If the Ravens are going to trade for Osi Umenyiora, it’s going to happen soon.  The latest reports indicated that the Giants have dropped their demand for Umenyiora from a first round pick to a second round pick.  Rumors on Tuesday indicated that the Ravens were willing to offer a third round pick for the services of the highly sought after pass rusher.

Mike Preston of The Sun says that several Ravens top officials have urged Ozzie Newsome to make a deal for Umenyiora, which in my opinion likely means that Ravens ownership wants to get this deal done.

So what’s holding it up?  Right now the Ravens are still held back by the salary cap and the big way to fix that is by re-signing defensive tackle Haloti Ngata to a longterm deal.  Preston explains:

Newsome might do the deal,according to the source, if the Ravens can get Pro Bowl defensive tackle Haloti Ngata to sign a new, multi-year contract which would create substantial room under the cap. If Newsome can’t get Ngata signed and Umenyiora agreed to a new deal, Newsome is concerned some of his younger stars like quarterback Joe Flacco and running back Ray Rice might become upset because they are next in line for new contracts.

The Ravens will have to act quick as they are reportedly one of five teams in the hunt for Umenyiora.