According to Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com, Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti said in a conference call with season-ticket holders that the team is “very confident” that quaterback Joe Flacco will restructure his deal.
Flacco is currently in the middle signed to a six-year, $120.6 million deal, signed following his Super Bowl MVP performance.
The first three years of the deal has average cap hits, but in 2016, that cap hit raises to $28.55 million, which would be about 20% of the Ravens cap space.
Bisciotti believes “January Joe” would be “amendable” to a new, six year deal with flatter cap numbers, and more up front, guranteed money.
Bisciotti also talked about restructuring Justin Tucker, Marshall Yanda, and Jimmy Smith’s contracts.
This would greatly help the Ravens open much more cap space then they have had in previous seasons, and pursue free agents to help the Ravens continue to compete. Bisciotti has one 2016 free agent in mind. Haloti Ngata, the recently traded defensive tackle, who is currently under contract with the Detroit Lions for one season.
Whether these contracts get restructured, and what free agents the Ravens pursue next offseason is way too far off to tell, but it seems to me players like Flacco, Tucker, Yanda, and Smith are players that are committed to the team, and helping them compete.
