Welcome back to Loose Feathers, a regular round-up of the latest news and analysis about the Baltimore Ravens. In today’s edition, we cover a weak trade market for some of the Ravens’ veterans, grades for Eric DeCosta’s acquisition of Jacoby Brissett, and an assessment of first-year offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, Let’s dive in:
‘No real market’ for Stanley, Andrews, Humphrey
Apologies to the Ravens fans hoping to flip some of the team’s highly-paid, underperforming veterans for draft picks at the deadline. If Baltimore is holding out any hope
of getting Lamar Jackson back, they will not trade away his left tackle, and neither Andrews nor Humphrey can be seen as upgrades right now. All three were listed under “no real market” in Jeff Zrebiec’s recent trade deadline round-up.
One name remains: Roquan Smith. His contract seems untenable heading into the offseason, but another team could be interested in upgrading their linebacker corps this season. Getting rid of his future salary could help Baltimore’s tight future cap picture and maybe even free up the money to re-sign Trenton Simpson. Some would even argue that a Simpson-Teddye Buchanan duo might actually be an improvement over Smith’s up-and-down (mostly down) play this year.
But the Ravens love Smith. They loved him coming out of Georgia in 2018, and they loved him enough in Chicago to send a second-round pick to the Bears. And again, Jackson is still in the picture, albeit on the margins. With no clarity to be had before Tuesday’s deadline, Smith seems likely to stay put.
It’s worth noting that trading Smith might be less of an option in the offseason. Linebackers tend to have more value during the season when teams are desperate to make up for injuries and/or push all-in. But in the offseason, teams will have more (and cheaper) options at linebacker, allowing them to focus on premium positions instead. The same is true of running back. This might be the best time to trade Smith and Derrick Henry, but the Ravens will not pull the trigger.
The Ravens should be sellers at the trade deadline. What do they actually have to offer? – Jeff Zrebiec (The Athletic)
It’s hard to say whether there will be any interest in Smith. He’s still an effective player, but he’s 29 now, he’s not making the same number of impact plays and he still has another year left on a big-money contract.
A purge of some veteran defensive players seems overdue, and moving on from Smith would save them $8 million in cap space, which would come in handy this offseason.
However, shipping off the team’s vocal leader and defensive signal-caller could make it seem like the Ravens are waiving the white flag on the season. They probably wouldn’t get much in return, either.
Ravens get mixed grades for Jacoby Brissett trades
Jacoby Brissett trade grade: Ravens try to salvage season; Cardinals improve draft capital – Daniel Popper (The Athletic)
Ravens grade: C
I’m mostly unmoved by this deal. Brissett does give first-year coach Jesse Minter and offensive coordinator Declan Doyle a higher floor on offense. Still, it’s hard to see the Ravens contending in any meaningful capacity, especially with the disappointing way Minter’s defense is playing. General manager Eric DeCosta gave up marginal draft capital, so it’s a fine bet to try and salvage something from a season slipping away.
NFL trade deadline grades: Deals for Jordan Davis, Jessie Bates III, Andre Cisco – Ben Solak and Seth Walder (ESPN)
Ravens grade: B+
The Ravens lost 33-10 to the Jaguars on Thursday night with Fagnano (and also some Derrick Henry in the Wildcat) at quarterback. In all likelihood, Baltimore’s season is over with Jackson currently on injured reserve and the team at 4-5. Ravens coach Jesse Minter has said Jackson’s injury is “potentially” season-ending. But Brissett gives the team at least a sliver of hope of staying afloat long enough to hand the reins back to Jackson with a shot at the playoffs.
But make no mistake, those chances are extremely slim. Even knowing Brissett is about to take over at QB (and assuming Jackson has, say, a 30% chance of coming back in games starting in Week 14, ESPN’s Football Power Index gives Baltimore only a 3% chance of reaching the playoffs. If Jackson is indeed able to come back, that number goes up, but it’s still a long shot. The cost here is low. By ESPN’s draft pick valuations, the swap works out to the equivalent of an early sixth-round pick. Considering the team’s upside if it does get Jackson back, I think that is easily worth it for Baltimore.
Jesse Minter optimistic regarding Kyle Hamilton, Nate Wiggins injuries
News & Notes: Jesse Minter Gives Injury Update on Kyle Hamilton – Clifton Brown (BaltimoreRavens.c0m)
Head Coach Jesse Minter gave a positive update Monday on All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton, who left Thursday night’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars with a hip injury.
“I think everything looks fairly good,” Minter said. “We’ll find out as the guys come back in tomorrow (Tuesday). But I wouldn’t expect that to be something where … hopefully he doesn’t miss time.”
Minter was also optimistic about cornerback Nate Wiggins (illness) and safety Jaylinn Hawkins (knee) returning to action this week. Wiggins did not play against the Jaguars, while Hawkins has missed the last three games.
“There’s definitely optimism there,” Minter said regarding Hawkins rejoining practice. “I think (Nate) will be okay. It was an unfortunate timing of an illness.”
