Due to the increased expenditure on their best players this offseason, the Baltimore Ravens are likely to lose a significant number of guys on defense. Of course, the biggest effect was the first lift to the contract of star quarterback Lamar Jackson, whose $32.4 million cap burden would have crippled the team for the upcoming season. Baltimore is now desperately looking for inventive methods to reduce its salary ceiling for the upcoming season.
FTyus Bowser. The star linebacker has accumulated 19.5 sacks during his six year stint with the team but missed eight games last season due to a knee injury.
Bowser was only expected to count against the salary cap for $7.5 million in 2024; however, his history of injuries severely hindered his progress, as he was only able to log two sacks in 2023. Baltimore will save $5.5 million against the cap with his departure, thanks to a $2 million dead cap penalty. It is assumed that when the organization selected standout Michigan linebacker David Ojabo with a second-round pick in 2022, Bowser’s painful exit from Baltimore was inevitable.
The transaction is part of a series of cap-cutting moves by Baltimore, which also included the trade of safety Chuck Clark to the New York Jets for a seventh-round pick in the previous campaign. The only two safeties from last season’s active roster who are still under contract are Kyle Hamilton and Marcus Williams, following the trade of Clark and the departure of safety Geno Stone to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Following large-scale contract extensions for several of their key players, Baltimore has struggled financially this offseason as they attempt to return under the salary cap. Superstar left tackle Ronnie Staley’s deal was also reworked by the team this morning, saving them about $8 million in cap space. Staley received greater incentive-based compensation under the revised deal, but at the expense of his base pay.
