Ravens Have Plan For Cap Crunch

The Baltimore Ravens still have some work to do even after trimming down their roster.

Feb 27, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta speaks during a press conference during the NFL Scouting Combine at Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL salary cap is cruel and unforgiving, as Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta knows all too well.

"Unfortunately, with a salary cap league, you just can't build a team up with veterans at every position," DeCosta said at a press conference Thursday. "If you could, that would be great. I always tell people, I grew up a Cowboys fan, and the 1993 Dallas Cowboys – that was one of the great teams of all time – if that team had been able to stay together forever, they would've won Super Bowls every year I think, but there is a salary cap, and there is free agency and things."

After the roster cut deadline earlier this week, the salary cap has come for DeCosta and the Ravens once more. Baltimore is technically under the salary cap right now thanks to the Top 51 rule, which states that only the 51 highest salaries count against the cap until the start of the regular season. However, once the regular season begins, the Ravens will actually be about $3.5 million-$4 million over the cap as all of their contracts will now be on the books.

The Ravens under the Rule of 51 Cap that applies right now, but are definitely ~$3.7M OVER the full Cap accounting which begins next Thursday. As I’ve mentioned repeatedly, restructures are coming in order to get Cap compliant and to have funds for in-season moves. https://t.co/V8S0K7suyk

— Brian McFarland (@RavensSalaryCap) August 29, 2024

That means the Ravens will have to do some cap gymnastics before Thursday's season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs, and time is ticking away fast. Like any good general manager, though, DeCosta has a plan in place.

"At some point, we will have to make some moves in the coming days and weeks, and we've been planning for all of that," DeCosta said. "There's a lot of things that we will be able to do. We will be cap compliant, and we will have at least some money to spend if a player is available that we think will help us be the best team that we can be."

There are several options the Ravens could take to become cap-compliant. They could restructure the deals of star players like Lamar Jackson or Roquan Smith, and they could extend players like Marcus Williams or Brandon Stephens. Of course, that comes with the downside of pushing more money to future seasons, but it's basically Super Bowl or bust time in Baltimore, so it may be a risk worth taking.

DeCosta also likes to have a bit of extra cap space to make mid-season trades, so he won't be keen to just do the bare minimum to get under the cap. How he and the Ravens' front office as a whole manage this situation will be a story to watch over the next week.

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