OWINGS MILLS — The Ravens are one of the NFL’s biggest spenders when it comes to re-signing players or adding free agents, so general manager Eric DeCosta often finds challenges with the salary cap each season.
This year is no different as DeCosta will have to navigate financial limitations to boost the roster.
As it stands, the Ravens will have about $7.3 million in salary cap space this offseason, according to overthecap.com. Consequently, several players could face an uncertain future in Baltimore.
Left tackle Ronnie Stanley has been one of the most prominent names linked to a potential salary cut. However, with the potential loss of Kevin Zeitler to free agency, the Ravens might need to hold onto Stanley for continuity on the offensive line.
If Stanley is traded or released after June 1st, the Ravens would have an extra $15 million in cap space. That scenario would also reportedly designate $6.67 million in dead money on to next year’s salary cap. Dead money is a salary cap charge for a player who is no longer on a team’s roster.
Stanley has been hampered by injuries since signing a five-year, $98.75 million extension in October 2020. He suffered an ankle injury later that season and has appeared in 25 games in the past three years.
“I love Ronnie, he’s still a talented player,” DeCosta said. “I think this is going to be a big offseason for him getting himself healthy [and] getting himself strong again [and] coming back in good football shape. We’ll make all those personnel decisions over the coming weeks [with] what we decide to do.”
Outside linebacker Tyus Bowser could be another salary cap casualty. He missed the entire year after offseason knee surgery. His future in Baltimore is murky at best.
Bowser missed only one game in his first five seasons. In 2021 he set career highs with seven sacks and 59 tackles. However, he tore his Achilles in the final game of the 2021 season and began 2022 on the physically unable to perform list but still had 13 tackles and two sacks over the final nine games.
The Ravens would save $5.5 million in cap space by releasing Bowser.
“Unfortunately for Tyus, he couldn’t play this year,” DeCosta said. “[I] can’t really get into all the different specifics of that, as you guys know, how we handle the injuries. I think Tyus has probably talked about it in some way. He had an injury unfortunately and wasn’t able to play. We’ll have to continue to assess that in the coming weeks to see where he stands with that injury.”
A third candidate who could be looking for a new home is fullback Pat Ricard. While he has been one of the team’s most durable and productive players, the Ravens would clear $4 million in cap space and have $1.1 million in dead cap by releasing Ricard this offseason, according to OverTheCap.