He could well end up the starter alright. Sanchez will be kept as itâll cost too much to cut him. McElroy and Simms will be waived before the season starts and nobody is interested in Tebow.
If they lose Greene during free agency theyâd be as well off re-badging Tebow as a running back and give hm some reps there.
Massive deal:
Dannell Ellerbe to the Miami Dolphins in a 5-year $35m deal!
Ravens were mad keen to keep him tooâŚ
Iâm trying to avoid posting every Grantland article in here but I really like their writing for some reason and I continue to show off my attractive post layouts.
[article=http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/53824/boldin-and-harvin-sent-packing-as-the-nfl-offseason-gets-busy]
[SIZE=6][SIZE=26px][FONT=Georgia]Boldin and Harvin Sent Packing As the NFL Offseason Gets Busy[/FONT][/SIZE][/SIZE]
On Monday afternoon, two notable wide receivers were dealt away in trades that seemed to make little sense for the organizations who were giving away their best wideouts. The Vikings, a playoff team one year ago, dealt Percy Harvin to the Seahawks for a package built around Seattleâs first-round pick despite the deal leaving Minnesotaâs cupboard bare at wide receiver and inspiring their best player to actually describe the trade as like getting " ⌠kicked in the stomach. Several times!!!" Then, the Ravens continued their tear-down of a Super Bowlâwinning roster by astonishingly dealing wideout Anquan Boldin, who led all playoff participants in virtually every receiving category, to the 49ers for a sixth-round pick. That only led former teammate Torrey Smith to tweet âWHAT!!!â like he was an '80s video-game villain whose lair had been unexpectedly broached. One thing to take away from these deals: Star players will almost always respond to deals involving beloved teammates by invoking the triple exclamation point.
[bimg=fright|400]http://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/photo/2013/0312/boldin_anquan_g_mp_640.jpg[/bimg]So why did these deals happen? And were they good deals for each of these teams to take? If you understand the former, youâll get a very good idea of the latter.
Harvin to Seattle
Start with the first trade of the day, in which the Vikings finally consummated a Harvin trade that seemed to have been brewing for years. Report after report has come in as to whether Percy Harvin was happy in Minnesota with Leslie Frazier, which served as a prerequisite to Harvin signing a long-term deal to remain with the team. This trade suggests that Harvin had no interest in signing a new contract with the Vikings and/or that the organization was fed up with waiting for Harvin to make up his mind. Itâs fair to suggest that Harvin doesnât have the best reputation in some league circles; Greg Bedard of the Boston Globe referred to Harvin yesterday as âa spoiled brat of a diva with injury issues,â which says a lot considering that even standard-issue divas tend to be pretty spoiled.
From Minnesotaâs perspective, if youâre going to trade Harvin, right now is the best time to make a deal. By dealing Harvin before free agency opens up, the Vikings can choose to enter the market and acquire a replacement for Harvin using the cap space they had allotted for a possible Harvin extension. Alternately, by acquiring the 25th pick in this Aprilâs draft, they can spend the next month scouting the wide receiver class more closely and get a better idea of who they might want to acquire with that extra first-round pick. If Minnesota waited even one more week to make this deal, itâs entirely possible that potential Harvin trade partners like Seattle and Miami might have waltzed into the market and come away with one of the many wideouts available in this yearâs free-agent class, which would have eroded Harvinâs value and turned that first-round pick into a second- or even third-rounder. And by acquiring him before the free-agent market begins, Seattle can hope to negotiate an extension with Harvin that pays him before Mike Wallace raises the market value for top young wide receivers that much further with his new deal. That could save the Seahawks a couple million bucks, which will be well worth it on such a big contract. If youâre sure youâre not re-signing Harvin, now was the right time to make this trade.
In fact, thereâs a way that the Vikings could end up using this deal to actually upgrade at wide receiver. (Skip to the end of the next paragraph now, Giants fans.) Victor Cruz is a restricted free agent who would likely represent an upgrade on Harvin; Cruz is a year and a half older, but heâs had a much healthier professional career, is regarded as a team player, and is a better fit for the Minnesota offense and the relative strengths of quarterback Christian Ponder. The Vikings could give the same offer they were planning on providing to Harvin to Cruz, mixing in some guarantees early in the contract that would make it difficult for the cap-strapped Giants to match. If the Giants didnât match, the Vikings would have to ship the 23rd overall pick in this yearâs draft to the Meadowlands, but they would still retain the 25th pick from the Harvin deal. In other words, they would basically be trading down two picks in this yearâs draft and swapping the Harvin conundrum for Cruz on a long-term deal. Thatâs a good deal if the Vikings can swing it.
From Seattleâs perspective, theyâre acquiring a special talent. Harvin was downright brilliant at times during the first half last season, and his 2012 numbers extrapolated to a full season are terrifying: 110 catches, 1,204 receiving yards, 171 rushing yards, and seven touchdowns. It feels like heâs been around forever, but Harvin is still just 24 years old; the Seahawks will give him a long-term deal that will end before Harvinâs even out of his peak seasons. The one thing the Seattle offense might have lacked last year was a downfield burner, and Harvin is one of the quickest young receivers in football. And that was with Ponder at quarterback; imagine how good Harvin will look with Russell Wilson throwing him passes!
In the process, Seattle is assuming a lot of risk. Harvinâs injury issues can be overblown and date back to a migraine issue that appears to have been under control for nearly two years, but he has already missed 10 games across his first four pro seasons with an assortment of injuries. He hasnât developed into a complete receiver yet, as he relies mostly on screens to get the football and lacks the statistical record of a downfield weapon. Heâs averaged a mere 11.8 yards per reception during his career, which is the fifth-lowest figure among receivers with 200 catches or more over that four-year time frame and is actually similar to the total produced by Wes Welker (11.4 ypc).
It also remains to be seen how Seattle integrates Harvin into an offense that already ranked as the leagueâs best per DVOA over the second half of the season. Will they take carries away from Marshawn Lynch to hand the ball off to Harvin out of a traditional set? Does the Harvin deal mean that the Seahawks will consider cutting Sidney Rice, a move that would save them more than $6 million in cap space this year?
You canât fault Seattle for trying to make a move to put their offense over the top, and if they can somehow keep Harvin healthy long enough to fulfill his promise, this deal could look like a steal in two years. But with the risks related to Harvinâs health and (reported) attitude issues, it could also look like an enormous misstep. Seattle hasnât had the best of luck with big-money wideouts in recent years, with Rice, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, and Deion Branch (acquired to put the postâSuper Bowl Seahawks offense over the top) all struggling to provide a return on hefty investments. Those guys donât have any predictive value in determining whether Harvin will succeed, but Seattle fans donât have to look far to remember that the much-celebrated acquisition of a talented wide receiver doesnât always work out the way it seemed on the day of his arrival. In a market where other options (Wallace? Greg Jennings?) would have been available without requiring draft pick compensation, Harvin will need to be an elite player to justify this trade and the contract extension heâs about to receive.
Boldin to San Francisco
The outrage over Baltimoreâs decision to ship Anquan Boldin to the 49ers for a mere sixth-round pick is marked by an impressive number of logical fallacies and gaps. Itâs easy to see why the deal makes sense for the 49ers, who had more picks than anybody else in the draft and a hole at wideout across from Michael Crabtree on a team that is expected to be a Super Bowl contender next year. If you put the deal in context from Ozzie Newsomeâs perspective, it makes a lot more sense for the Ravens, too.
Itâs easy to express disbelief at the idea that the Ravens would deal away a postseason hero just months after he led the team to the Super Bowl. Boldin had one of the great postseasons in league history, but hereâs one of those fallacies: You pay a guy for what heâs going to do, not what heâs done. Thereâs no guarantee that you get the Boldin from that four-game stretch for 16 games next year, and the preponderance of evidence â Boldinâs 45-game run as a Ravens receiver during the regular season â suggests that Boldin wouldnât have been a superstar if Baltimore had brought him back. Boldin has averaged a 62-882-5 line over his three seasons in purple, which is decent, but it roughly compares to the work done by, say, Tampa Bayâs Mike Williams (64-910-8) over that same time frame. Boldinâs a great blocker, more valuable on third down, and a team leader, but the difference isnât worth the millions of extra dollars Boldin would make in a new contract or even by remaining in his old deal for one year.
The decision to deal Boldin also illuminates the importance of considering opportunity cost when evaluating player decisions. Those saying that the Ravens could have held on to Boldin for one more year at $6 million without giving him an extension have a very strong case, but the opportunity cost for that deal is not insignificant. The cap-strapped Ravens are bleeding free agents this offseason, and while theyâve locked up Joe Flacco and seemingly let Ed Reed go, retaining Boldin would have cost them a chance at re-signing somebody like middle linebacker Dannell Ellerbe, who is younger than Boldin and plays a position at which the postâRay Lewis Ravens are desperate for some stability. The Ravens didnât try to renegotiate Boldinâs deal or trade him because they were cheap; they did so because they were trying to retain the likes of Ellerbe as core pieces of the next great Ravens team.
I also canât help but think that part of the backlash for the deal comes from people upset that the Ravens âonlyâ got a sixth-round pick from the 49ers for Boldin. I ask you this: Once Baltimore decided that they were getting Boldinâs salary off the roster, would they have been better off cutting Boldin as opposed to acquiring a low draft pick for his rights? They wouldnât have taken the same level of flak because it would be clear that the Ravens were cutting Boldin to free up space as opposed to potentially implying that Baltimore only values Boldinâs level of play as being worth a sixth-round pick, which obviously isnât true. A sixth-round pick isnât much, but it is unquestionably better than no compensation whatsoever.
Most significantly, a Ravens trade allowed the organization to dictate where Boldin would play in 2013, which is valuable for a team that still expects to compete in a crowded AFC. Had they let Boldin hit the free market, he could have chosen to sign with an AFC North team and played the Ravens twice this year. He could have joined the Broncos or Texans, both of which have tilts scheduled against the Ravens in 2013. Instead, Baltimore sent him to the other conference and to an organization that they wonât play this upcoming season.
And as for that price, well, all it takes a simple game of elimination to remove the vast majority of the leagueâs teams and reveal just how small the potential trade market for Boldin would have been from Baltimoreâs perspective. Itâs safe to assume that the Ravens wouldnât want to deal Boldin to a team they had on the schedule during 2013, so itâs right to rule out the AFC East, NFC North, the other teams in the AFC North, and the Broncos and Texans. Thatâs half the league right there. Most of the remaining teams are either bad enough that Boldin would probably retire before going there (Jaguars, Raiders, Rams, Titans), capped out with massive holes elsewhere on the roster (Chargers, Redskins, Panthers), or already set at wide receiver (Cardinals, Cowboys, Eagles, Falcons, Giants, Saints). The Colts have a similar, arguably better player already on the roster in Reggie Wayne. The Buccaneers just signed Vincent Jackson to a mammoth deal, and the Chiefs did the same with Dwayne Bowe. That leaves two teams: the 49ers and the Seahawks, one of whom had just spent a first-round pick to acquire a wide receiver hours earlier. Where was the market for Boldin supposed to come from? San Francisco might have been Baltimoreâs only palatable trade option for Boldin, and itâs likely that their sixth-round pick was the best offer available.
Boldin and Harvin may very well be successes in their new locales; nobody doubts their respective talents, and theyâll be among better quarterbacks on two of the leagueâs best teams. But the decisions made by their prior organizations to make Mondayâs trades have merit behind them. Neither of the trades was a slam dunk by any means, but on some level, they both make sense.[/article]
Anyone looking at Ryan Fitzpatrick? He is somewhat inconsistent but can be a decent QB.
And he has a fantastic beard.
[quote=âBandage, post: 747342, member: 9â]Massive deal:
Dannell Ellerbe to the Miami Dolphins in a 5-year $35m deal!
Ravens were mad keen to keep him tooâŚ[/quote]
The Dolphins have cut Karlos Dansby to make way for this. Canât say Iâm a big fan of this. The Dolphins have also signed Mike Wallace to a mammoth 5 year deal with ÂŁ30 million guaranteed.
Absolute carnage around the league with many free agents hitting the jackpot and surprising deals coming in by the minute.
Jared Cook has gone to Rams and Jake Long and Louis Delmas are visiting them.
The Bears have nabbed LT Jermon Bushrod from the Saints, good news for Jake Cutler, bad news for Drew Brees.
The Titans have added the Niners Delanie Walker and the Bills excellent Guard Andy Levitre who will make a whopping $8 million annually.
The Colts have bolstered their O Line by adding the Lions Gosder Cherilus on a 5 year deal, they also handed out a massive deal to Packers LB Erik Walden, $4 million per annum over 4 years, very fucking steep.
Peyton Manning will be happy tonight as the Broncos stole Guard Louis Vasquez from division rival San Diego on a 4 year $23 million contract. The Chargers O line is in complete disarray now.
Paul Kruger who had an outstanding year for the Ravens got his reward from the Browns who are paying him $41 million over 5 years.
The Chiefs have signed Saints back up QB Chase Daniel to a 3 year deal for $3 million annually, very steep for a back up. They also bagged the Jets defensive lineman Mike DeVito on a 3 year deal. DeVito is an excellent run stopper and thatâs a great bit of business from the Chiefs.
My Philadelphia Eagles have just signed James Casey. 
Welker on the move?
Chris Canty is now a Raven too!
Welcome to Philadelphia to James Casey, Patrick Chung, Fletcher Bradley, Jason Phillips and Isaac Sopoaga.
Ravens decimated. Kruger has some agent.
Crazy money.
Wallace was headed to Miami as the NFLâs free-agency window opened, prepared to sign a five-year deal worth as much as $65 million with a whopping $30 million guaranteed, per ESPNâs John Clayton. If those numbers prove true, Wallaceâs new deal would average out at $13 million per season, placing him third on the list of highest-paid receivers behind only Calvin Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald.
Ravens have now lost 3 LBsâŚhope joe flacco was worth the moneyâŚ
Let me ask you this:
How much would you pay to badly hurt a divisional rival?
Ravens had already lost Lewis and Reed.
They could maybe live with losing one of Ellerbe or Kruger.
They just gave the Ravens a KO punch for next season at least. Their D is a mess now.
I think itâs a great move by the Browns an they could easily afford it.
That and the history between the two franchisesâŚ
The 2000 Ravens team should have been the brownsâŚ
I wouldnât slag off the Ravens too much over yesterdays dealings. Ozzie Newsome is one of the best GMs in the business and he knows how much his players are worth. There was no way they were going to overpay their players after they tied down their franchise QB.
Ellerbe was superb down the stretch but Miami have given him crazy money, Karlos Dansby has been released by the fish and it wouldnât surprise me at all if Newsome lined him up. Krugerâs form has been patchy but he wracked up a lot of sacks after Suggs returned from injury, he was always going to get a great deal in free agency. Last years second round pick Courtney Upshaw will be expected to step up. I also see Newsome signed Chris Canty on a 3 year $8 million contract. A very versatile lineman, smart business as usual from the Ravens GM.
The Ravens will also get a few nice compensatory picks in the 2014 draft.
[quote=âSandymount Red, post: 747452, member: 1074â]I wouldnât slag off the Ravens too much over yesterdays dealings. Ozzie Newsome is one of the best GMs in the business and he knows how much his players are worth. There was no way they were going to overpay their players after they tied down their franchise QB.
Ellerbe was superb down the stretch but Miami have given him crazy money, Karlos Dansby has been released by the fish and it wouldnât surprise me at all if Newsome lined him up. Krugerâs form has been patchy but he wracked up a lot of sacks after Suggs returned from injury, he was always going to get a great deal in free agency. Last years second round pick Courtney Upshaw will be expected to step up. I also see Newsome signed Chris Canty on a 3 year $8 million contract. A very versatile lineman, smart business as usual from the Ravens GM.
The Ravens will also get a few nice compensatory picks in the 2014 draft.[/quote]
Donât get me wrong newsome is the best gm in the league, and a lot of decent defensive players have just been cut that could be cheaply picked up (Antoine Winfield for example) but the ravens fairly seem to have thrown the towel in for next year at least. Cary Williams is a free agent too now so he could go. Flacco obviously created big money problems, I still think they gave boldin away for a song though. I donât think it was too bad a move to let Kruger go, and a ridiculous overpayment by the browns. Kruger only makes those plays due to ngata and others in front of him, he wonât be nearly as effective in Cleveland but heâs rolling in it so good for him. Great move by the eagles cutting asomghua too I thought, and martellus Bennett is a good value signing for a now better protected cutler.
Whatâs their extra hit from Flaccoâs contract on their cap space? I presume they were in cap trouble already.
Im not certain,⌠i know Boldin was let go as he took was to take up 7m in cap space this yearâŚ
Flaccos contract is 51m guaranteed I believe so one would have to imagine that his cap number will be a approx 10m a year for the next 5 years witht the other money being roster bonuses and performance related.
Flacco only counts less than $7 million against the cap this year, so the Ravens have breathing space if they want to sign people. The real damage will come later on in the contract, heâs due an eye-watering $28.5 million in 2016 and they will have to restructure then.
The Ravens LB corps has been decimated and they will surely take a LB with their first rounder. Luckily enough for them a couple of really good players stock has plummeted. Itâs doubtful Alex Ogletree will drop to 32 despite his off field shenanigans, Damontre Moore has dropped like a stone after a poor combine and Iâm sure our old friend Manti Teâo will be considered.
The Ravens D is being reconstructed but Iâm sure they will still have enough quality players to keep them competitive in the AFC north.
Some moving of the furniture at Oakland. They will be starting this season without Seymour, Huff, DHB, Wheeler, Byrant and probably McClain and Kelly as well. Seymours contract was voided which means the biggest hit on the cap next year is someone not even playing for them. 13m dead cap space.
Thank God Al is brown bread !
I agree with a lot of this but if the Ravens are handing away their season this year they are also handing away momentum in subsequent years to their divisional rivals.
Bernard Pollard is the latest victim of the Ravens defensive cull. 6 starters from the defense gone now.
![http://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/photo/2013/0312/boldin_anquan_g_mp_640.jpg[/bimg]So](http://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/photo/2013/0312/boldin_anquan_g_mp_640.jpg%5B/bimg%5DSo){kind=link}