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The Baltimore Ravens didn’t spare much expense when it came to ensuring that they offered three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. missed his flight to New York for his scheduled meeting with the Jets on Monday, April 10 when they agreed to terms with him on a one-year deal worth up to $18 million on Easter Sunday.
Even though they had been in consistent communication with him dating back to October of last season, according to The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec, before they were ready to pull out all the stops to ensure that he didn’t leave town, they attempted and almost filled their need for a proven player at the position via another route earlier in the offseason.
“Desperate for a quality veteran receiver, the Ravens explored trade and free-agent possibilities,” Zrebiec wrote. “At one point, there appeared to be a deal to be made for Courtland Sutton, but the Denver Broncos decided they didn’t want to trade him.”
Long-time NFL coach Sean Peyton who is entering his first year at the helm of the Broncos recently came out and denied the numerous reports that the organization was actively shopping either Sutton or 2020 first-round pick Jerry Jeudy.
“We’re not trading those two players,” he told NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero on March 26, 2o23. “When people call and the phone rings like it does this time of year, (general manager) George Paton’s job is to pick it up and say, ‘Hey. Tell you what, we’re not.’ And so, we’ve received calls, you bet.
“Those are two good football players. But we’re in the business of gathering talent right now. Why do people call? Because they know we’re void of draft picks and that we might, because there was some discussions a year ago, I think, regarding Courtland. But we like the current group that we’re working with.”
Ravens Ended Up Better Off in the End
While the 27 year old Sutton is younger than the 30 year old Beckham Jr. and didn’t miss all of the 2022 season recovering from an injury, acquiring him from the Broncos would’ve cost them twofold in terms of both cap space and draft capital.
Given that they are short on both after applying the nonexclusive franchise tag on quarterback Lamar Jackson in March, their patience ultimately paid off. They not only didn’t have to give up any picks for Beckham Jr. but since he counted as a street free agent and not a unreseticted free agent, signing him didn’t count agains the compesmnatory pick formula.
The Ravens also got to start from scratch with Beckham Jr.’s contract instead of taking over an existing hefty deal. According to Spotrac.com, Sutton is slated to make $14 million in base salary and with a cap hit of $18.2 million in 2023 whereas the bulk of Beckham Jr.’s salary on his deal is coming via a signing bonus of $13.835 million with a cap hit of just $1.165 million.
There is also the familiarity component between Beckham Jr. and both the Ravens’ organization and his new quarterback. During his introductory press conference, both he and general manager Eric DeCosta shared how the two sides had been in communication since last October and over the past couple months, Jackson was actively recruiting him as well.
Ex-Ravens Backup QB Signs With Conference Rival
A former reserve signal caller for the team is heading back to the AFC now that Trace McSorley is signing with the New England Patriots as first reported by ESPN’s Field Yates and later by NFL.com.
The fifth-year veteran was originally drafted by the Ravens in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft at No. 197 overall out of Penn State. He spent the last season and a half serving as a backup on the Arizona Cardinals and even got to make his first career start in Week 16 of last season and nearly beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
During his two and half years in Baltimore, he appeared in three games and went 3-of-10 for 90 yards and touchdown and added another 18 yards on 6 attempts. His best play as a Raven came against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 12 of the 2020 season when he connected with Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown for a 70-yard touchdown catch-and-run.
McSorley a prolific dual threat quarterback in college and touted by some as potential the next do-it-all swiss army knife weapon in a similar fashion to the way the New Orleans Saints utilized Taysom Hill early in his career.
He has actually shown some impressive ability as a passer and is an ideal scout team quarterback for a team that has to go up against mobile signal callers on a regular basis. The Patriots have to face the Buffalo Bills twice a year in addition to the other teams with dynamic dual threats in the AFC conference.
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