Foxworth is coming off two major injuries and the only way he will be back with the Ravens will be if he makes a pay cut. Over the course of three seasons with the Ravens, Foxworth has played in just 16 games.
By comparison, Lardarius Webb has played in 44 games over that same span, made 86 more tackles and caught 3 more interceptions. Webb is a restricted free agent in 2012.
Foxworth tore his ACL in 2010 and struggled to recover last season. Carr suffered hamstring and back injuries and would have carried a $4.56 million cap figure in 2012.
Time to wipe the board clean. The wounds of the 2011 Ravens may still be fresh, but the seconds are already ticking away until the 2012 Ravens break training camp. While the number of free agent decisions the team needs to make might be minimal in quantity, the re-signing or lack thereof by some key pieces may affect the puzzle greatly. Matt Lund and I broke down every potential new deal and decision not to renew.
If you need to brush up on unrestricted vs. restricted free agency, please feel free to do so and then leave your calls in the comments. (Player ages are in parentheses.)
Skill Positions
———————–
RB Ray Rice (25) D: If a long-term deal is inevitable for Rice, I’d be happy if the Ravens took care of it now rather than franchising him and waiting a year. I don’t love long-term deals for backs as it obviously exposes the team to much more risk than most positions. Whatever you gotta do, Keep.
M: Absolute no-brainer. It would be in the Ravens best interest to sign Rice to a long-term deal to avoid the hassle of franchising him and also having both he and Joe Flacco as impending free agents in 2013. The guy is your workhorse, and led the NFL in yards from scrimmage this season. He’s worth every penny. Keep.
49ers Record Traveling East – Prior to this season the 49ers were 4-36 in road games against non-divisional opponents. Most of these games were played on the East Coast. However, since taking over this season, Jim Harbaugh appears to have addressed the general malaise that takes hold on a team when time zones are crossed. The 49ers are 3 -0 in such games this year, almost matching their win total since 2003. Furthermore, they will be looking to go undefeated on the year in East Coast games on Thursday when they enter M & T.
49ers Kicking Game – The 49ers thoroughly dominated the Cardinals in the first half of their Week 12, but only held a 6-0 lead with nine minutes left in the first half. Why? David Akers has missed three field goals, two of which were blocked. Look for the Ravens to try and exploit the 49ers blocking and Akers’ line drive field goal kicking style on field goals on Thursday in what is sure to be a close game.
With two consecutive wins under their belt, and riding a wave of good feelings after last night’s dominant defensive performance, the Ravens may feel a bit disappointed to have a bye week coming. With that said, this bye week could end up aiding the Ravens later in the season. Not only will will the bye give injured players a week to recover from their knocks, but it will give the coaching staff an additional week to fine tune the offense, and get the defense prepared for the dynamic and dangerous Houston Texans offense.
The one thing that will be pivotal for the Ravens during the bye week will be to stay focused. The schedule gets no easier after the week off, with games against the Texans and Steelers on the immediate horizon. READ MORE >>>
Despite a 1-1 record with two polar opposite performances there is one common thread in the Ravens 2011 NFL season: injuries to the secondary. Chris Carr (hamstring) will attempt to play but may be limited and Jimmy Smith (ankle) will be out for Sunday’s game against the Rams. These injuries are especially disconcerting because the secondary has been dominated by the opposition’s #1 receivers. In Week 1, Mike Wallace caught eight passes over 11 targets for 107 yards and in Week 2 Kenny Britt toyed with the Ravens secondary grabbing nine catches over 13 targets for 105 yards.
Ravens nose guard Terrence Cody and cornerback Chris Carr told reporters on Thursday that they expect to suit up in week three agasint the St. Louis Rams. Cody and Carr were sidelined during week two with a concussion and hamstring injury respectively.
Cody passed the NFL’s concussion test and and informed the Ravens that he does not have headaches as he is ready to play against the Rams. He participated fully in Thursday’s practice.
Carr told reporters that he feels “healthy enough to play,” crediting the week off for his recovery. “I fully expect to play Sunday.” Carr was limited on Thursday.
Lee Evans and Ben Grubbs did not practice Thursday, while Matt Birk returned from having Wednesday off.
Last week we told you about the Baltimore Ravens decision to adapt The White Stripes’ “Seven-Nation Army” as a rally song at M&T Bank Stadium. When the song came on last Sunday, the fans chants could be heard on the CBS broadcast of the game.
Here’s video of the chant from the cheap seats, if there are such a thing, at M&T Bank Stadium versus the Steelers.
Friday injury reports have been released by the Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans for their week two matchup in Nashville.
BALTIMORE RAVENS
Out
CB Chris Carr (Thigh)
CB Jimmy Smith (Ankle)
Doubtful
G Ben Grubbs (toe)
Probable
WR Lee Evans (ankle)
FB Vonta Leach (foot)
Aaron Wilson of the Carroll County Times reports that Grubbs is a game time decision. Vonta Leach was added to the injury list, but have no fear he practiced fully with the Ravens today. READ MORE >>>
The Ravens have adopted the White Stripes’”Seven-Nation Army” as their new hype up song at M&T Bank Stadium. The song debuted to fans during the preseason and Mike Duffy of BaltimoreRavens.com reports that the song is catching on among players in the locker room.
The song has been adapted internationally among soccer teams. The 2006 World Cup Champions, team Italy, used the song as their theme and it was became widely popular by the 70,000 fans chanting it around the stadium.
“If you go to a soccer game in Europe, the crowd just starts doing it without the music,” Ravens cornerback Chris Carr said in Duffy’s article. “There’s no cooler sound than 70,000 people chanting along with it. I think it’s a perfect song.
Carr hopes that the Ravens fans will adapt the song the same way it has been used Europe.
“It taught me humility and that things could be taken away from me,” Williams told The Sun’s Ken Murray in 2010 after hearing about the suspension. “I would want to play, but I still have to earn my position back on the team. I just want to go out and put my best foot forward.” After grabbing the attention of the Ravens coaching staff through a dominant preseason, Williams has earned a spot alongside Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Haloti Ngata and Terrell Suggs in one of the best defenses in football.
Williams first started showing his capabilities in Baltimore’s first preseason game against the Chiefs. While rookie corner Jimmy Smith was getting scorched by Dwayne Bowe, Williams shut down his opponents and led the team in passes defended. He was aggressive, but aware of his surroundings.
For Williams, the road to a starting job has been a difficult one. He was signed by Baltimore in 2009 off the Titans practice squad and he contributed on special teams for the team last season with several tackles and even a catch on a fake punt. During the offseason he trained with corner Renaldo Hill who he credits for his skills. Williams has separated himself from Domonique Foxworth, Jimmy Smith and Lardarius Webb and has earned a well deserved starting job on an elite defense.
Due to the lockout putting teams on a tight deadline to make signings, NFL free agency this year is pretty much impossible to follow. Here at BSR, we’ll try to help you out with our Free Agent Tracker. Here we track the comings and goings of Ravens free agents, meaning you can keep up with who leaves Baltimore, and who will be a new face in the purple and black.
Currently, you’ll see a few “2011 Team” spaces left blank. As players agree to contracts and sign those contracts, we’ll update that space.
***Additionally, you’ll see Casey Rabach’s name crossed out. This is because he failed his physical after agreeing to a contract, and therefore will not be playing with the Ravens this season.***
“I almost did leave, but I thought it wouldn’t have been worth it. You want to be at a place where you’re happy and winning, Carr said according to Aaron Wilson.
After losing Josh Wilson to the Redskins, Carr was a must-sign for Ozzie Newsome and the Ravens. He stepped up as a full time corner last season and Jamison Hensley of The Sun believes that he was “the team’s most consistent corner.”
I think that was probably Wilson, but nonetheless it’s good to see Baltimore lock up Carr, a guy who has been outspoken about wanting to step up in 2011.
You wanted to see some free agent rumors? Well you got ‘em. The Ravens are apparently one of five teams rumored to be in the running for free agent fullback Vonta Leach according to Fox 26 in Houston.
Other teams reportedly in the mix are Houston, Dallas, Denver and the New York Giants. The Ravens could be limited in negotiations because they’re about $4 million under the salary cap.
“There are multiple teams expressing interest in Vonta,” said Ralph Vitolo, Leach’s agent. “We are still hopeful Vonta can return to the Texans, if at all possible.”
Leach made the Pro Bowl last season as the fullback for Arian Foster. He’s noted as the top free agent fullback on the market. The Ravens are also reportedly talking with Chris Carr about re-signing with Baltimore this season as well.
It’s been a busy week. The Ravens cut Todd Heap, Derrick Mason, Willis McGahee and Kelly Gregg. They also lost Donte Stallworth and in my opinion, their biggest loss was free agent cornerback Josh Wilson, both of whom went to the Washington Redskins.
Wilson, was arguably the best of the Ravens three free agent cornerbacks, Fabian Washington and Chris Carr being the other two.
It’s clear that the Ravens top offseason priority was re-signing offensive lineman Marshal Yanda. It’s my hope that in doing so the Ravens didn’t forget about one of their best corners, Josh Wilson, who they let slip for a very reasonable 3 year/$13.5 million deal with a $6 million signing bonus.
This move says one of two things; either the Ravens completely dropped the ball on Wilson in the midst of what has proven to be a hectic week or the Ravens have bigger plans for the cornerback position in 2011.
Thus far, their moves have made sense, Wilson’s loss seems to be the only flaw. If the Ravens let him slip through the cracks, they need to ensure that they bring back Chris Carr, who has been outspoken about wanting a bigger role with the Ravens this season. If not, then maybe they are in the running for Nmandi Asomugha. The Asomugha rumors have been full of Jets news, but perhaps Baltimore will sneak in at the 11th hour and and pull off a big deal.
Ravens fans need a nickname for Rex Ryan’s New York Jets. How about the Ravens Triple-A affiliate or Ravens North?
It’s no secret that the two organizations have built each other in similar manners and have shared a number of players over the years. This offseason has proven to be no different.
Earlier this week, rumors were circulating that the Ravens had interest in Jets free agent wide receiver Santonio Holmes. This morning, the Jets signed Holmes to a five year deal.
The cornerback position comes with a lot of question marks for the Ravens this season. We reported the speculation that Baltimore may cut Domonique Foxworth to make salary cap room. Josh Wilson and Chris Carr are also free agents at that position this season. Aaron Wilson thinks that the Ravens will re-sign Wilson over Carr as they apparently “haven’t reached out to Carr yet.” Not surprisingly, the Jets have shown interested Carr’s services this season.
And of course, the big name that both teams are after is corner Nmandi Asomugha. So far, strong indications show that New York is in “serious” talks with Asomugha according to numerous sources. So far no one has reported talks between Asomugha and the Ravens, but experts have speculated that the cleared cap room could be for the free agent corner.
I remember thinking back in 2009 that $27.2 million over four-years was way too much to give Domonique Foxworth. Here we are in 2012, a year in which Foxworth is due $5.6 million, and the Ravens are expected to cut the defensive back along with Chris Carr and Lee Evans.
Time to wipe the board clean. The wounds of the 2011 Ravens may still be fresh, but the seconds are already ticking away until the 2012 Ravens break training camp. While the number of free agent decisions the team needs to make might be minimal in quantity, the re-signing or lack thereof by some key pieces may affect the puzzle greatly. 
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