6 Ravens players who could be cap casualties this offseason
By Justin Fried
4. Sam Koch, P, Ravens
This one would be a move out of desperation than anything else. The Ravens don’t want to cut ties with the longest-tenured member of their organization.
Even at 39-years-old, Sam Koch is still going strong. He remains one of the better punters in the NFL and is coming off a season in which he ranked ninth in the league in gross yards per punt.
A 16-year NFL veteran, Koch has served as a vital part of the Ravens’ stellar special-teams unit over the last decade-and-a-half. Not only has he been one of the best punters in football for years, but he’s served as Justin Tucker’s reliable holder.
That said, if the Ravens are strapped for cash, they could consider moving on from the aging Koch for a younger, cheaper replacement.
Koch is projected to carry a cap hit of $3.15 million into the 2022 season but could be released with just $1.05 million in dead cap. That means the Ravens could save as much as $2.1 million by releasing him.
For a team that’s projected to have only $14 million in cap space, that’s not an insignificant sum. Now, this one is probably one of the least likely on this list, but it is still possible.
One possibility the team could explore would be to temporarily cut Koch only to bring him back at a smaller cap hit. Given his longevity with the franchise, it’s something he would likely be open to.