The Baltimore Ravens Are Focusing On A Strong Secondary
We can all agree that last year the Baltimore Ravens had major issues in the back-end of their defense. And consequently, the pass rush suffered as they did not have the support they needed in the secondary.
Ravens fans know that they have one of the best general managers in the NFL in Ozzie Newsome and that he barely lets them down. He is always finding ways to make the Ravens championship contenders year after year; and last night Mr. Newsome and his team got to work.
It was reported by Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun Tuesday that the Ravens released Shareece Wright and Kendrick Lewis:
"“The releases come exactly a year to the day of Wright, 29, signing a three-year, $16 million deal. Lewis, 28, was entering the final season of a three-year, $5.4 million pact. The two moves create $4.9 million of salary cap space, giving the Ravens about $18 million of room with free agency starting Thursday at 4 p.m.”"
These moves in the secondary gave the Ravens more flexibility to make any additions that they wanted to make via free agency.
Enter Tony Jefferson:
All of these transactions certainly left some holes to fill in the Ravens secondary. And just when many fans were getting nervous and anxious about the moves, Ozzie came to the rescue. I think that every Ravens fan was delighted when multiple reports came out saying that Tony Jefferson was coming to town.
Ravens expected to sign Cardinals S Tony Jefferson barring any last-minute negotiating snags, per @diannaESPN and me.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 9, 2017
Jefferson who previously played for the Arizona Cardinals is coming off of one of the best seasons of his career after finishing with 74 tackles. He is a physical defender that excels in zone coverage and is great at tackling in the open field.
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The pick up of Tony Jefferson gives the Ravens a dynamic and impressive duo at the safety positions. Alongside Eric Weddle, Jefferson will have the opportunity to make his presence felt in a secondary that didn’t impress in 2016. Weddle and Jefferson seem like a match made in heaven; two high motor, fundamentally sound players with a scrappy style of play. Ozzie Newsome has outdone himself again putting together arguably the best safety tandem in the NFL.
Moving In The Right Direction:
So, what does this transaction mean for the rest of the Ravens secondary? Well, since the Ravens have upgraded the safety position, that itself bolsters the cornerbacks that play in front of them. A cornerback has the opportunity to be more aggressive in coverage when they have a quality safety that can back him up in case things go wrong. This also gives our younger players like Tavon Young a boost in confidence which can end up being priceless for a young defensive back.
Ravens interest in free agent CB Morris Claiborne is legitimate. They badly need another CB.
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) March 9, 2017
Looking at the big picture, the Ravens still would like to add another cornerback whether it be via free agency or the draft to play alongside Jimmy Smith & Tavon Young. There has been rumors that the Ravens are going after free agent CB Morris Claiborne, but nothing is for certain as of yet. The Ravens still have the NFL draft to add depth to the secondary in what looks like a very promising class of rookie defensive backs.
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The Baltimore Ravens are certainly heading in the right direction regarding their secondary and it will be intriguing to witness what they do in the next couple of months. The bottom line is that the Ravens are focused on delivering in the back-end of their defense.