Ravens Will Not Tag C.J. Mosley

If the Ravens and C.J. Mosley are unable to reach an extension agreement by the time free agency opens March 13, they may risk losing him.

The team will not use its franchise tag on the sixth-year linebacker, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. This is not surprising, considering the tag system groups all linebackers together. Both edge defenders and off-ball ‘backers, despite their disparate values on the true market, both would receive $15.443MM if tagged. Mosley’s talents notwithstanding, that appears to be an untenable number for the Ravens.

New GM Eric DeCosta said in February he believed Mosley would be back in Baltimore next season. The parties have begun contract talks, but time is running out on the Ravens’ exclusive negotiation window. Mosley can begin talking to other teams March 11, when the legal tampering period begins.

Mosley, 26, is a perennial Pro Bowler, having been four times, and has anchored Baltimore’s linebacking corps for years. He is a three-down linebacker who stands to do well in free agency, if he ends up reaching the market. The Ravens have allowed plenty of impact defenders to leave via free agency in recent years, but they have done well to keep their cornerstone players. Mosley profiles as such, so the next several days will be interesting.

Jamie Collins‘ $12.5MM-per-year deal remains the top of the non-rush linebacker hierarchy, with Luke Kuechly‘s contract residing just below that. With Kuechly’s extension having occurred years ago and Collins not living up to his pact, Mosley can argue — in a $188MM-capped year — a case to be the game’s highest-paid off-ball ‘backer. But the Ravens are not notorious, their Joe Flacco deal notwithstanding, for these kind of accords. Teams in need of linebacking help are surely monitoring this situation.