Should the Ravens pull out all stops to keep Brandon Williams, their fine nose tackle, who is due to hit free agency and bound to draw suitors?
It's easy to answer yes – a little too easy, honestly.
Any team would want the 340-pound Williams, a rugged, elite player in his prime at age 27. With him plugging the middle, the Ravens' interior run defense was stout in 2016.
Williams also is a positive locker room force, excellent in the community, a player the Ravens can build around. One reason they've fallen off lately is they've lost too many guys of his caliber, guys they've drafted and developed into cornerstones – for someone else, it turns out, after their free agency price tag soars.
But having said that, the situation with Williams' pending free agency is more complicated than it appears. A more appropriate question is this: What are you willing for the Ravens to give up in order to keep him?
Not so easy, that one.
The Ravens already have a lengthy list of defensive holes they need to plug. They need cornerbacks (plural) and pass rushers, and to their surprise and dismay, now they need a starting inside linebacker after the surprising retirement of their top tackler, Zachary Orr.
With so much of the defense in flux, Williams' return as a familiar force in the middle would serve as much-needed ballast. But the Ravens can't do it without limiting their ability to address their others needs.
Actually, they probably can't do it without creating *more *needs. They surely would have to cut some veterans to clear room under the salary cap for Williams, whose market could parallel that of Damon Harrison, a nose tackle who signed a five-year deal with the New York Giants a year ago that included an $8 million signing bonus, $24 million guaranteed and a $9.25 million average annual salary.
What if they have to part ways with Mike Wallace, their most productive receiver in 2016, to make that happen?
Several of the cap-dictated cuts the Ravens reportedly are considering would be fairly easy to make, but Wallace is a tough one. His departure probably would clear enough cap room for them to make a bona fide offer to Williams, but his departure also would leave them precariously thin at receiver, without a proven veteran playmaker. Yikes on that.
I'm not saying that's definitely what it would take for them to bring back Williams. There might be another way. But if that IS what it takes, are you still all in on the idea?
See what I mean … it's a complicated situation.
I'm tempted to say the Ravens have too many other needs to apply such ample resources to one position. The strong play of rookie Michael Pierce in 2016 means a viable alternative to Williams could be developing. Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome always stocks the cupboard with interior defenders such as recent draft picks Carl Davis and Willie Henry. More are on the way, I'm sure.
Under the cap, if you can envision a plan for a position that is both cheaper and legitimate, you probably need to go that route.
And even if the Ravens do make a bona fide run at keeping Williams, they're hardly assured of landing him. The cap is going up in 2017, which means prices are going to rise. A handful of other teams have more room. The Ravens learned the hard way with guard Kelechi Osemele a year ago that sometimes even their best offer isn't enough.
It was a tough lesson. They really missed Osemele in 2016. I think they would miss Williams in the same way in 2017 and beyond. I'm not sure about the viability of the alternative defensive interior plan described above.
My two cents, the Ravens should step up with a hefty offer that gives them a chance to keep their hefty guy in the fold, even if it costs them at other positions. Sorry if this is an obvious observation, but teams are built around standout players, and the Ravens need more, not fewer.
