The Joe Flacco trade: 3 big things for the Baltimore Ravens
According to reports by Adam Schefter (ESPN) and Jeff Zrebiec (The Athletic) the Baltimore Ravens have agreed to a trade with the Denver Broncos for Joe Flacco Here are three big things to think about:
1. Eric DeCosta is off to a good start:
While the Joe Flacco trade isn’t official yet, the quarterback debate is officially over in Baltimore. Lamar Jackson is the quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens and Flacco is headed to Denver. The Ravens promoted Eric DeCosta to be the general manager shortly after the season concluded. DeCosta and the Ravens went into the offseason with the goal of trading Flacco. That makes this trade DeCosta’s first major accomplishment for the Ravens and it’s a big deal.
The #Ravens will take on a $16M dead cap hit to trade Joe Flacco, to the #Broncos, who acquire him with salaries/cap hits of $18.5M, $20.25M, & $24.25M thru 2021, $0 guaranteed. Baltimore saves $10.5M of cap space in 2019.https://t.co/F6yyDoBJmi
— Spotrac (@spotrac) February 13, 2019
The Flacco contract was going to bite Baltimore one way or another. There is a good bit of dead money, but by trading them they saved big. There was no perfect way out for the Ravens, but they just found $10 million more to work with. The trade isn’t official yet, and the terms have not been announced. Multiple reports have suggested that it will be a mid-round pick. The Ravens have successfully shopped a player they were getting rid of one way or another and that isn’t an easy task.
Related Story. Broncos and Ravens agree on Joe Flacco trade. light
The Lamar Jackson trade cost the Ravens their 2nd round pick for the 2019 NFL Draft. The Ravens will take all the draft ammunition they can get. The most impressive part about this is how quickly Flacco got dealt. Whether or not this is because of DeCosta’s handy work, John Elway’s desperation or a little bit of both, this was a timely move. The Ravens just answered one of the biggest lingering questions facing them this offseason.
It’s beginning to look more and more like DeCosta has a clearly defined plan. With this decision in the books, the Ravens can make decisions on players like C.J. Mosley, Eric Weddle and Jimmy Smith. The Ravens just ended an era by shipping Flacco off to the Broncos, and it’s all business from here. The Ravens have to get the Lamar Jackson era off to a great start.