Ray Rice Celebrates Wedding Ceremony
Running back Ray Rice and his wife Janay publicly celebrated their vows for the first time this weekend.
The couple already exchanged "I Dos" in a private ceremony in March. The two didn't hold a standard reception with friends and family at the time, but reports indicated they would in June.
And so they did Friday, and the event brought together current and former Ravens for the occasion. Among those in attendance were wide receiver Torrey Smith, linebacker Josh Bynes, running back Bobby Rainey (Bucs), and cornerbacks Lardarius Webb, Cary Williams (Eagles) and Corey Graham (Bills).
Several of Rice's teammates posted pictures of the ceremony and reception on Instagram, embedded below (mobile users tap "View in browser" at the top of the page to view).
"Wedding day flow!!" Bynes wrote. "As my boy Ray Rice and Janay unite in marriage!!"
"Great times with Ray @cary_williams26 @jab56 and Corey Graham," Smith wrote with the group picture below.
"Had a great time last night @ The #RiceWedding !!!#Family #FriendsForLife #Blessed," added Williams.
And saving the best for last … the couple's adorable two-year-old daughter, Rayven, entertained the crowd with a little dance to Pharell Williams' "Happy," as captured by Rainey.
How Much Will It Cost To Extend Tucker?
Kevin Byrne, senior vice president of community and public relations, created headlines around the web over the weekend after his in-depth interview with GM Ozzie Newsome. Check it out here, in case you missed it.
Among several things revealed, Newsome let it be known that the team would like to get a contract extension done with Pro Bowl kicker Justin Tucker. As has been well-documented, he also wants to extend Torrey Smith, cornerback Jimmy Smith and defensive lineman Haloti Ngata. Ozzie wants to make Ngata a Raven for life.
"We're trying to get these done, but we haven't yet," Newsome said.
Tucker, 24, has been in the league for just two seasons and has already established himself as one of the best in the NFL. He's converted 68-of-74 field goals the last two years and made all 68 extra points. He's reportedly scheduled to make $570,000 in 2014, so he will "obviously be getting a hefty raise soon," writes The Baltimore Sun's Jeff Zrebiec.
How big will that raise be?
"That's a tough question to answer, and there's been no indication that negotiations between Tucker and the Ravens have gained a lot of traction to this point anyway," Zrebiec wrote. "The going rate for the top free-agent kickers this offseason was around $3 million per season. …
"Wherever his eventual new deal falls and whenever it gets done, it's probably a safe bet that Tucker will join the hierarchy of the league's highest-paid kickers. And that's probably where he belongs, too."
Steve Smith Training Like Lion
Newsome acknowledged to Byrne that the 2013 offense was hurting without enough firepower, which is why he brought in some new weapons to add to the arsenal.
"It was tough for the offense, much more than we anticipated. The lack of weapons really hurt at times," Newsome said. "We'll be better on offense."
So, he added players who he believes can win one-on-one battles in the fourth quarter to beat good teams. In addition to re-signing healthy tight end Dennis Pitta, he added tight end Owen Daniels and wide receiver Steve Smith Sr.
Smith showed why he wins those battles with an intense social media post this weekend, comparing himself to training with lions in order to become a lion. And he doesn't see defenders as opponents, he sees them as victims.
"You lift weights, run drills to help you," Smith wrote with the Instagram picture below. "But what's inside of me is greater than any workout.... I will look into the eyes of all my victim's!!! No hatin here just determination!!! So save all the you know me Becuz you don't!!!! typa of way I'm on a mission operation wreck shop#stevesmith #UA #agent89"
Zrebiec believes that Steve Smith, Daniels and Michael Campanaro will open up the Ravens' deep passing game by drawing defenders to stop plays underneath and over the middle of the field. They will potentially open up speedsters Torrey Smith and Jacoby Jones.
"There was plenty made last season of the relative disappearance of the deep ball from the Ravens' offense," Zrebiec wrote. "What had been one of quarterback Joe Flacco's biggest strengths – his ability to find his receivers down the field with strong and accurate throws – became a source of great frustration. …
"Whether [the new weapons lead] to [quarterback Joe] Flacco reviving his team's deep passing game remains to be seen but the pieces certainly appear to be in place for the Ravens to improve in that area."
Ravens May Lean 'Heavily' On Two-TE Sets
After seeing well-established veterans Pitta and Daniels on the field at the same time throughout organized team activities (OTAs) and minicamp, Offensive Coordinator Gary Kubiak is reportedly thinking about leaning on the two "heavily" in 2014.
"Word out of Owings Mills, Maryland, is as the offseason went on, [Kubiak] became progressively intrigued with the possibility of relying heavily on two-tight end sets," reported Dan Pompei of Bleacher Report. "The primary reason is how well Ravens free-agent pickup Owen Daniels performed in offseason workouts."
Daniels and Kubiak worked with each other for Daniels' entire eight-year NFL career in Houston. At 31, Daniels is coming off a broken fibula injury, but feels healthy enough to return to his 2012 Pro Bowl form.
Pitta also feels 100 percent healed after his hip injury in training camp last year.
"Daniels is a similar tight end to Dennis Pitta, and the thinking is that pairing them on the field using a Rob Gronkowski-Aaron Hernandez model could create significant matchup issues for defenses," wrote Pompei.
Quick Hits
@kapronlewis: Just wanna say thank you all who came out to support my first camp! Thank you to Weatherford ISD education foundation and Southwest Ford for helping putting it on and helping. Thank you to the weatherford coaches that donated their time to help coach and also thank you to weatherford cheerleaders that are out to support as well and greet the campers and families as they came in! Thank you thank you! #home #kidscamp #kapron'skangaroocamp [Instagram]
@jtuck9: Had a great time and (got a killer workout) at @BriganceBrigadeZumbathon! Thanks to @OJBrigance for lettin' me hang! [Instagram]
@untouchablejay55: Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel Very humbling experience #nopicturesallowed TS [Instagram]
@aqshipley: Over again and cant wait to spend my life with her! i love her so much! Heres a pic after our 1st dance! [Twitter]
