Ravens will now face an unavoidable problem after placing the franchise tag on Justin Madubuike
The Baltimore Ravens did exactly what they expected to do in placing the franchise tag on defensive tackle Justin Madubuike.Madubuike will stay with the Ravens for at least another season, but Baltimore has a lot more work to do now that a $22.1 million tender has been placed on the former third-round pick. Ravens have […]
The Baltimore Ravens did exactly what they expected to do in placing the franchise tag on defensive tackle Justin Madubuike.
Madubuike will stay with the Ravens for at least another season, but Baltimore has a lot more work to do now that a $22.1 million tender has been placed on the former third-round pick.
Ravens have salary cap space to clear after tagging Justin Madubuike
As it stands now, the Ravens are nearly $10 million OVER the salary cap after tagging Madubuike. The tag immediately goes onto the cap sheet even if the player hasn't signed the tender yet.
The Ravens now have a little over a week to become salary cap compliant before the new league year begins. Getting back out of the red will require a variety of moves.
Left tackle Ronnie Stanley and cornerback Marlon Humphrey stand out instantly. The Ravens can restructure both of their contracts and save close to $15 million in cap space this year. These moves would sacrifice future cap space as a consequence, but the Ravens have the problem at hand to solve first.
Releasing players is the other option at Baltimore's disposal. Terminating right tackle Morgan Moses' contract would save $5.5 million in cap space, and the same goes for edge defender Tyus Bowser.
The Ravens can also approach some of their players about taking pay cuts, but that's usually a tactic reserved for players who are likely to get cut in the first place.
Madubuike returning to the fold brings the Ravens back to 51 rostered players, which is important in all of this. Once the new league year begins next Wednesday, March 13, offseason accounting rules become activated around the league. Only the top 51 salary cap hits are counted against a given team's salary cap.
That will help the Ravens fill out their roster with affordable free agents as they make their way to 90 players. In order to fit high-priced players, they'll need to backload those cap hits and continue pushing their problems out into the future.
Madubuike hit his stride in 2023 and is on his way to becoming one of the premier interior defensive linemen in the NFL, if he isn't already among that class.
The Ravens were smart to retain him at all costs, but all costs will soon be impacting them for the worse.
