I have to give Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome credit, he’s typically a good evaluator of talent. No matter what I think of his risky draft picks in recent years, Newsome knows when a guy’s talent has run out and when a replacement is ready for primetime. Just look at the Ravens tight end scenario this year. Nothing against Todd Heap, he was a great Raven, but his time had come and gone and Dennis Pitta and Ed Dickson were ready to step up to the replace him.
But now I’m done patting Ozzie on the back. It’s time to be a little more critical. Tuesday’s deadline to sign defensive tackle Haloti Ngata is expected to pass. This means that the Ravens won’t be able to negotiate with their franchise player until after the season. That’s not good.
Even worse than that is the report from Adam Schefter of ESPN who said that the Ravens “have not talked contract in close to a month.” Schefter reports that the two sides “have agreed to disagree” in their discussions.
I will never understand not talking during any sort of negotiations. It made no sense to me when the players and owners weren’t meeting during the NFL lockout and it makes no sense to me in this scenario. I’m no general manager, but I know that you at least have to talk to work out a bargain. Ngata’s agents aren’t just going to forget about it and sign a long-term deal at the last minute.
Assuming Ngata continues to play at a high level this year, his asking price could be even higher at the season’s end. Just to give you some perspective, Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh signed a five year contract last August worth $12 million a year, $40 million guaranteed. Expect Ngata to get at least that much.
I still think that Domonique Foxworth’s insane contract is holding the Ravens back. To me, he would have been one of the first cuts after the lockout ended. He’s failed to recover from ACL surgery and even if he does come back to 100 percent, he’s still not worth the four year, $27.2 million deal he signed with the Ravens in 2009.
Ngata is worth the money.
Ozzie is one of the weakest GM’s in the NFL,,,,,,,,since he was named GM in 2001 , the Ravens haven’t been to one super bowl , let alone win one…………almost twenty other GM’s have made it to the big game since he was named GM , that would put him in the bottom half of the GM list……………Ozzie gets a free pass every year , don’t really know why , can anyone tell me ?
Okay, if you do not all rise up in revolt against Ozzie, you are not the fans I believed you to be. Ngata is one of the best Ravens on the field and if you don’t want him, I’m sure the Steelers would rather have him, than face him. Ask Ben…
Finally another person who gets it……….you other guys should be a shamed of yourselves…………
And to the squeeler fans leaving any comments at all .. heres to ya. http://www.google.com/imgres?q=double+thumbs+down&hl=en&biw=1280&bih=718&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=JqB0HeJ8-kJLgM:&imgrefurl=http://melovesmiles.wordpress.com/page/3/&docid=Un3NGEKdZ7m7QM&w=900&h=600&ei=DrB4TpmeN4nu0gHhlu3rCw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=393&vpy=437&dur=12328&hovh=183&hovw=275&tx=157&ty=127&page=7&tbnh=148&tbnw=199&start=101&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:101
I don’t think this is a case of whether or not the Ravens want him.I’m confident that they do. The question is whether or not they should pay him a salary that will cripple the team in the long term.
This isn’t baseball. You can’t just overpay for someone without any consequences.
Island Girl- I doubt the Steelers have the money. They just wasted it away on two has-beens.
Ozzie has miss-managed the salary cap big time the past few years , just ask Foxworth…………
Ozzie is keeping this team out of super bowl appearances time after time…………..
spy- i learned a long time ago that arguing you is pointless.
Keep on hating… maybe you will get your wish.
How many rings does Ozzie have as a GM,,,,,answer is zero , just like me………….
Ozzie Newsome is one of the best in the biz. No doubt he does what’s best for the team
He can’t get his players a super bowl ring , can he ?
You can delete this article now. $40MM guaranteed in the first two years of his five year deal.
The Ravens took care of him like he takes care of them.
LOL wow, the Ravens re-signed him later in the day. Shame on Zach Wilt for writing a failed preemptive story.
You are really just getting to this now?
Poop
Are you serious? Do you get on writers for erroneous 1978 Super Bowl predictions, too?
Is guess your dial up Internet just got this story downloaded from more than a month ago?!?