727 replies to this topic

[Mackus]

Anything official on Bateman's deal?

[bmore_ken]

Anything official on Bateman's deal?

Haven't seen a breakdown yet, but

 

It's a good day for many within the Baltimore Ravens organization after Rashod Bateman signed a three-year, $15 million extension on Wednesday.

General manager Eric DeCosta released a statement after news of the extension broke.

"We are pleased to announce that we have extended Rashod Bateman's contract through the 2026 season," DeCosta's statement reads. "Congratulations to "Bate" and his family. This is a good day for the Ravens." 

https://www.si.com/n...tract-extension

[bmore_ken]

We had that last year and it ended with the offense rolling over and dying in the playoffs.

Edit: no Hollywood. Not sure why he was included there.

That's on the OC. You don't sideline the top rushing attack in the league. Mahomes can't score if he doesn't have the ball.

[Ravens2006]

That's on the OC. You don't sideline the top rushing attack in the league. Mahomes can't score if he doesn't have the ball.

 

Swap coordinators from year to year, head coach remains the same, and the issue persists.  Hard to believe it isn't John's influence.

[bmore_ken]

Swap coordinators from year to year, head coach remains the same, and the issue persists.  Hard to believe it isn't John's influence.

Trust me bro. I'm not a Harbaugh fan. I think he should have been gone years ago. Lamar saved his job. It's time to look at the top now for keeping him. . 

[Biggsy]

Kind of hoping Decosta explores bringing Mekhi Bechton in to compete for the RT spot. Should be a cheap, incentive laden prove it deal.

[Biggsy]

Looking at the roster, post-draft. This may be one of the most volatile Ravens teams we've had in a while. Decosta relying on a lot of young, unproven guys for next season. Cleveland, Vorhees, Faalele and Rosengarten along the line. Your number 2 WR is dependant on Bateman actually staying healthy. 30 year old Henry. And on the defense, dependant on Ojabo, Oweh or a rookie on the edge to break through. Simpson needs to step up on the inside. And you're looking for Wiggins to make an impact right away at CB.

A lot of unknowns.

[Ravens2006]

I think the Ravens roster make-up is now a product of their success finding / acquiring "among the very best in the game" talent at many positions.  You have Lamar at QB (huge contract), Roquan in the LB corps (big contract), Madabuike on the DL (big contract), Hamilton on the back end (future big contract), Andrews in the TE corps (big enough contract).  I think the same could probably be said for any team that has All-Pro caliber guys at so many positions... you can only pay so much to keep so many, and the rest you have to do a solid job of finding as much value on "play vs pay" as you can.  The Ravens aren't alone in this category I'd safely assume.  You pony up big now to keep (random example) Queen, the unknown of Simpson might be removed, but maybe you don't have the ability to keep a Hamilton or Flowers type in a couple years. Not trying to start a salary cap scenarios discussion with that, just hitting the general idea.

 

If enough of those "other" guys deliver value on the play vs pay scale, they'll be in contention again.  Given this front office's track record of finding enough there, I'm as optimistic as usual.  Coaching use of it all is a different matter.  But if some of those big key pieces go down to injury, then all bets are off.  Same can be said for KC, or Cincy, or Philly, or San Fran, etc.

 

Also... I suspect we'll probably see a veteran OL added to the mix at some point before first game... the Ravens always seem to have their finger on the pulse of who might wind up on the street elsewhere after some amount of camps because of some younger prospect getting his big shot, and tend to find contributors there.  Every OT or OG drafted this past week is a possible eject button for some other veteran OL that could be here in a month or three. Somewhere at 1 Winning Drive I think DeCosta has a list of guys he expects to be available by August, in a ranked order of preference, that they're ready to try to pounce on.

[cprenegade]

Kind of hoping Decosta explores bringing Mekhi Bechton in to compete for the RT spot. Should be a cheap, incentive laden prove it deal.

 

Looks like the Eagles signed him to a 1 year contract.

[cprenegade]

I think the Ravens roster make-up is now a product of their success finding / acquiring "among the very best in the game" talent at many positions.  You have Lamar at QB (huge contract), Roquan in the LB corps (big contract), Madabuike on the DL (big contract), Hamilton on the back end (future big contract), Andrews in the TE corps (big enough contract).  I think the same could probably be said for any team that has All-Pro caliber guys at so many positions... you can only pay so much to keep so many, and the rest you have to do a solid job of finding as much value on "play vs pay" as you can.  The Ravens aren't alone in this category I'd safely assume.  You pony up big now to keep (random example) Queen, the unknown of Simpson might be removed, but maybe you don't have the ability to keep a Hamilton or Flowers type in a couple years.

 

If enough of those "other" guys deliver value on the play vs pay scale, they'll be in contention again.  Given this front office's track record of finding enough there, I'm as optimistic as usual.  Coaching use of it all is a different matter.  But if some of those big key pieces go down to injury, then all bets are off.  Same can be said for KC, or Cincy, or Philly, or San Fran, etc.

 

On the other side you have teams like Houston who are loading up via trades and free agent signings in an attempt to cash in on CJ Stroud being on a rookie contract.  If you hit on a QB who is good right out of college you have 3-4 years where you can spend on every other position before you need to either move on or sign your QB to the big contract.  The Ravens were there, now they are with the other teams that have to pick and choose because like you said you can't pay everyone.  

[Mackus]

Offensive line is the only place I have more than slight concerns about.  Could be really good or could be Linderbaum and a bunch of awful play.  I'd like to see one more capable starting vet brought in who we at least feel can give us what Simpson, Zeitler or Moses did.

[BaltBird 24]

Zeitler was still good last year. Moses looked like he had lost a little from the previous year. Simpson really no opinion, didn't seem terrible, but didn't seem great either. I mostly trust EDC and crew.

I'm honestly more worried about LT than anywhere else. Hopefully Rosengarten or Jones can be adequate on the right side because I think we'll need a lot of Mekari helping out at LT, though not ideal.

Think the interior line can be fine with Linderbaum, Vorhees, Cleveland. Maybe Samac can be a plug and play guard. I saw comparisons to Bozeman who was solid enough for us.

[Mike B]

I don't think the OLine, edge and defensive backfield are finalized yet.  The Ravens have a number of ways to create more cap space.  EDC will be paying close attention to the street free agents and the June cap cuts.  Like last year he will add on.

I also think Josh Jones will have a role on the Oline.  He can join Mekari in helping at both tackle spots or even inside at guard.

[hallas]

some spicy lore surrounding Bateman's deal.

 

https://twitter.com/...020338616557941

 

tldr: Bateman wasn't eligible for the 5th year option because he was 2 days late to training camp.  As a result he was only eligible for an RFA tender.

 

 

A first round RFA tender would have been ~6.9m for 2025, a 2nd round ~5m.  So even if we generously assume that the Ravens would give him a 1st round tender he was only due 9.2 million between 2024 and 2025.  It goes down to 7.3 million if you give him a 2nd round tender.  It sounds like the Ravens wouldn't have given him more than a 2nd round tender unless he balled out, so that would have been the baseline  Add a little more money to that and you get a 3/15 deal.  I'm assuming that there are incentives that could bring this up to a bigger deal.

 

Bateman fired his agent last summer, so this explains why.

[BaltBird 24]

I wouldn't consider that spicy. Sounds like stupidity on his and his agents part. Or maybe good fortune, I doubt Baltimore would've picked up that 5th year option so this will give him a chance to produce and earn another contract with no pressure.

[makoman]

Yeah that’s a crazy dumb (or at least, uninformed) move on his part, or borderline malpractice if it was his agent’s advice. Good for us though, and helps explain the numbers.

[Steve55]

I think the Ravens roster make-up is now a product of their success finding / acquiring "among the very best in the game" talent at many positions.  You have Lamar at QB (huge contract), Roquan in the LB corps (big contract), Madabuike on the DL (big contract), Hamilton on the back end (future big contract), Andrews in the TE corps (big enough contract).  I think the same could probably be said for any team that has All-Pro caliber guys at so many positions... you can only pay so much to keep so many, and the rest you have to do a solid job of finding as much value on "play vs pay" as you can.  The Ravens aren't alone in this category I'd safely assume.  You pony up big now to keep (random example) Queen, the unknown of Simpson might be removed, but maybe you don't have the ability to keep a Hamilton or Flowers type in a couple years. Not trying to start a salary cap scenarios discussion with that, just hitting the general idea.

 

If enough of those "other" guys deliver value on the play vs pay scale, they'll be in contention again.  Given this front office's track record of finding enough there, I'm as optimistic as usual.  Coaching use of it all is a different matter.  But if some of those big key pieces go down to injury, then all bets are off.  Same can be said for KC, or Cincy, or Philly, or San Fran, etc.

 

Also... I suspect we'll probably see a veteran OL added to the mix at some point before first game... the Ravens always seem to have their finger on the pulse of who might wind up on the street elsewhere after some amount of camps because of some younger prospect getting his big shot, and tend to find contributors there.  Every OT or OG drafted this past week is a possible eject button for some other veteran OL that could be here in a month or three. Somewhere at 1 Winning Drive I think DeCosta has a list of guys he expects to be available by August, in a ranked order of preference, that they're ready to try to pounce on.

 

 

 

Cuts will be coming with the drafted replacements. Once the rookie mini camps and OTA's are done teams will know what they got and look for cap savings.

[Mackus]

That is fascinating, thanks for sharing!  Had no idea about that rule and it's implication.  And a 2nd round tender on Bateman would've for sure kept him here, 

 

Definitely explains the bewilderment over the contract terms.  I'm still kind of surprised that he agreed to only another $6-8M in 2026 in order to lock in his '24-25, but it makes a lot more sense than before.

[makoman]

The team announced they picked up Oweh's option. I always expected that, I've had the impression they like him more than fans do. He seems to do a lot well including pressures and run d but just not many sacks. Like a poor man's Clowney I guess.

[bmore_ken]

The team announced they picked up Oweh's option. I always expected that, I've had the impression they like him more than fans do. He seems to do a lot well including pressures and run d but just not many sacks. Like a poor man's Clowney I guess.

From what I remember, he was a second away from a sack on more than one occasion. Maybe that's something he can fix.