Various thoughts on various things, all in 50 words or less:
Marcus Peters' classic "I think we ain’t done yet" line comes to mind when thinking about Ravens free agency. The Ravens burst out the gates with the Marcus Williams and Morgan Moses signings, then were on the cusp of a Za'Darius Smith deal that seemed too good to be true.
When the Smith deal fell through, Baltimore pivoted, and I like the direction. Veteran inside linebacker Bobby Wagner reportedly visited Friday. That would be a home run signing from not only a leadership perspective, but also as a tackling machine that would allow Patrick Queen to keep running free.
I did a double take when referencing Wagner's credentials. He's a six-time first-team All-Pro. Ray Lewis earned that honor seven times and Terrell Suggs once. You might ask how much Wagner has left in the tank at 31 years old. He's coming off a career-high 170 tackles.
Even if the Ravens don't end up signing Wagner, there were also reported visits with young pass rushers Arden Key and Rasheem Green this week. Both players are coming off breakout seasons and the Ravens would be hoping they could get them on the ascend and without injury questions.
The big lesson here is that Eric DeCosta is going to continue to explore every avenue in free agency. His wife, Lacie, tweeted that DeCosta "doesn’t sleep this time of year." I'm no capologist, but the Ravens have somehow made much more possible than I expected.
A quarter of NFL teams don't have a first-round pick this year after the trade flurry. It looks fine now because they got star players but wait till those stars gobble a fifth of their salary-cap space and most of them don't get a Lombardi Trophy to show for it.
On one hand, seeing the Chiefs' juggernaut offense lose a critical cog in Tyreek Hill is satisfying. One the other, Kansas City will still be very good with Patrick Mahomes under center and the Dolphins, who are on the Ravens' 2022 schedule, just became a much more dangerous threat.
ESPN's Mel Kiper said this week he does not envision the Ravens drafting a first-round cornerback because of all they already have invested in the secondary. I disagree. Teams need at least three starting-caliber corners and Baltimore's investment is intentional. That's how they believe strong defense is built.
Jackson's atypical contract extension negotiation isn't the only unique way he conducts his business off the field. Jackson could probably have a massive sponsorship deal with one of the major apparel brands. Instead, he's bet on his own brand hitting it big.
