Might The Ravens Add Another Weapon For Lamar?

Davante Adams to the Ravens.

It sounds like a great idea, right? Here’s a guy who Lamar Jackson could count on in clutch situations; a target that Lamar could throw to even when covered and know that his guy has a good chance of completing the catch or at worst, prevent an opponent from making a play on the ball; a player who attracts attention and draws safeties to his routes, effectively opening the field for weapons like Zay Flowers, Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely.

Just imagine Lamar, Adams and Derrick Henry on the same field together. It’s enough to compel you to book your flight to New Orleans for the big game on February 9, 2025.

But you’re probably wondering if it is financially possible? Could the Ravens massage the salary cap to fit Adams and his hefty contract in? Of course, to get to the bottom of this loaded question, I reached out to RSR’s capologist Brian McFarland who brought up the following:

• Acquiring Adams would basically be a 1-year rental because no one is paying him those (fluffed up) $36-37M salaries in 2025 and 2026. They’d have to feel him out about that, but ideally, you’d be getting a motivated WR looking to be a FA in the spring.

• That said, the Ravens’ offense isn’t one for a WR to put up numbers, so Adams might prefer another team (although he really has no say). Then, it comes down to trade compensation.

• The Ravens could offset traded draft capital with a compensatory pick if Adams becomes a free agent after the 1-year stay in Baltimore but since he is a 10-year veteran in the league, the comp pick is capped at a 5th-round selection.

• From a cap perspective, the Ravens would have to restructure Lamar Jackson and Marcus Williams. That said, the cap space is there, even if Las Vegas is unwilling to eat any of the salary.

So, it depends on Adams really. What is he looking for? A chance to make more money or a chance at earning a ring? If he’s looking to rack up stats for his next deal, Baltimore would be a hard pass for the 31-year-old, 6-time Pro Bowler.

Does Baltimore’s reputation for being the place where receivers’ careers go to die make the conversation of Adams to the Ravens a non-starter? Judging from his interview with Amber Theoharis, it doesn’t sound like Adams is chasing stats.

DAVANTE ADAMS TO THE #RAVENS?

Adams said he would be just fine with having just 800 receiving yards as Lamar Jackson’s WR1, trying to win a Championship.

TAE x @Lj_era8 would go crazy.

(Powered by @JimmysSeafood)
pic.twitter.com/T3jhj18pNG

— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) October 2, 2024

What’s Up With Roquan?

Roquan Smith just doesn’t seem to be making the same impact that he did in 2022-23. His tackle numbers are down; he’s not made an impact at all in the passing game either in coverage or as a blitzer; and even when defending the run, he hasn’t been a threat to take down ball carriers at or behind the line of scrimmage.

If you put any stock in PFF grades, Roquan ranks 68th among linebackers in run defense with a grade of 61.5, that’s down from his 2023 grade of 72.0 (49th-ranked). In coverage, Roquan grades out at 49.6 good for 97th among linebackers. That’s down from his grade of 83.2 in 2023 which gave him a positional ranking of 9.

Comparatively speaking, Trenton Simpson is 84th v. the run with a grade of 57.9 and he’s 44th in coverage with a grade of 63.5. And for shits and giggles, Patrick Queen has grades of 29.2 v. the run (126th) and 52.3 in coverage (91st).

Now consideration must be given to Roquan working for a new coordinator. Maybe things will improve as the familiarity expands. But the run defense grade is surprising given that DC Zach Orr played Roquan’s position couple with the excellent play in front of him from Nnamdi Madubuike, Travis Jones and Michael Pierce. You’d think the results would be better.

Is it a matter of conditioning? Rust from the preseason inactivity?

Only time will tell, but it’s safe to say that Roquan isn’t the player (so far) that he was in 2022 and 2023. Hopefully this is just a short-term blip because Smith has a cap charge of 22.5M in 2025 and cap charges of $27.5M in both 2026 and 2027.

KVN

OLB Kyle Van Noy has tallied 2 sacks in each of his past 3 games. That ties Justin Houston (2022) for the longest such streak in Ravens history. KVN’s 6 sacks this season rank No. 2 in the NFL. He has also registered 9 QB hits. If Van Noy has 1 ½ sacks in Cincinnati this weekend, he’ll set a new Ravens record for consecutive games with multiple sacks.

The last NFL player to post multiple sacks in at least four straight games was Colts DE Robert Mathis (Weeks 2-5 in 2013).
The Ravens are enjoying a lot of production from a player whose cap number in 2024 is a very modest $3.625M. His cap number in 2025 is $5.375M. Comparatively speaking, recently departed former Raven Jadeveon Clowney has 2024/2025 cap numbers of $6M and $14M, respectively. Through four games, Clowney has one sack and 2 QB hits.

KVN = Value!

Ravens OLB Kyle Van Noy named the AFC Defensive Player of the Month for September. He had six sacks, seven tackles for loss, nine quarterback hits and one forced fumble this month.
It’s the first player of the month honor in Van Noy’s career.

— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) October 3, 2024

Odds & Ends

* Derrick Henry (9,982 rushing yards) is 18 rushing yards shy of becoming the 32nd player in NFL history with at least 10,000 in a career. By reaching the mark in 2024, Henry would become the 21st player ever to do so within the first nine seasons of a career. Think he can get to 11,000 in 2024?

* Justice Hill set a career-high with 78 receiving yards (on 6 catches), including a 19-yard TD, in last Sunday’s win vs. Buffalo. Hill became just the fourth RB in franchise history to post at least 75 receiving yards and 1 receiving TD in a single game, joining Javorius Allen (2015), Jamal Lewis (2002) and Ray Rice (2010).

* The Ravens 881 rushing yards through four games this season, marks the seventh most by a team through the opening four games of a season since the 1970 merger. Incidentally, the Ravens are on pace to eclipse their NFL seasonal record total of 3,296 yards rushing (206 YPG) set in 2019. Given the current pace and the 17-game schedule, the 2024 yardage total projects to be 3,744.

* Joe Flacco got in a little measure of satisfaction last Sunday when the Colts defeated the Steelers. Future HOF QB and former rival Ben Roethlisberger saw it coming.

WHOLESOME: #Steelers icon Ben Roethlisberger and #Ravens great Joe Flacco had a really cool moment after Sunday’s Indy-Pittsburgh game.

THE TWO HAD SOME EPIC BATTLES.

Ben says he was much more scared of Flacco then Anthony Richardson.

(@_BigBen7) pic.twitter.com/FpkGyyKaEQ

— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) October 1, 2024

* The Ravens have opened the 21-day practice window for both CB Arthur Maulet (knee) and standout second-year RB Keaton Mitchell (knee). No timetable for the return of either player has been established but it looks as if Maulet will see the field before Mitchell.

* On the call for CBS during Sunday’s game between the Bengals and the Ravens will be Kevin Harlan (PBP), Trent Green (analyst) and Melanie Collins (sideline). The last time Harlan handled play-by-play duties for a Ravens game in Cincinnati we were treated to this unforgettable call.

We all know what happens when Kevin Harlan calls Lamar Jackson runs against the Bengals pic.twitter.com/7nMcLPLNVm https://t.co/b4Y67GXLZY

— The Exit 52 Podcast (@Exit52Podcast) October 19, 2021

* Word is that NBC is trying to flex the Commanders at Ravens Week 6 game to the Sunday night slot. But CBS said, “not so fast!” They are apparently blocking that from happening. Instead, NBC is stuck with this doozy – Bengals at Giants. Both teams could be (1-4) by then.

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