Reaction to the Ravens’ Day 1 Free Agency Losses: Being Late for Work

Two days ago, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic informed Ravens fans of what to anticipate in the first few days of free agency. His predictions came true yesterday as the legal tampering period started.

Zrebiec wrote: “For the Baltimore Ravens, a normal start to free agency typically looks like this: Within the first 48 hours of the market opening, a number of their better free agents reach agreements with other teams. The Ravens are largely silent as they wait for the prices to drop and the compensatory selections to accumulate, re-signing a few of their own free agents to modest contracts. The fan base becomes paranoid, believing the team is about to fail and wondering if general manager Eric DeCosta is sleeping through it all.

the league’s new season beginning. Rinse, lather, and then repeat.

“The Ravens won’t be among the more active teams on the open market, bidding on a multitude of quality free agents when the legal tampering period begins Monday at noon ET. Again, DeCosta and company lack the salary-cap flexibility to engage in bidding wars for numerous elite players, and they don’t think that free agency is a good way to create a team.”

Yesterday’s final total indicated that the Ravens had lost running back Gus Edwards, safety Geno Stone, offensive tackle John Simpson, cornerback Ronald Darby, and wide receiver/return specialist Devin Duvernay, but had agreed to terms to bring back linebacker Malik Harrison.