Ravens give Brown second-round tender

[ravenmad71]

Baltimore has first right of refusal, would receive compensation if guard departs

By Jamison Hensley | Sun reporter
2:26 PM EST, February 27, 2008


Digg Del.icio.us Facebook Fark Google Newsvine Reddit Yahoo Print Reprints Post comment Text size: Starting left guard Jason Brown is expected to remain with the Ravens this season after the team gave the restricted free agent a second-round tender today.

The Ravens would have first right of refusal if another team signs Brown to an offer sheet, or they would receive a second-round pick as compensation for losing him.

With a second-round tender, Brown would earn $1.47 million this season.

"I'm glad they were willing to place a high value on me, because that tells me that they want you," Brown said. "And I want to be part of the Ravens. I love Baltimore and I love the organization."

Brown, who is considered one of the rising guards in the NFL, would become an unrestricted free agent after the 2008 season.

General manager Ozzie Newsome said the Ravens would like to talk to Brown about a contract extension at some point this offseason.

"Each year, he has gotten better," Newsome said, "and we expect him to continue to do so."

[Gabrosin]

We had better hope that no one does make a run at him. He's a key piece to our offensive line and should be the next guy in line for an extension after Suggs. I would love to see the Ravens get something done with him this offseason, and be able to sign him to a decent 4-5 year deal without throwing huge money his way... he could wind up being a breakout star next year and put himself out of our price range.

[ExiledRaven]

i'm not a big fan of this...but it's a neat concept

Ozzie is setting the market on Brown. If someone is going to pay him Steinbach money, they're going to be willing to do it and give up the second rounder. I doubt the Ravens want to put in 45+ million into the guard slot in the range of those contracts.

If someone takes him, we still get the 2nd round pick and it's enough it won't REALLY scare people like a 1st would.

If no one makes any real moves, then that gets things set for a contract that's more reasonable than some of these borderline outrageous free agent guard contracts.

Time will tell. Hopefully the Ravens won't need to replace their best offensive lineman.

[Gabrosin]

The real problem is that if another team targets Brown, they won't necessarily have to give him $50 million over seven years to ensure we won't match... they could use the same "poison-pill" tactic that they would for a franchise or transition player... give him $25 million for five years, but a $30 million roster bonus the first year if he plays more than four games in the state of Maryland. I could see a competitive team with O-line issues and a hole at guard (like, say, PITTSBURGH) deciding that a low second and a reasonable contract is worth trying to lure Brown from Baltimore. On the one hand, we have decent depth at guard with Chester (assuming he rebounds from an awful '07) and Grubbs (assuming he continues to mature into a starting role), and we were looking to replace Flynn anyway. Still, Jason Brown was one of the best guards in football last year and one of our only bright spots... I don't see us finding someone in the second half of round two that would be worth losing him. Why not throw a little extra money his way for one year and make anyone interested pony up a first round pick? He might still be very tempting to a team at the bottom of the first.

Getting a good OL together and keeping them together is the hallmark of perennial contenders like New England, Indianapolis, and Philadelphia. I'm drinking the Kool-Aid and believing that between Terry, Yanda, and Gaither we'll be set at OT for a couple years, even if none of them turns into the next coming of Ogden. But if we let our best interior lineman walk the same year our best tackle retires, we're not doing any favors to ANY quarterback we might put behind them.

[UKRavenStockers]

For teams at the back end of round 1 who need O-line help I think the presence of Branden Albert in the draft will keep Jason Brown a Raven. I'm fairly confident that Brown will still be a Raven next year with no RFA offers being tendered. He is certainly one of the best guards in the league but I don't think anyone is going to pony up an offer that we won't match, certainly not a team like Pittsburgh anyway, I don't think they're interested in doling out that sort of money this year, see Faneca almost certainly headed off to pastures new because of his contract demands.

[RustonRifle]

I'm usually a big fan of anything Ozzie and his staff does but I think this is a poor move. Hopefully we'll be able to slide him through without anyone making an offer but given our cap this year someone could make him an offer we aren't able to match. I think a first round tender would have been the more prudent move especially when this guy is vital to our offensive line.

[ravenjoe]

I agree 100% with your assessment! Ozzie should've forked over another 500K, and locked this guy up - he better damn well sign him to a long term deal, along with Suggs.

[jonboy79]

I hope we don't lose him, though a 2nd would likely replace him... in a FEW YEARS...
In other related notes, it seems that Jeff Faine will be released. Will he be signable to a reasonable enough deal that he is a worthy upgrade over Flynn/Chester? I'm not sure he's that much better, and think he will get some fairly big bucks...

[Raveninwoodlawn]

Cheap.

Pony up the cash so you don't be bent over trying to match someone else's overpriced offer and scramble to replace him with a second round pick in a weak interior OL draft...This has the potential of being a Chester Taylor situation all over again.

[festivus]

You guys remember when we drafted Ben Grubbs at 29 (or whatever) he was the *first* guard taken, right?

Guards do not command top dollar. I have no problem with a 2d round tender for him. It's not being cheap, it's cap management.

[Gabrosin]

You guys remember when we drafted Ben Grubbs at 29 (or whatever) he was the *first* guard taken, right?

Guards do not command top dollar.

Your two statements have no relation to each other, and the second one is simply wrong.

Guards do not generally get drafted highly, no. Their position is not viewed to be as important as most others. Bad teams with several weaknesses to shore up can rarely justify picking an interior lineman with a high first round pick. BUT, in recent years the free agent market for talented guards has gone berserk. And we're not just talking the absolute cream of the crop, like Steve Hutchinson. Guys like Leonard Davis and Derrick Dockery are getting seven years and 49 million... Dockery headed to the BILLS for that much, not a team noted for lavish spending! Faneca is going to start his asking price around there, and he's already on the wrong side of 30. So to think that someone wouldn't put together that sort of package for a young rising star like Jason Brown is naive. The extra cap hit to protect him with a first would have been negligible, considering the moves we had already made, especially if Suggs gets his long-term deal.

[psuasskicker]

Your two statements have no relation to each other, and the second one is simply wrong.

Guards do not generally get drafted highly, no. Their position is not viewed to be as important as most others. Bad teams with several weaknesses to shore up can rarely justify picking an interior lineman with a high first round pick. BUT, in recent years the free agent market for talented guards has gone berserk. And we're not just talking the absolute cream of the crop, like Steve Hutchinson. Guys like Leonard Davis and Derrick Dockery are getting seven years and 49 million... Dockery headed to the BILLS for that much, not a team noted for lavish spending! Faneca is going to start his asking price around there, and he's already on the wrong side of 30. So to think that someone wouldn't put together that sort of package for a young rising star like Jason Brown is naive. The extra cap hit to protect him with a first would have been negligible, considering the moves we had already made, especially if Suggs gets his long-term deal.

Yeah, but that's not at all the point. It doesn't matter what other teams are doing. You put a value on the guy...what you're willing to pay him vs. what you need to replace him...and you stick to it.

We found Brown in the 4th round. Grubbs was the first G taken at #29, and was only taken that high because he was an amazing player at his position. Translate his talent to OT and he'd have been a top 5 pick or better.

The point is, we can replace Brown fairly easily with a second rounder, and we don't feel he's worth the top dollars that a couple teams have given OGs in the last couple years. Why would you sign a guy to a huge deal when you can replace him fairly easily with a middle round pick? Far better to spend that money on a more important position. If someone else wants to pay Brown $7 mil a year, more power to 'em...I wish Brown well and will be happy getting the 2nd round pick as compensation for losing him. And if the team doesn't think it needs to pay first round tender money to keep him around or find an adequate replacement for him, I'm not gonna argue with it.

Brown's a great interior linemen...but he's an interior lineman for Christ's sake!

- C -

[B-more Ravor]

So to think that someone wouldn't put together that sort of package for a young rising star like Jason Brown is naive. The extra cap hit to protect him with a first would have been negligible, considering the moves we had already made, especially if Suggs gets his long-term deal.

Well, first off, I would have given him the 1st round tender, but I do understand their reasoning. I really would be surprised if another team offers him a huge deal with $15M+ in guaranteed money and is also willing to give up a 2nd round pick to do so. It's one thing to sign a guy as a FA - it's only money - but it's another to give up that high of a pick.

The other team could also end up finding out that all they did was do the bidding for the Ravens. Then it was just a waste of time for them (which Brown's agent acknowledged). As far as any "poison pill" provisions go, I'm going to take Brown and his agent at their word at this point. They seem happy with the tender and it seems that Brown wants to stay here. Of course he wants to get paid, but if he is sincere about wanting to be here, then I can't see them putting anything in an Offer Sheet that would dissuade the Ravens from wanting to match.

[Gabrosin]

We found Brown in the 4th round. Grubbs was the first G taken at #29, and was only taken that high because he was an amazing player at his position. Translate his talent to OT and he'd have been a top 5 pick or better.

The point is, we can replace Brown fairly easily with a second rounder, and we don't feel he's worth the top dollars that a couple teams have given OGs in the last couple years.

We also found Chris Chester in the second round, and I don't think you'd find a single GM who would pick Chester over Brown right now. No matter how talented your scouts are, the draft is still a gamble, whereas Brown has now proven himself. I wouldn't say we could easily replace him with a second-rounder, and besides, do you really want to have one more need show up? That second round pick this year could be a QB or CB or DE. Why throw OG onto that list if you could put in a few extra dollars and protect your best young lineman for another year?

I agree with the logic of setting a value for a guy and sticking to it... I just believe the second-round tender is too low of a value for Jason Brown. In an ideal world, we could acquire two standout OTs and a competent center, pay them the big bucks, and throw young second-day draft picks with small contracts in the gaps between them... spending seven million a year on any guard is insane, and if that's what it would take to keep Brown then I'm fine with him heading elsewhere. In fact, that's the only justification I can see for this move... the Ravens don't expect to give him a market-value contract because of his position, and we're hoping someone will bite now and give up a draft pick to get him rather than lose him for nothing at the end of next year. But if Brown is willing to accept $4-5 million a year over 5-6 years, then we should get that deal done without risking him to other teams. A first round tender would have given us some more time to make that happen.

[ExiledRaven]

We also found Chris Chester in the second round, and I don't think you'd find a single GM who would pick Chester over Brown right now. No matter how talented your scouts are, the draft is still a gamble, whereas Brown has now proven himself. I wouldn't say we could easily replace him with a second-rounder, and besides, do you really want to have one more need show up? That second round pick this year could be a QB or CB or DE. Why throw OG onto that list if you could put in a few extra dollars and protect your best young lineman for another year?

I agree with the logic of setting a value for a guy and sticking to it... I just believe the second-round tender is too low of a value for Jason Brown. In an ideal world, we could acquire two standout OTs and a competent center, pay them the big bucks, and throw young second-day draft picks with small contracts in the gaps between them... spending seven million a year on any guard is insane, and if that's what it would take to keep Brown then I'm fine with him heading elsewhere. In fact, that's the only justification I can see for this move... the Ravens don't expect to give him a market-value contract because of his position, and we're hoping someone will bite now and give up a draft pick to get him rather than lose him for nothing at the end of next year. But if Brown is willing to accept $4-5 million a year over 5-6 years, then we should get that deal done without risking him to other teams. A first round tender would have given us some more time to make that happen.

I actually don't know about that. Hutchinson (spelling?) from Seattle goes to Minnesota and man did he make a big difference and no, that's not all Adrian Peterson. Really.

Everyone was all over Walter Jones and how great a tackle he was and then Hutch gets tossed in the conversation to talk about the best left side in football.

Well, Hutch left and Minnesota's line drastically improved while Jones didn't look like himself.

And yes, I think it's the exception not the rule on players like his, but there are guys that good. Problem is that skill position players and stats are too dependent on these guys, and Defensive line guys are dependent on the other guys on the line to shift around the double teams...

But man, there really are some offensive lineman in a class by themselves, too bad the salary scale is not really recognizing that.

[psuasskicker]

and besides, do you really want to have one more need show up? That second round pick this year could be a QB or CB or DE. Why throw OG onto that list if you could put in a few extra dollars and protect your best young lineman for another year?

But it wouldn't necessarily be another need. We've got Yanda. OG wouldn't be high on our needs list at all if we wound up losing Brown.

I'm not saying I wouldn't have placed a first round tender on him. I would have.

What I'm saying is, I have no problem with the team not placing that tender on him. It's just not that big a deal for a G.

- C -

[jonboy79]

But it wouldn't necessarily be another need. We've got Yanda. OG wouldn't be high on our needs list at all if we wound up losing Brown.

I'm not saying I wouldn't have placed a first round tender on him. I would have.

What I'm saying is, I have no problem with the team not placing that tender on him. It's just not that big a deal for a G.

- C -


Oh, you mean our starting RT, well thenwe have a BIG need at OT, a need that is more expensive and needs to be drafted earlier... We drafted Yanda in the 3rd and some peopel don't like him as our RT, so I guess if we lose Brown then we need to go Cherilious at 39...

[Greg]

. . . give him $25 million for five years, but a $30 million roster bonus the first year if he plays more than four games in the state of Maryland.
You can't put crap like that in a contract or we could go to every RFA and franchise player of the Stealers and Clowns and offer them absurd stuff, like $400 million roster bonuses if they play 6 games in Black and Piss or Brown and Shit.

This is a fine move, Brown can negotiate for market deals and we will match any offer that is reasonable. Nobody is going to go nuts signing an up and coming guard.

[Raveninwoodlawn]

The Vikings put garuntees in Hutchinsons contract like that.

And the Seahawks did so with Nate Burleson when they pulled him from the Vikings.

[Greg]

Do we have links for these?

If this was the case every rival could severely screw each other. We could offer Derek Anderson $3 million per year and a trillion dollar roster bonus if he plays 5 games a year in Cleveland. It's absurd.

[UKRavenStockers]

I actually don't know about that. Hutchinson (spelling?) from Seattle goes to Minnesota and man did he make a big difference and no, that's not all Adrian Peterson. Really.

Everyone was all over Walter Jones and how great a tackle he was and then Hutch gets tossed in the conversation to talk about the best left side in football.

Well, Hutch left and Minnesota's line drastically improved while Jones didn't look like himself.

And yes, I think it's the exception not the rule on players like his, but there are guys that good. Problem is that skill position players and stats are too dependent on these guys, and Defensive line guys are dependent on the other guys on the line to shift around the double teams...

But man, there really are some offensive lineman in a class by themselves, too bad the salary scale is not really recognizing that.

That's a half truth. Jones hasn't looked all world from an all round perspective as an LT since Hutchinson's departure and losing a powerful run blocker will do that to you in the running game (look at Ogden when Mulitalo was struggling at the beginning of last season and until Jason Brown found his feet mid/late season), but his decline is also due to the fact he is older and simply doesn't have the leg drive anymore to be a dominant run blocker. However, Jones is still as good as any if not better than any other tackle in pass protection.

[Gabrosin]

Do we have links for these?

If this was the case every rival could severely screw each other. We could offer Derek Anderson $3 million per year and a trillion dollar roster bonus if he plays 5 games a year in Cleveland. It's absurd.

Here's a Wikipedia entry for it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poison_pill#Sports

The use of the poison pill was actually challenged and upheld by an NFL arbiter: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2375444. Sorry, I don't have a link for a follow-up article, but the arbiter ruled that the poison pill was acceptable and that if Seattle wanted to match the contract they had to keep the poison pill clause as well... it was deemed an "essential term".

What keeps us from offering a "screw you" contract to Derek Anderson and luring him from the Browns? Well, first of all, we'd owe them a first and a third, because he got the highest tender. Second, he still has to accept the contract, so we have to make it worth his while too. After what happened with Hutchinson, teams rarely use the transition tag any more, because of all the options they have, it's the one that gives no compensation... just the chance to "match" the offer, which thanks to the poison pill option, might not be realistic. But franchise and RFA players will still cost you a good contract AND compensatory draft picks.

[psuasskicker]

Yeah Greg, the days of matching are about done unless the RFA really wants to stay with the team...

- C -

[RustonRifle]

Looks like Ozzie and the staff slid JB through with the second round tender.

It's great news but still think the 1st round tender would have been a safer bet. Glad to be wrong on this though.:happyanim