Getty The Ravens can trade one of the NFL's best.
Being linked with eligible wide receivers is becoming common for the Baltimore Ravens ahead of the NFL’s trade deadline on November 1. Lamar Jackson needs some marquee targets on the outside, but the Ravens also have a few players of their own they could put on the trading block.
One of those is somebody still considered among the best in the league at his position. This player has been a “staple” of the Ravens’ offense, but his prohibitive cap hit and diminishing role makes him a viable option to be dealt.
Ravens Can Dump ‘Staple’ Contract
Nick Boyle hasn’t played much the last two-and-a-bit seasons, and Kevin Oestreicher of Ravens Wire thinks it’s time to trade the tight end. Oestreicher thinks the time is ripe, despite crediting Boyle with having “been a staple on the Ravens’ offense for many years, providing plenty of value as one of the best blocking tight ends in the NFL.”
The best incentive for finding Boyle a new home concerns his hefty contract for next year: “Boyle has a $9 million cap hit in 2023 with a $5 million base salary, making his contract one that the team could look to trade.”
This would be a decision that makes sense, not only because of Boyle’s reduced role in recent years. The Ravens also have the benefit of being loaded at the tight end position.
Ravens Have All They Need
Boyle was a key part of what the Ravens did back in 2019. His expertise and physicality as a blocker helped make multiple-tight end sets the core personnel packages of coordinator Greg Roman’s offense.
Having Boyle in the lineup also helped the Ravens become one of the premier teams in the league at moving defenders and opening lanes in the running game. Boyle showed off those skills with these two blocks against the Cleveland Browns in 2020, highlighted by NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah:
Ravens TE (86) Nick Boyle is so underrated. Excellent combo block right here:
Blocks like those had already helped Boyle earn a three-year contract worth $18 million ahead of the 2019 campaign. He went on to help Jackson be named NFL MVP, but a knee injury suffered the following year has kept Boyle on the shelf for 23 games since.
Boyle’s back this season and offered a reminder of his talents during Week 7’s 23-20 win over the Browns. His crushing block on defensive end Jadeveon Clowney (90) created Gus Edwards’ second touchdown run:
Trust in Gus! @GodsGiftGus13 muscles it in for his second TD of the day.
📺: #CLEvsBAL on CBS
📱: Stream on NFL+ t.co/wLoMhIyuzL
The Ravens know all about Boyle’s value. That’s why they extended him for another two years at a cost of $13 million in 2021, even though he was still dealing with injuries.
It doesn’t necessarily look like money well spent. Not when the Ravens used two fourth-round picks to draft tight ends Charlie Kolar and Isaiah Likely this year.
Likely has already proved himself as a useful and versatile receiver, evidenced by 10 catches for 104 yards. It’s a small sample size, but the lion’s share of targets in Baltimore’s passing game go to All-Pro Mark Andrews.
When Andrews and Likely aren’t on the field, the Ravens can still turn to Josh Oliver. The latter played 31 snaps against the Browns, compared to Boyle’s nine, per Pro Football Reference.
Boyle shouldn’t expect his snap count to increase since his traditional role as the key man in Baltimore’s blocking schemes has been taken up by versatile Patrick Ricard. The tight end, fullback hybrid makes most of Roman’s running plays work.
Letting Boyle do the same for another team would make sense for the Ravens. Especially if they can acquire another mid- to late-round pick for next year’s draft.
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