We have been hearing reports for a few days now that the Ravens are showing interest in signing former Bills tight end Scott Chandler. With Owen Daniels off to Denver and Dennis Pitta’s injury concerns, going after a veteran in free agency is probably a wise move.
Scott Chandler stands at 6’7 and 260 pounds, making his name in the NFL as a red zone threat due to his size. With a currently depleted receiving corps, a big red zone target would surely be welcomed by Joe Flacco.
Chandler was set to have a $2.85 million dollar cap hit in 2015 before being released by the Bills, according to Spotrac. Since the Haloti Ngata trade and after signing Justin Forsett, the Ravens are estimated to have a good bit of cap space left.
Ravens should still have roughly $8 million under the salary-cap limit
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) March 13, 2015
$2.85 million would be a significant dent into this, though if Chandler sits on the market for a while he may be willing to take on a lower figure, particularly somewhere he can prove his worth in a tight end friendly system like Baltimore. If he were to sign I would expect a one or two year contract with little guaranteed money and incentive bonuses.
Over the past few years we have seen Flacco looking to tight ends on third down and in the red zone a lot and someone like Chandler could add a serious target. However, the biggest concern over his play is his blocking.
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The Ravens ran a significant amount of outside runs last year and a good blocker at tight end is essential for this. If the Ravens are looking for a three down tight end they may want to look somewhere else.
With some other good veterans on the market such as Zach Miller and Anthony Fasano plus some good options early in the draft, is the potential cap hit worth it for a third down and red zone threat?
In fairness, third down and the red zone is where games are won and lost, so a big threat is always welcome. If Chandler is willing to take a lower figure then he could provide great value for the money. This signing will come down to a figure in Ozzie Newsome’s mind and how close Chandler’s value of himself comes to that figure. Even if a deal is reached, I would still expect the Ravens to target another tight end, likely through the draft.
Next: Why the Ravens should pursue Dwayne Bowe
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