Next Era Of Ravens Football Is About To Begin
It's a blessing and a curse to find a franchise quarterback you feel comfortable with to give a massive percentage of your salary cap to.
When that new contract is given, the way a team is constructed must change to remain cap-compliant - and that alone can be enough for people to question if a team's title window is closed.
That's where the Baltimore Ravens and other top-contending teams currently find themselves.
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When the Ravens gave Lamar Jackson a five-year, $260 million contract extension last offseason, they understood that the organization keeping all their top talent at other positions of less value would only be able to last until the quarterback's cap hit became too large.
We're not even into their second season with the new deal and already Baltimore is learning that the hard way.
Pending free agents like linebacker Patrick Queen, safety Geno Stone, and guards like Kevin Zeitler and John Simpson are unlikely to return to the team due to their high asking price - a difficult stage for an organization to lose so many Pro Bowl caliber players.
That doesn't mean Baltimore's championship window is closed, though. It's just the next stage of their franchise.
A similar reality is hitting an organization like the Buffalo Bills. During the week, Buffalo has released some of their best defensive talent like Jordan Poyer and Tre'Davious White. Despite still not being cap compliant, and other moves to make shortly, top NFL experts understand their championship window hasn't closed yet.
“As long as they have Josh Allen, it (the championship window) is never closed,” ESPN analyst Damien Woody explained. “But I think this iteration of the Bills is over. We saw that with the moves they made yesterday…When you’re in the salary cap era, and you pay your quarterback, everyone can’t get paid.”
Woody's comments regarding Allen and the Bills could also be used for the Ravens.
Their previous iteration of having a dynamic defense and excellent rushing attack may be gone, but Baltimore will still be a dynamic team to watch in the coming years. So long as Jackson is still taking snaps under center, the Ravens will have a chance to compete for a championship.
It'll be up to the organization to hit on important draft picks in key positions of need to continue to improve the roster on their rookie contracts.
It's certainly possible, but the Baltimore Ravens as we know them will be much different in the coming years.
