Ravens News 3/17: Role Re-Signings and more

Ravens safety Geno Stone re-signs with one-year deal – Jonas Shaffer

A day after trading away starting safety Chuck Clark, the Ravens on Thursday brought back their top reserve at the position, re-signing Geno Stone.

Stone, a former seventh-round pick who rejoined the team in 2021 after struggling as a rookie, started seven games at safety last season while Marcus Williams recovered from a wrist injury. Stone graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 26 safety among players with at least 400 defensive snaps after posting 38 tackles, one fumble recovery and one pass defense. He allowed 13 catches on 18 targets for 203 yards in coverage, according to PFF.

Stone, who played 41.3% of the defense’s snaps in 2022, finished third on the team in special teams snaps. He’ll join a reconfigured safety rotation starring Kyle Hamilton, who’ll move to a more traditional safety role in 2023, and Williams.

Ravens Re-Sign Long Snapper Nick Moore – Clifton Brown

The Ravens will have re-signed long snapper Nick Moore to a two-year contract, keeping their superb special teams trio in place.

According to The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec, there was outside interest in Moore, but he elected to stay in Baltimore for a deal worth $2.5 million.

Moore has been one of the NFL’s best long snappers the past two seasons and was named a second-team All-Pro in 2022. Undrafted in 2019, Moore was signed to Baltimore’s practice squad in 2020 and became the first player from the XFL signed by the Ravens.

Biggest surprises of 2023 NFL free agency: Lamar Jackson’s market, New England’s restrained approach and more – Sam Monson

LAMAR JACKSON BEING HIT WITH THE NON-EXCLUSIVE FRANCHISE TAG

The longer negotiations dragged out between Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens, the clearer it became that the franchise tag was going to be a live possibility. But very few expected it would be the non-exclusive version that exposed him to the market and offers from other teams — until it happened.

The two sides are far enough apart that Baltimore is willing to let the market negotiate for them and implicitly dare Jackson to get a better offer than they are offering by giving him less guaranteed money than the exclusive version of the franchise tag. This is not a scenario many people saw coming.

LAMAR JACKSON HAVING SEEMINGLY LITTLE TRADE MARKET

It’s tough to tell what’s more surprising, Lamar Jackson being hit with the non-exclusive tag or that there hasn’t been a succession of teams bidding to acquire a former league MVP in the prime of his career.

It was also curious to see the number of teams that seemingly distanced themselves from the race almost immediately after the Ravens used the tag.

When you consider the real mechanics of how the offer sheet would work — that any prospective team needs to carry that contract on their books for the week that Baltimore has to decide whether to match, effectively prohibiting their ability to do anything else in free agency — it starts to make a little more sense.

Ultimately, however, NFL teams tend to move heaven and earth for the chance at an elite quarterback, and the fact that no team has been willing to move so much as a phone to their ear publicly has been a real shock.

Ravens Trade Call on WR Jerry Jeudy: Broncos’ Price Too High? – Adam Schultz

Aside from tight end Mark Andrews (who has nearly double the amount of receiving yards over the next best guy), the Ravens were seriously lacking in wide receiver talent last season.

With rumors swirling that the Denver Broncos are open to listening to offers for Jerry Jeudy, could Baltimore make a run at the receiver?

They should, but the stumbling block could be the compensation the Broncos are after. Reportedly wanting “at least” a first-round pick per the Athletic, the asking price could be somewhat steep for the Ravens.

But would it be worth it?

Jeudy’s production since entering the league in 2020 doesn’t scream star receiver, but he is coming off a career-best year in THAT Denver offense. He totaled career-highs in catches (67), receiving yards (972), yards per game (64.8), and touchdowns (6).

Ranking the NFL’s Best Remaining Free Agents – Sheil Kapadia

15. Marcus Peters, CB, Baltimore Ravens (30)

Peters missed all of 2021 with an injury and returned to start 13 games last year, but he didn’t look like the same player. Peters has made his career on being a gambler and a playmaker, but he had just one interception last season. Patrick Peterson got a two-year, $14 million deal from the Steelers. That type of deal could make sense for Peters.

25. Mecole Hardman, WR, Kansas City Chiefs (25)

The Chiefs were enamored of Hardman’s speed and selected him in the second round of the 2019 draft, but he never developed into a consistent factor for their offense. He was limited to eight regular-season games last season and totaled 25 catches for 297 yards. Hardman had over 500 yards receiving in each of his first three NFL seasons. He’s averaged just 13.8 yards per reception for his career, but has the speed to stretch the field.

47. Justin Houston, Edge, Baltimore Ravens (34)

He’s a free agent for the third consecutive season. In 2021, Houston signed with the Ravens for $2.1 million, and last year he re-signed with Baltimore for $3.5 million. Given that he’s coming off a 9.5-sack season, Houston could see a pay bump once again—whether it’s from the Ravens or another team. He’s shown he can still offer value as a rotational pass rusher.

48. Calais Campbell, DT, Baltimore Ravens (37)

Campbell was a 14-game starter for the Ravens last year and was still productive, with 5.5 sacks and 14 QB hits. He’d be a welcome addition to any locker room and can still offer some interior pass rush.