The Baltimore Ravens lost heavily on the first day of the tampering period of free agency, and can they recover from the losses?
The legal tampering period for free agency has come and gone, and a lot of teams got busy announcing new deals for players. For the Baltimore Ravens, the blockbuster trade for Maxx Crosby was the biggest story until the team began to lose starters.
With the massive losses on both sides of the ball, does general manager Eric DeCosta have a plan in place to help the Ravens rebound? More so, can they rebound?
In just one day, the Ravens were hit hard, with seven pending free agent starters moving to new teams. The biggest of all was center Tyler Linderbaum, who moved to the Las Vegas Raiders on a historic three-year, $81 million deal that will pay him a record $27 million a year as an interior lineman.
Linderbaum was the catalyst that led to the exodus of many more players.
Pass rusher Dre'Mont Jones left for the New England Patriots, where he landed a three-year, $36.5 million deal.
Tight end Charlie Kolar rejoined John Harbaugh, securing a three-year, $24.3 million deal.
Punter Jordan Stout also left for the New York Giants, landing a three-year, $12.3 million deal.
Safety Alohi Gilman joined the Kansas City Chiefs, bringing in a three-year, $24.75 million deal.
Safety Ar'Darius Washington followed wuit with Kolar and Stout, joining the Giants on a one-year, $3 million deal.
The Ravens lost seven starters in one day, which would be tough for any team to have to deal with.
On the bright side, the Ravens did bring back Tyler Huntley on a two-year, $5 million deal. They also brought back offensive lineman John Simpson on a three-year, $30 million deal.
Some of the lost players will be a bit tough to replace. For starters, losing a quality blocking tight end like Kolar will sting.
Kolar was a major component of blocking packages that helped to protect Lamar Jackson and open run lanes for Derrick Henry. Blocking tight ends are hard to come by, and it makes sense why Harbaugh brought him over.
Jones was a bit of a toss-up, as he brought in seven sacks, but it was likely not enough for the Ravens to want to pay top dollar for him, especially with bringing in Crosby.
Gilman was a solid contributor after being traded from the Los Angeles Chargers for Odafe Oweh. The safety secured six passes defendedm 68 total tackles, and a defensive TD.
Stout is a major loss due to his ability to pin opposing offenses in the 20-yard line, and he also led the league with a 44.87 punt net yards average.
The Ravens and DeCosta had better have a strong free agency and draft to mitigate their losses, which will still be tough to do without the extension for Jackson being wrapped up.
That might be the biggest roadblock keeping the team from making big moves, and DeCosta may already be wheeling and dealing behind the scenes to bolster the roster in a bigger way than just landing Crosby.
The Crosby trade will also hurt due to losing two first-round picks, which could have easily been used to help with the players who just left the team.
Free agency has barely begun, but the Ravens were hit harder than most teams, and in a way that they may not be able to immediately recover from.