In a rather surprising move to bolster their offense even more (as if that was needed...) the Baltimore Ravens added veteran running back Melvin Gordon III to their squad last week, signing him to a one-year deal.
The contract was initially quoted as "worth up to $3.1 million," per Adam Schefter of ESPN as he was the first insider to break the news on Friday, July 21.
After a few more days, the final details of Gordon's deal with Baltimore have finally been revealed and, as expected, the contract includes a sizable amount of incentives while only guaranteeing Gordon a little bit over a million.
Gordon’s 1yr deal includes no bonus, but has a fully gtd base salary of $1.165M. That is also his 2023 Cap #. The balance of the $3.1M is $1.935M in NLTBE incentives (still unknown) that do not count against the 2023 Cap. If earned, those will count as a debit on the 2024 Cap. https://t.co/8GoJUxBYyN
— Brian McFarland (@RavensSalaryCap) July 28, 2023
Brian McFarland of Russell Street Report broke down the terms of the contract at the start of the weekend, and as you can see on the tweet above those are actually fairly amicable.
Gordon's one-year deal does "not include any bonus" and "guarantees him a base salary of $1.165 million for the 2023 season." A good chunk of the total money (nearly $2 million) has been allocated for "Not Likely To Be Earned (NLTBE) incentives," which remain undisclosed but will probably not be at reach for Gordon if he plays (as expected) an RB3/RB4 type of role.
The arrival of Gordon only makes sense as a break-in-case-of-emergency type of player. The Ravens is already packed and features elite performers in J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards, as well as another capable rusher in Justice Hill, who Baltimore just re-signed this offseason.
Obviously, J.K. Dobbins is in the middle of what is perceived as a fight and a potential "hold-in" against the Ravens while waiting for the franchise to offer him the contract he wants. Right now, Dobbins is on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list and not practicing at training camp.
Gordon's experience would make for a good addition and it looks like the Ravens preferred to go the way of a veteran instead of betting on UDFA Keaton Mitchell, although there is still plenty of time for the rookie to earn a place in the squad ahead of the 2023 regular season.