Ravens right tackle Ricky Wagner could be the best soon-to-be free agent bookend in the NFL, but the club is trying to keep him off the open market, according to CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora (Twitter link). While Wagner “rebuffed” the Ravens’ initial offer, the team is motivated to re-up both him and nose tackle Brandon Williams.
Wagner, whom the Ravens chose in the fifth round of the 2013 draft, is coming off a 14-start season – his third straight campaign with at least that many. Along the way, the 27-year-old ranked as Pro Football Focus’ 18th-best tackle among 78 qualifiers, and he could seek a deal worth around $10MM per annum as a result. That would be a bank-breaking amount for a right tackle, as would the $14.4MM-plus franchise tag, and either route could prove too rich for a Baltimore club which currently only has in the neighborhood of $15MM in spending room.
As for Williams, it has been known since last month that the Ravens are going to make a strong effort to prevent him from hitting free agency March 9. Assistant general manager Eric DeCosta called Williams an “‘A’ player” for the Ravens a couple weeks ago.
Would fit in very nice with the Vikings to fill a badly needed hole