What The Ravens Can Realistically Afford At The NFL Trade Deadline

The Ravens are pretty much all-in on 2026 as it stands.

Expecting much at this trade deadline, after general manager Eric DeCosta already overpaid for an expensive center who hasn’t even suited up for them yet, is fool’s gold. There are numerous indicators and market forces that are signaling this is about as good as it’s going to get from a roster standpoint, though there is potential to add a low-money item.

With a fungible salary cap and a motivated owner, there is always a way. The question, of course, is, with nearly $370M invested in this payroll already (top five in the NFL and way higher than Steve Bisciotti ever goes), and having just picked up a center making $17M a year who is a substantial injury risk, how much further he’s willing to go?

And the Ravens are already in a far more extreme cap bind than most teams. And DeCosta has already started mortgaging future drafts and he covets nothing more than draft lottery tickets and he’s going to have massive holes to fill on this roster in 2027, so the odds of him dealing any more substantial draft capital are slim.

But they also don’t have to sit on their hands entirely.

Market Forces

Jan 28, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens ower Steve Bisciotti (right) talks with Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers (4) prior to the AFC Championship football game against the Kansas City Chiefs at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

So the payroll is basically near it’s limit. As for the cap, well, per spotrac.com. they have the least cap space in the NFL, at under $3M. Again, you can create more, but Baltimore’s options are limited.

Most players are already running threadbare base salaries (like the $50M restructure they ran on Lamar Jackson to drop him to the vet minimum because they can never sign him to extension proactively like top front offices do all the time). Or they have big salaries but they aren’t very good anymore – like Roquan Smith and Marlon Humphrey – so you aren’t going to try to extend them or get cute to create additional space.

Nnamdi Madubuike has a salary of over $1M per game, but he also only has one additional year remaining on his contract which cuts down on your ability to prorate when you convert base salary to a bonus and spread over future years. They could play around with Trey Hendickson’s deal (three years remaining) to create a few more million in cap space.

So could they take on half a season of salary/cap for a player making $4M or so without having to do anything too dramatic? Yeah. But not much else unless they are shipping out salary in return in trade and that’s highly unlikely.

Who Are The Options?

Oct 18, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Tennessee Titans kicker Joey Slye (6) walks off the field after the game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Ravens want you to believe that kicker Tyler Loop is at the root of their issues, after backing him through the entire offseason. And maybe he is. But it also stands to reason that if Jake Moody, currently on the practice squad, gets the gig he is erratic and he is not a proven NFL starter, either.

So could they trade for All-Pro caliber Cameron Dicker from the failing Chargers? Yeah, they could, for the reasons explained here. If that’s too rich for their blood, Joey Slye is having a heck of a year for the Titans, who are tanking, and he is a pending free agent and only makes $2M. Or even Tampa’s Chase McLaughlin, who is making $3.8M this season and is also a pending free agent.

Outside of that, if the cornerback need becomes acute despite all the "talent" there, picking up a young veteran still on his rookie contract – someone they liked out of college who hasn’t broken through with his current team – is about the best they could try to swing. Teams are loathe to give up on such players who are young and cheap and play a premium position and had a quality college pedigree … but we have seen recent first-round pick QBs and WRs dealt, so trust me, DeCosta will be looking at those types of price points.

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