Free Agency: What Baltimore Ravens fans can learn from last offseason

What can the Baltimore Ravens fanbase expect from the second offseason with Eric DeCosta calling the shots? Here is a refresher on what he did last year:

The Baltimore Ravens are getting ready for free agency. The 2019 offseason was the first official year for DeCosta to go through NFL Free Agency and the NFL Draft, as the general manager. DeCosta had a lot of input before, however this was the first year he was allowed to make the decisions. The 2019 offseason gives us more insight into what to expect in free agency.

The Baltimore Ravens free agency haul in 2019 was basically bringing in Mark Ingram and Earl Thomas. The Ingram signing is the one that teaches the most about Eric DeCosta’s thinking as the general manager. Many people believed that the Ravens would go after Le’Veon Bell to make the bigger splash. Bell was the most talked about free agent option for Baltimore, yet the Ravens chose to go with Ingram.

The Ravens are not just shopping for a big name in the free agency market. They want a player to come at a price they can justify. Bell would have been the biggest splash they could make. He ended up getting a lot more money than the Ravens paid Ingram. With Ingram, the Ravens got exactly what they wanted. Looking back at it, DeCosta made the proper evaluation in terms of value.

Ingram was also a perfect fit for the Ravens. It was a situation where the player in question gelled immediately into the mission the offense was on. The Ravens are looking for value and they absolutely need to have scheme fits. After seeing what Greg Roman’s offense looked like this past season it was clear that Bell was never really an option for them. Ingram was the plan.

This year the Ravens don’t need a running back. This year the team will probably be looking at pass rushers, wide receivers and defensive linemen. The ideals the Ravens stuck to with their choice to get Ingram are still going guide their decision making. What does this mean? It means the Ravens aren’t just going for the big name. They aren’t just going to offer Jadeveon Clowney a blank check.

Go down your free agent wish list and look at the third or fourth name on it for each position. Which player makes the most sense that the Ravens have to overpay the least for? That’s the player that DeCosta is most likely to go for. Look for good players that the Ravens could realistically get.

I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again, Everson Griffen would make a ton of sense (and now he’s a free agent). That kind of move is much more likely than getting a player like Clowney or Shaquil Barrett, who probably will set the market for edge rushers.

If you’re screaming on a mountain top for the biggest name in free agency, you never know, you may get your wish. History dictates, especially what happened last year, that’s not what the Ravens are going to do.