Ravens Potential Cuts: What Is The Hold Up?

It is a bit puzzling that it’s almost Tuesday afternoon, free agency starts Thursday evening, and the Ravens have cleared no cap room:

There has to be something going on behind the scenes in Owings Mills. There has to be. The Ravens can’t go into the NFL Draft without filling some gaping holes on their roster. They can’t do much of anything in free agency without cutting some dead weight off the roster. Sooner or later you’d have to expect a fury of moves.

Is It Dumervil Holding Things Up?

One thing holding up the aforementioned fury of moves, is the contract of Elvis Dumervil. Dumervil has had one great season in Baltimore since his 2013 arrival. He has a pretty big contract. According to Sportrac.com, Dumervil accounts for almost five percent of the Ravens salary cap space, with a cap hit of over $8 million. The consensus thought here is that he is going to be cut. What if the Ravens are trying to work out a better deal with Dumervil?

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?

It makes sense to keep Dumervil. The Ravens pass rush was lacking last season, and Dumervil’s injury had a good bit to do with that. If Dumervil is healthy he can be a productive edge rusher. The future of his career remains an “if” but at much lower number he still has value. Za’Darius Smith went backwards in his sophomore season. Matt Judon shows promise, but he’s still raw. Finding a way to keep Dumervil is not a bad idea. Paying him a ton of money, however is a horrible idea. Dumervil could very much be the reason.

Is Wallace Holding Things Up?

The Ravens have needs for a play-maker on offense. They could end up cutting both of their best weapons Mike Wallace and Dennis Pitta. Cutting Pitta makes sense because of his high cap number (a $7.7 million cap hit according to Sportrac.com). The problem is that Pitta has a great connection with Flacco and while their tight ends are plentiful, he’s the only one that’s proven.

Mike Wallace could end up being traded. Getting a fifth round pick and some cap relief is the only way I would be okay with releasing Wallace. As Jeff Zerbiec of The Baltimore Sun noted on Twitter, Torrey Smith coming back would be an idea to be open to. The Ravens have tough decisions to make. They are being patient and will make well thought out moves. That being said, how patient can the Ravens be, when the legal tampering period is set to begin?

Next: Baltimore Ravens Free Agency Primer

There has to be something stopping the teams’ brass from chopping up some fresh cap space in the morning. It has to be something. What it is, I am not quite sure. Those are my two best theories. We’ll all be on pins and needles all week long. That is something that I am very sure of.