Restricted free agency has been a big deal for the Baltimore Ravens in recent years: Will Hill, Justin Tucker and Dennis Pitta are among the bigger names the Ravens have tendered in recent years. More often, restricted free agents and exclusive rights free agents are the guys on the fringes of the roster, but there are a few big names on the list this year, including Kamar Aiken and Marlon Brown as RFAs and Ryan Jensen and Jeremy Butler as ERFAs. Let’s take a look at the whole list of RFAs and ERFAs and what the Ravens should do with each.
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Exclusive Rights Free Agents
Exclusive rights free agents almost always re-sign with their previous team. Players in the league two or fewer years are eligible for ERFA and are usually signed on a one-year deal at minimum salary. Kamar Aiken is an example of a player who has recently re-signed as an ERFA. The Ravens will likely tender every ERFA, since they count for essentially nothing against the cap. The ERFAs are as follows.
Jeremy Butler
Terrence Magee
Jermaine Whitehead
Ryan Jensen
Restricted Free Agents
Unlike ERFA, restricted free agency actually requires some decision making from the Ravens. For each RFA, the Ravens can decide between tendering the free agent or not placing a tender. The values of the tenders last year were as follows:
First-round tender: $3.352 million
Second-round tender: $2.356 million
Original-round tender: $1.542 million
Those numbers will rise slightly from last year. If the Ravens do not consider a player worth the original-round tender salary, the Ravens can decide not to tender the player. Last year, for example, the Ravens elected to sign Anthony Levine to a two-year, $2.2 million contract to cut down on the $1.542 million cap hit he would have gotten if tendered.
Let’s take a look at the Ravens’ RFAs.
Kamar Aiken
This is the big one: The Ravens have to tender Kamar Aiken so they know they have at least one functional starting receiver on their roster. The key question with Aiken isn’t whether or not he will get tendered, but what tender he should get.
Considering his incredible development in 2015, the Ravens can’t afford to put an original-round tender on him. Another receiver needy team will throw a big extension at Aiken that the Ravens can’t afford to match, and they’ll get nothing from it because Aiken was undrafted.
A second-round tender should be enough to keep Aiken. As good as Aiken was this past year, especially in the last six games, no team is going to throw a second-round pick and a big contract at a non-elite receiver. And getting a receiver of Aikens’ caliber for around $3 million in 2016 is a downright bargain.
Once tendered, the Ravens may look to sign Aiken to a long-term extension. That will be a much thornier process, and they would probably be best served waiting to see if Aiken can follow up his breakout 2015 with another strong season.
Assuming he plateaus in the 800-1,000 yard range, Aiken’s value will probably be similar to Torrey Smith‘s, or perhaps a bit below that since Smith stretches a defense. Smith’s 5-year, $40 million contract is a reasonable request for Aiken, but more likely, he should end up signing for around $6-7 million per year.
That said, if Aiken is motivated to extend as soon as possible, he should be prepared to sign for around $4-5 million per year. Any more than that, and especially any more than around $10 million in guarantees, is just too much of a risk for a guy with one strong season on his resume.
Suggested tender: Second-round
Brynden Trawick is a similar case to Anthony Levine’s case last year. Like Levine, Trawick is a valued special teamer with minimal contribution on defense. That said, Trawick made some pretty big mistakes this year. He ran into Kaelin Clay not once, but twice in the Ravens’ Week 17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Trawick is also famous for running into Jacoby Jones and injuring him in 2013. Like Levine is probably not worth even the original-round tender. He could be brought back for less than that tender.
Suggested tender: No tender
Allen Reisner has not played a single snap as a Raven. There is no reason to tender him.
Suggested tender: No tender
See above. Unlike Allen Reisner, though, Chase Ford has played at the NFL level. He may be worth bringing back on a minimum contract as a camp body, even though the Ravens are stacked at tight end.
Suggested tender: No tender
Marlon Brown
Once upon a time, Marlon Brown was an ascending talent, a player who would undoubtedly be tendered when the time came. Since then, much ink has been spilled on Brown’s descent into obscurity. His 3.73 yards per target was among the lowest numbers I have seen for a wide receiver. He could not get open, and he often dropped the ball even when uncovered. The sad truth is, Marlon Brown is not an NFL receiver anymore.
Suggested tender: No tender
Shawn began his writing career with Bleacher Report as a Ravens featured columnist and Breaking News Team writer. He moved on to write for Yahoo! and work on the Ravens Central Radio podcast. Most recently, he was an Editor at the Baltimore Wire. Shawn is a 2013 graduate of the Catholic University of America.