OTL: A Sliver of (Much-Needed) Good News

Well, Ravens Flock, I won’t lie to you, I didn’t think it would be this soon into the offseason that Baltimore would give me even a modicum of optimism. Between the Super Bowl matchup feeling like we’re in The Bad Place and the knowledge that we’re all entering a bleak Tartarus of an offseason for the next six months, things looked rough. Luckily, though, a bit of Ravens news broke yesterday that seems to at least mean good things for the offense moving forward.

Sources: #Ravens and OC Todd Monken are finalizing a contract extension.

Baltimore led the NFL in offense, Lamar Jackson is coming off his best statistical season and Monken has had head coaching interest. pic.twitter.com/Ni2yh0F4FA

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) January 27, 2025

At the time of writing, nothing has been finalized yet, but if Todd Monken does ink an extension in Baltimore, it’ll signal some great continuity for this Ravens offense. This season’s offense broke the franchise record for offensive yardage, even before the final week of regular season play, and ended the year as the #1 offense in total yardage and rushing yards. It wasn’t like they were hurting through the air, either, finishing 7^th in passing yards, as well as 3^rd in points. To see that level of success, especially with the early shuffling they had to do along the O-line, was a welcome departure from seasons past when Baltimore couldn’t seem to get out of their own way with the ball in their hands.  While the scheme seems to be sorted out, the shuffling along the O-line may not be done, and there are plenty of questions around the player personnel changes.

Late for Work: Daniel Jeremiah Mocks Cornerback to Ravens
– Ravens Land Wiggins in 2024 Re-Draft
– Humphrey Loses 80% of Game Check to Finehttps://t.co/ekw5cqo6yY

— Kyle Phoenix (@KylePBarber) January 27, 2025

Probably the biggest domino that needs to fall for the Ravens free agent group is LT Ronnie Stanley. Following a few down years as he bounced back from a long-term ankle injury, Stanley renegotiated his contract and had a solid 2024 campaign. While the Ravens would probably love to keep him in town, high-performing blindside tackles don’t come cheap, and the Ravens are tight on cap space.

CAP UPDATE: The Ravens currently have $5.955M in Salary Cap space after signing 11 players from the PS last wk. They now have 53 players under contract for 2025.

Full Roster Preview (updated w/ last wk’s signings now included):https://t.co/PqF3GyVeer pic.twitter.com/kuS7wosNtq

— Brian McFarland (@RavensSalaryCap) January 28, 2025

That’s not to say that space can’t be made; Marcus Williams’ restructured contract allows the Ravens to get out from under some of the dead cap hit that they would have taken…

Thanks to @Jason_OTC for the details! Williams’ $12M salary was reduced to $2.1M, which immediately creates $9.9M in CapSpace (instead of having to wait til 6/2). They will then get the remaining $2.1M in Cap savings after 6/1. Dead money of $6.723M in both ‘25 & ‘26 is unchanged https://t.co/iZ2KA9iS4L

— Brian McFarland (@RavensSalaryCap) January 7, 2025

…and with depth at tight end and a bad taste in the mouths of a lot of the fanbase, there are rumblings about Mark Andrews’ future (and $16 million cap hit) with the team.

Should the Ravens not be in a position to re-sign Stanley, their first-round draft pick would almost certainly need to go toward an OT of the future, even if they plan on shifting Roger Rosengarten to the left, which seems unlikely. Unfortunately, picking at #27 in the first round is a tough road to securing your bookend tackle of the future, and even with extra draft picks that they could try to use as leverage to trade up, it’s unlikely that other contenders would want to give the Ravens the ability to trade up and pass them en route to the piece that they’d need to secure their O-line.

The free agent class looks like it could be a feeding frenzy, but I’d temper my enthusiasm unless the Ravens can figure out some way to free up some money. It’s not likely that the answer to any of their major needs comes from there, so for now, our eyes will be set on some of the premier prospects at the Combine, the Senior Bowl, and the various invitational college games. As players begin to set themselves apart, we’ll keep you in the loop on names to know.

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