The Baltimore Ravens, like all 31 other NFL franchises, are continuously operating at a loss when it comes to their money allocation and always carrying some dead money belonging to deals signed in the past.
That's because all franchises always have some players on the budget who are no longer a part of the organization but are still getting paid by the team because of different reasons.
It is definitely not an ideal situation to find your team in, and in fact, the franchises with the largest amounts of dead money in their books are usually those with the worst salary cap situations and the biggest hurdles to clear when it comes to building a winning roster.
Good for the Ravens, they only have four players with amounts exceeding one-million dollars in dead money on their books entering the 2023 season. Here is a breakdown of who those are and how much money they're owed by Baltimore.
4. Derek Wolfe - $1.8 million
Wolfe is only 33 years old and although he's an active free agent his playing days seem to be over after he wasn't signed to a contract by an NFL franchise in 2022 nor this summer either.
A defense end and former Cincinnati Bearcats standout, Wolfe entered the league all the way back in 2012 when the Denver Broncos spent the 36th-overall pick of that year's draft on him after he played college ball in Cincy from 2008 through 2011.
Wolfe only had to wait four seasons to lift the Super Bowl, which he did following the 2015 regular season for the 50th edition of the SB.
After that and spending five more years in Denver, he left Colorado and signed with Baltimore in 2020 having suffered a lot of injuries in his last few years with the Broncos.
Wolfe appeared in 14 games, starting all of them, as a member of Flock Nation. The problem, of course, is that he signed a one-year, prove-it deal with Baltimore and his great outings made the Ravens think about extending him for a further three seasons with a $12 million deal.
After he signed that contract in March 2021, Wolfe never again played for the Ravens. He suffered an injury on Oct. 2021, entered IR, then was officially considered out for the full 2021 season, and in June 2022 he was finally released by the team after reaching an injury settlement.
3. Calais Campbell - $2.4 million
Campbell will retire one day as one of the best defensive ends to ever play the game. The Ravens enjoyed Campbell for three seasons between 2020 and 2022 but the truth is that Campbell reached his peak while playing for the Cardinals and the Jaguars earlier in his career.
Came was a second-round pick coming out of Miami (FL) back in 2008, originally of the Arizona Cardinals. He spent nine seasons in Zona where he first became a two-time Pro Bowler. He followed that stint with a three-year tenure in Jacksonville earning his only first-team All-Pro selection and three more Pro Bowl calls.
The Ravens traded for Calais Campbell on Mar. 2020 in exchange for a fifth-round pick that originally belonged to the Atlanta Falcons. After acquiring Campbell, he signed a smooth one-year deal with the Flock.
After that, Campbell completed an extraordinary 2020 season in which he was named to the Pro Bowl, and one year after the COVID-ravaged campaign he went on to complete a 15-game, 49-tackle, 1.5-sack season in 2021 that convinced the Ravens to ink him to a two-year, $12.5 million deal on Apr. 2022. No bueno.
The Ravens released Campbell less than a year after he signed that contract, and the defensive stalwart then signed a one-year, $7 million deal with Atlanta after flirting with the New York Jets this offseason.
2. Chuck Clark - $2.6 million
Chuck Clark was an OG Raven as Baltimore drafted him in 2017 with a late, sixth-round pick coming out of Virginia Tech where he spent a few years appearing in 52 games and starting 40 of those while racking up 292 tackles.
Clark is still only 28 years old and a member of the New York Jets secondary getting paid nearly $2.5 million... for sitting out next season.
That's because Clark, who left Baltimore this offseason, suffered an ACL injury ahead of training camp and will be forced to forfeit the 2023 campaign whether he likes it or not.
If Clark never returns to the Ravens organization, he would have wrapped up his tenure in Baltimore with 384 tackles over 96 pro games of which he started 63 in Baltimore's secondary unit. He added 8 tackles for a loss, 8 quarterback hits, and forced five fumbles while recovering four.
In Clark's case, he wasn't cut but traded to New York last March in exchange for a 2024 seventh-round pick. He was ruled out for the 2023 season on June 22 following his ACL injury during OTAs.
1. Nick Boyle - $3.3 million
The biggest dead-money eater in Baltimore's books is tight end Nick Boyle, who is still only 30 years old and an NFL free agent available for whoever wants his services.
Boyle entered the NFL in 2015 as a fifth-round pick by the Baltimore Ravens and he stayed with the organization until he finished his run with it following last season. Boyle wrapped up his Flock days with 121 receptions for 1,049 yards and 4 touchdowns through 90 career games.
With a tight end room packed full of talent and led by arguably the second-best player at the position in the NFL these days in Mark Andrews, it made little sense for the Ravens to keep carrying Boyle into their roster anymore.
Boyle was waived by the Ravens on Jan. 7 although the team re-signed him three days later to the practice squad. It was later known that he was transitioning to the long snapper position, even trying out for the Pittsburgh Steelers at the role last May.
After suffering an injury to his left knee in 2020 that ultimately ruled him out for the year after nine games, Boyle was never the same. He appeared in five games for the Ravens in 2021 and then in 12 last season, but he was relegated to blocking duties and never impacted the outcome of games that much.
The dead money to Boyle's name comes from a two-year, $13 million deal the Ravens offered and signed him to after the 2021 season and running through the 2023 campaign.
By releasing him in January and re-signing him to the PS under the same terms before moving on from him, Baltimore is still forced to pay him the most money among players who no longer belong to the organization.