NFL Free Agency Grades: Earl Thomas, Mark Ingram Both Headed to the Ravens

The Ravens boost both the offensive and defensive side of the ball, signing Ingram, who fits in with Sean Payton’s offense, and Thomas, who brings necessary athleticism.

Conor Orr is writing up grades for every major NFL free agency signing here. Below are his grades for the Ravens signing S Earl Thomas and RB Mark Ingram.

Mark Ingram, RB

From: New Orleans Saints
To: Baltimore Ravens
Contract: Three years, $15 million

Breakdown: John Harbaugh wanted ball control running backs to match his new offense, and while they were only softly wading into the Le’Veon Bell waters, a player like Ingram may make more sense for the team in the short term. With Alvin Kamara in the mix in New Orleans, Ingram’s workload hasn’t been extraordinary, saving some mileage for the tail end of his career in Baltimore.

Grade: B-

Earl Thomas, S

From: Seattle Seahawks
To: Baltimore Ravens
Contract: Four year, $55 million

Breakdown: An interesting move from another team that seems to be moving in two directions at once. The Ravens gutted their defense this offseason, opening up the space to pay Thomas near the top of the market (Will he fit better than Eric Weddle, who was already so integral to that scheme?). Thomas is arguably the best safety in football, so the quality of the player is not in question. However, one has to wonder what the Ravens are expecting to do with this roster in 2019. If they plan to maximize the window of Lamar Jackson’s rookie deal, wouldn’t it have made sense to hold on to Terrell Suggs and some of their other tenured defensive weapons? At the least, Baltimore’s secondary is daunting and definitely got more athletic on Wednesday.

Grade: B

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