and several defensive starters as well makes it even better.
The difference between an 8-8 team and a 10-6 team is pretty small — a few balls bouncing the wrong way or some flags at the wrong times. That makes beating any NFL team a difficult task, regardless of their record. And in 2019, no team has been better than the Ravens at it, even when they’re not at their best.
Considering Pittsburgh was on the verge of becoming a playoff team, the notion that Baltimore’s second-stringers are better than them should scare everyone else in the AFC playoffs.
The Baltimore Ravens will look to sweep division rival the Pittsburgh Steelers, ending their season in Week 17.
The Baltimore Ravens end their season at home, taking on their division rival, the Pittsburgh Steelers. While the game doesn’t mean much to Baltimore, who have already secured their playoff seed, it’s vitally important to Pittsburgh, who is still searching for a way in.
It’s questionable just how many Ravens starters we’ll see in this game with several already have been ruled out in order to rest for the postseason. The Steelers aren’t in much better shape thanks to injuries piling up.
The writers here at Ravens Wire mostly believe Baltimore’s backups will get the job done, though in far closer fashion than many fans have become accustomed to seeing.
Check out the final score predictions below.
Matthew Stevens:
Ravens 17 – Steelers 16
This is a tough game to gauge simply because we don’t know how many Ravens will be sitting out and which ones will get very little playing time, even if they do start. But with several key players already resting this game, it shows a bit of Baltimore’s hand and I’d expect this to look more like a preseason game than a typical Week 17 contest.
Because of that, this isn’t the blowout win I think the Ravens would hand the Steelers normally. They’ll struggle to move the ball as effectively with Lamar Jackson and Mark Ingram out and the defense will have some more headaches with a bunch of members of the secondary likely resting this week. But they still get the job done to sweep Pittsburgh and land the best record in franchise history.
Alex Bente:
Ravens 23 – Steelers 12
To go along with my bold prediction, the Ravens defense will hold the Steelers to only field goals in this one. Baltimore’s offense, on the other hand, may find trouble dealing with Pittsburgh’s solid defense, especially without Lamar Jackson. That said, RGIII should lead the offense admirably with the added benefit of working in the now-trusted system. Even with backups leading the lineup, the Ravens have enough versatility on offense to take care of business and close out the season with an easy victory over their biggest division rivals.
Neil Dutton:
Ravens 14 – Steelers 17
The Ravens never like to lose to the Steelers, but on this occasion the prudence of resting the stars takes precedence. The second stringers will acquit themselves well, but ultimately they’ll fall just short against a Steelers team that needs the win.
Kevin Oestreicher:
Ravens 17 – Steelers 14
I think this is a tough, low scoring game. The Ravens are going to be missing many key pieces due to rest, and the Steelers will be missing some as well due to injuries. I’m not expecting a high scoring output from either offense, but I think Gus Edwards will have a monster day en route to carrying (literally) the Ravens to their 12th straight victory
Joe Serpico:
Ravens 21 – Steelers 17
As noted in our betting preview; Robert Griffin, Gus Edwards and the Ravens’ second team has played a lot for backups. The ground game doesn’t slow down with Edwards and Justice Hill getting the bulk of the touches, and Griffin makes just enough plays to end the Steelers season.
Our weekly NFL underdog betting staple continues into Week 17 where Ken Pomponio features three teams likely to upset their underdog odds.
We’ve reached the finish line of the 2019 NFL campaign, well, at least for the regular season.
Among the things we’ve learned is that it was quite the year to have a column devoted to underdogs. Through Week 16, NFL point spread dogs were 125-107-8 (.539) against the number, with road underdogs proving particularly profitable, covering at a .587 clip (84-69-6).
We’ve managed to do even better than that in this space with a 29-19 (.604) season mark against the spread after going 1-2 in Week 16. In suffering our first losing week since mid-November, we came up short with the Tennessee Titans and Cincinnati Bengals but easily covered with the 9.5-point road underdog Arizona Cardinals winning by two touchdowns (27-13) in Seattle.
Betting Week 17 is always extra tricky with playoff qualifiers resting starters and other long-since eliminated teams paying more attention to offseason vacation plans instead of their final-week game plans.
So that’s the minefield we must navigate as we select our final three underdogs of the 2019 regular season, utilizing the Friday lines from BetMGM.
Here goes …
Baltimore Ravens (+2.5) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Photo Credit: Robert Hanashiro – USA TODAY Sports
While the host Ravens (13-2) have already put the wraps on the AFC’s No. 1 playoff seed – the first in their history – this is a must-win for the visiting Steelers, who at 8-7 are battling for the conference’s sixth and final wild-card spot.
And, sure, the Ravens will be going with their back-up quarterback, Robert Griffin III, but keep in mind the Steelers will once again be starting their No. 3 QB in Devlin “Duck” Hodges. That hasn’t been pretty of late with Hodges throwing six interceptions and only one touchdown pass over his last two games – both Pittsburgh losses.
The Steelers are 0-5 against postseason qualifiers this season, including a 26-23 overtime home loss to Lamar Jackson and these Ravens in Week 5, and reserves or not Sunday, we’re banking on Baltimore to complete the season sweep in a defensive tussle.
Houston Texans (+4.5) vs. Tennessee Titans
Photo Credit: Kim Klement – USA TODAY Sports
The AFC South-champion Texans’ only shot at improving their playoff seeding is overtaking the Kansas City Chiefs for the AFC’s No. 3 slot, but the oddsmakers are clearly counting on a KC win earlier in the day against the visiting Los Angeles Chargers and then the disinterested Texans pulling back and playing out the string against the Titans.
That would be the only reason why Tennessee is a 4.5-point road favorite against the team that just won 24-21 in Nashville two weeks ago en route to its fourth AFC South title in the last five seasons.
The 8-7 Titans, of course, have much more to play for as they’re battling the aforementioned Steelers and Oakland Raiders for their playoff lives. But we’re not aware of any Houston plans to rest starters, and if all appears to be even, personnel-wise, we’ll go with the host Texans and their 6-2 record as an underdog this season to keep it close and get the cover.
Washington Redskins (+10.5) at Dallas Cowboys
Photo Credit: Brad Mills – USA TODAY Sports
Even after four losses in their last five games, the 7-8 Cowboys still can win the NFC East with a victory in this one and a loss by the 8-7 Philadelphia Eagles, who are playing at the same time against the New York Giants in New Jersey.
Unless the Cowboys and battered QB Dak Prescott get wind the Giants have jumped out to an early three-touchdown lead, they’re more likely to go through the motions in the finale of a lost season while playing for a coach who will be shown the door by Black Monday at the latest.
The 3-12 Redskins, meanwhile, saw coach Jay Gruden fired in early October but have continued to show some fight, covering in five of nine games since, including a 4-1 ATS mark as double-digit underdogs, as they are here.
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