Baltimore Ravens: 5 offseason needs

3. Cut the dead weight

Free agency is a time where the Ravens can significantly improve their roster. That’s great in theory before you look at the team’s cap space. Flacco’s contract along with a number of other factors leave the Ravens with just around $11 million in cap flexibility heading into March. With impending unrestricted free agents and players to target, the Ravens have to get creative. One of the ways this happens is through roster cuts.

Aside from unrestricted free agents who the Ravens will have to let go, there are veterans the that can be cut to gain cap room. Wide receiver Jeremy Maclin is the first player that comes to mind. After totaling career lows in receptions (70) and receiving yards (440). Maclin is owed $7.5 million next season and that’s just too high of a price to pay for a receiver that looks like he doesn’t fit in the offensive system. The Ravens could cut their losses and save a much-needed $5 million in the process.

Maclin isn’t the only veteran that could be out the door. Danny Woodhead, Lardarius Webb, and Albert McClellan are a few of the other options the Ravens could cut to clear more cap space. There are also rumblings that Brandon Carr could be a potential cap casualty but that seems unlikely given Jimmy Smith’s recent Achilles injury.

Moving on from players and sometimes fan favorites is never an easy process. But in the Ravens’ case, they’re strapped with cap room and have to find a way to bring in help from the outside. This is how they can begin to do that.