The Baltimore Ravens have traded defensive Timmy Jernigan to the Eagles
Over the past couple weeks there have been rumors that the Baltimore Ravens were shopping Timmy Jernigan. Today, that move finally became official. Jernigan was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles along with the Raven’s 99th overall pick. The Ravens will receive the Eagles 74th pick in return. Ravens beat writer Jeff Zrebiec broke the news on Twitter:
Ravens are trading DT TImmy Jernigan to the Philadelphia Eagles. Two sides are swapping third-round picks as part of the deal, sources said
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) April 4, 2017
This offseason became the first year that teams could trade compensatory picks and the Ravens took full advantage of it. They will move up from pick #99 to #74 in the third round. It may not seem like a big difference but the Ravens found their best nose tackle Brandon Williams in the third round of the draft. Never count out the Raven’s front office.
The Move Makes Sense
While it may not seem logical, the move makes sense for the Ravens. Jernigan was entering the final year of his contract this season. There was a good chance he wouldn’t return next season so you might as well try to get some value out of him while you can. Jernigan also spent some time in John Harbaugh’s doghouse last season. In a week five game against the New York Jets, he picked up a fumble and tried to run with it, only to fumble the ball back to the Jets. The Ravens went on to lose that game 24-16.
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The move shows that the Ravens are confident in the defensive line depth. It leaves a lot of young talent on the roster. There is also a good chance that the Ravens will target a defensive lineman somewhere in the draft to help add more depth in case of injuries. As Zrebiec pointed out, the Ravens have now lost two experienced defensive lineman in Lawrence Guy and Jernigan this offseason. They are going to need to rely on the younger players to be able to step up and produce.