Baltimore Ravens: Lack Of Cap Space Dictates Offseason

The Baltimore Ravens have always spent near the salary cap and therefore are always tight against it. This offseason the Ravens are more restricted than usual.

More from Ebony Bird

• Will Baltimore Ravens be rewarded for risky Lamar Jackson decision?
• The Baltimore Ravens Big Gamble
• Ravens Super Bowl odds present fascinating insight on Lamar Jackson’s future
• Should Baltimore Ravens be interested in this recently released WR
• Do the Baltimore Ravens have serious interest in this free agent wide out?

The Ravens have two major factors to their cap problem. The first factor is a contract that need to be restructured. Joe Flacco’s $28.5 million dollar cap hit is too high. The team has to find a way to whittle that down to a reasonable figure.

The second factor is key players that must be retained. The Ravens are in jeopardy of losing Kelechi Osemele. Osemele is an elite guard who can play left tackle as well. As an unrestricted free agent with amazing value, keeping Osemele is not a sure thing for the Ravens. The Ravens are going to have to balance their cap limitation and their generosity to make Osemele come back to the team.

Justin Tucker getting the franchise tag is a foregone conclusion at this point. Tagging Osemele is not practical. Tucker’s tag number as a kicker is much more affordable. In between Matt Stover and Tucker, Baltimore had Billy Cundiff…needless to say the Ravens understand the importance of kickers. He should be back in purple and black next season.

The Ravens won’t be able to make a play for the proverbial big fish in the free agent market. This is really just a fact that we have to deal with. In a perfect world the Ravens could throw money at Josh Norman and solve their need for a great defensive back. In this world it just is not going to happen.

The Ravens must use the 2016 NFL Draft for their most important additions to the roster. They must try to retain Osemele. The team just is not in a position where they can make big moves.

What the Ravens can do is look at some under the radar free agents. They can also work on getting the team some depth. Remember a lack of depth at key areas on the roster was the biggest problem for the Ravens in 2015.

Next: Baltimore Ravens Free Agency: The Case For Marvin Jones

In the meantime the Ravens can start doing everything than can to get some cap relief.