What makes Ozzie Newsome so great as a G.M. in charge of personnel is he always seems to find the silver lining in a grey cloud…
Ozzie is convinced he can turn the Ravens around in an offseason heartbeat—
He’s done it before.
Here’s Ozzie and owner Steve Bisciotti in their own writes as reported so well by Garrett Downing at the Ravens’ home website:
“The Ravens acquired Pro Bowl safety Eric Weddle, veteran tight end Benjamin Watson, and big-play receiver Mike Wallace, immediately upgrading the roster at some key positions of need.
“But just because General Manager Ozzie Newsome waded into the initial free-agency spending spree, that doesn’t mean Baltimore’s roster is anywhere close to finalized.
“I think we have a lot of work to do still going forward,” Head Coach John Harbaugh said. “We’re not finished.”
“The Ravens still have the draft and their highest pick of the last 15 years to add a premier talent to team. They could also look for bargains typically found in the later waves of free agency to fill holes that still exist after the draft.
“They have gone that route in past years to find players like veteran linebacker Daryl Smith on the cheap.
“In terms of free agency and cap casualties, we’ll still be working on those kinds of things, and Ozzie and Eric [DeCosta] and the rest of those guys are working on those things hard,” Harbaugh said. “I think our football team needs to continue to improve from now until the first game and right on through, in a lot of different ways.”
An area where the Ravens could still use some help is at pass rusher.
Owner Steve Bisciotti pointed to pass rusher as a key need at the season-review press conference, and he reiterated that in an interview Tuesday. Pass rushers go for a premium on the open market, so the draft could be the best place to find that kind of player.
Whatever avenue the Ravens use to bolster the roster, team brass still believes it has moves to make over the next few months to get back to where it wants to be in 2016.
“We’ve got to do it scheme-wise, we’ve got to do it in the way we organize our practices and the way we game plan, and our personnel. It’s coaching, it’s players, it’s everything, ” said Bisciotti.
Meanwhile, as Sarah Ellison reported, defensive tackle Brandon Williams and right tackle Rick Wagner are two key starters that are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents next offseason, and it might be worth trying to lock them up with long-term deals before that happens.
“I would love to, but the agents know that the prices are going up,” owner Steve Bisciotti said Tuesday. “So the agents are advising these guys, don’t sign a contract now, get to free agency.”
Williams is the icing on this paricular cake. He fits into that “ascending Pro Bowler” category.
He has started 30 of the last 32 games, and was one of the major reasons Baltimore was comfortable with moving on from Pro Bowler Haloti Ngata. Williams successfully clogged the middle of the line last year, producing career highs in tackles (53), solo stops (35), sacks (two), tackles for loss (nine) and quarterback hits (four).
Oh, and in case you were wondering— Eugene Monroe is still the Ravens’ number one left tackle…
Last year’s original starter Eugene Monroe is entering just the third year of a five-year contract reportedly worth $37.5 million, but his future has been cast into doubt because of a litany of injuries the last two years. As speculation swirls around the left tackle position, Owner Steve Bisciotti put his stamp of approval on Monroe as the starter:
“He is our left tackle going into next year,” Bisciotti said. “I think a lot of the speculation about us moving on from him clearly comes down to the fact that he’s been hurt a lot, because he’s played pretty well when he’s been in there. We’ve always been happy with him when he’s on the field.”
Monroe finished last season on injured reserve because of a shoulder issue, and he ended up playing just six games all year. He has dealt with shoulder, knee and ankle issues the last two years and has missed 17 games during that stretch.
Before all the injuries the last two years, Monroe missed just three games in the previous five seasons because of injury.
Going into the offseason, the Ravens indicated they may want someone to challenge Monroe for the starting job. The Ravens prefer to have competitions at every position to get the most from their players. They tried to retain Kelechi Osemele as a potential left tackle, but he ended up leaving for Oakland in free agency.
A reporter asked Head Coach John Harbaugh if starting right tackle Rick Wagner could be in the mix on the left side. Reserves James Hurst and De’Ondre Wesley are also still on the roster in case Monroe were to go down with another injury.
“You look at the guys that you got and how you position your line, you get your five best players out there where they can play their best,” Harbaugh said at the AFC coaches breakfast Tuesday. “I don’t have any doubt that all those tackles can play both sides … It’s going to be a competition with those guys and whoever else we add.”
Monroe has also made headlines in recent weeks for urging the NFL to soften its stance on medical marijuana use, and calling for more research into how it could improve the lives of players who suffered concussions.
“Obviously Eugene is a pretty stand-up, professional guy,” Bisciotti said. “To have an opinion about something like that is partial to being a leader if it matters to him. We’re not the ones taking that physical abuse. We’re not talking about a kid that’s been suspended three times coming out and saying that. I respect Eugene a lot, and I think all he asked for is more studying on the subject.”
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