| Ouch! We all knew the NFL’s worst
salary-cap situation was going to force the Ravens to get rid of some key players before
March 1, such as TE Shannon Sharpe, DEs Rob Burnett and Michael McCrary, and S Rod
Woodson.
But it’s hard to believe that, combined with the departures of LB Jamie Sharper
and return specialist/WR Jermaine Lewis to the Houston Texans, the Ravens have suddenly
slashed more than a quarter of the 53-man roster that participated in their 34-7 slaughter
of the Giants in Super Bowl XXXV.
Eyebrows around the league were raised to the limit yesterday when, in addition to
releasing the aforementioned players aside from McCrary, who appears to have been
temporarily spared, the Ravens sliced $20 million off their payroll by releasing WR Qadry
Ismail, FB Sam Gash, OL Kipp Vickers and DT Larry Webster.
The team also decided against picking up the option for ORT Leon Searcy, who was
injured all of last season, and extending offers to FB Obafemi Ayanbadejo, LB Brad Jackson
and kickoff specialist Danny Kight, all of whom were restricted free agents who are now
free to test the market.
Starting with the losses of Sharper and Lewis in the expansion draft, the Ravens lost
10 players from their Super Bowl roster in eight days. The mammoth purge yesterday
accounted for 104 years of NFL experience and 20 Pro Bowls.
Ismail, the leading receiver in team history, caught a career-best 74 passes and led
the team with seven TDs last season. He and Sharpe accounted for nearly 46 percent of the
Ravens’ receptions in 2001. Gash remains one of the league’s best lead blockers
out of the backfield. Despite the season-long absence of featured RB Jamal Lewis, the
Ravens’ ground game ranked 11th in the league last season, a ranking for
which Gash deserves a good share of credit.
But we haven’t even gotten to the biggest eyebrow-raiser yet.
According to a published report in the Baltimore Sun, there’s just a
"50-50" chance at the moment that the Ravens will be able to keep QB Elvis Grbac
from also splitting the scene.
After declaring in mid-December that Grbac "is my quarterback now … next
year, and hopefully the year after that," Ravens head coach Brian Billick is now
saying that, unless Grbac’s current cap number ($4 million) can essentially be cut in
half, he could be gone by Friday.
"There’s no option," Billick said. "It has to be done. I wish it
didn’t. I wish we could turn right around and pick up his option. But we
can’t."
The Ravens are also desperately trying to restructure the contract of Pro Bowl DT Sam
Adams before Friday or else run the risk of losing him too.
Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome, who said he hopes to possibly be able to re-sign both Sharpe
and Lewis after June 1, when their cap hits wouldn’t be as severe, has officially
designated the Ravens as being in a state of "transition."
"But it’s going to be a lot of fun because we’ve got a lot of good young
football players that are going to be able to come in and play even better," Newsome
said.
While I wonder just how "fun" a season without so many former key
contributors can be, I do honestly believe the Ravens could remain a playoff contender.
They still have Ray Lewis, the NFL’s best defender. They still have Peter
Boulware, the NFL’s top sacker — provided he picks up where he left off last
season. And they still have Jamal Lewis, who provided all the offense the Ravens needed
the year they won the Super Bowl with a fantastic rookie season.
If Jamal can regain his form of two seasons ago and keep his nose clean — and
those are two big "ifs" — and new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan can mold
an effective 3-4 scheme, despite the possibility of the Ravens losing their entire
starting defensive line, the Ravens could still make some noise.
Even if Grbac is replaced by third-stringer Chris Redman, a third-round pick who has
been waiting in the wings the last few seasons.
Who’s to say Redman couldn’t end up being next season’s answer to Tom
Brady?
Don’t rule the Ravens out yet. |
