The Ravens and linebacker Zach Orr have made “considerable progress” towards an extension agreement, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. Baltimore has a press conference scheduled for Friday, leading La Canfora to speculate that the club could announce the new contract at that time.
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Orr, 24, is a former undrafted free agent, meaning that although his three-year UDFA deal was set to expire this spring, he still would have been under the Ravens’ control as a restricted free agent. As such, Baltimore would have had the option of extending him a first-round tender (worth around $3.8MM), a second-rounder tender (~$2.75MM), or a right of first refusal tender (~$1.75MM). The first two offers would have entitled the Ravens to draft pick compensation if Orr signed with another club, while the latter tender would have given Baltimore the right to match any offer sheet, but would not have netted the club a pick if it opted not to equal a rival’s overture.
Instead, the Ravens are close to locking up Orr for (presumably) several years following a 2016 campaign that saw the North Texas alum become a starter for the first time in his career. Chosen to replace the departed veteran Daryl Smith next to C.J. Mosley in the starting lineup, Orr appeared in 15 games and played the most defensive snaps of any Baltimore ‘backer. In that span, Orr racked up 89 tackles, three interceptions, and five passes defensed, but didn’t grade out well according to Pro Football Focus, which ranked him as the NFL’s seventh-worst linebacker among 87 qualifiers.