Ravens beat writer: Baltimore will "find a way to keep one of three pending FA"

There has been too much talk about who the Baltimore Ravens might or might not have added ahead of the NFL trade deadline last Tuesday.

Not many people were looking past that date (which is reasonable) but perhaps the lack of moves then has a lot to do with the in-house business still left to solve by GM Eric DeCosta next offseason.

Namely: re-signing (or trying) the trio of pending free agents comprised of Justin Madubuike, Patrick Queen, and Geno Stone. I don't know about you, but I'd have a hard time just thinking about losing not three, not two, but even only one of these players.

According to Ravens reporter Garrett Downing, answering some questions in his weekly mailbag on Tuesday, that is the most possible outcome when the offseason arrives next year and all three hit the open market.

"With Justin Madubuike, Patrick Queen and Geno Stone, the reality is that it's going to be difficult to sign all three of them to long-term contracts. There's a chance that all of them could end up playing on new teams next season. According to Spotrac, the Ravens are projected to have about $13 million in cap room next season. That doesn't leave much space."

- Garrett Downing, BaltimoreRavens.com

The beat reporter thinks that "the reality is that it's going to be difficult to sign all three," adding that "there is a chance" Baltimore loses the full trio of assets.

Expanding on his explanation, Downing reminded his readers that the Ravens could always opt to slap one of those three players with the franchise tag (which they already did to Lamar Jackson before signing him to an extension last offseason), although that might be a bit expensive.

"My prediction right now," Downing wrote, "is that the Ravens find a way to keep one of those pending free agents in Baltimore." The pundit didn't clarify who that might be, simply writing "It's tough to tell who that will be."

On top of those three (among many others) the Ravens have many important players on expiring deals, such as Odell Beckham, Michael Pierce, Kevin Zeitler, Gus Edwards, J.K. Dobbins, and Daryl Worley to name a few.

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