00:00From the Baltimore Banner, Window Nation guest hotline, Jonas Schaefer. Jonas, what's up?
00:05Howdy, guys. How are you doing?
00:06We're doing all right. All right. A.J. Brown to Baltimore.
00:11And I know he could possibly be on the move out of Philadelphia.
00:14And, you know, I guess the Ravens, among others, could have an inch.
00:18Patriots, who just got rid of Stefan Diggs, on a reality scale.
00:23First of all, the need would be what?
00:25And what are the realistic possibilities that any sort of acquisition could go down?
00:33Yeah, I mean, this would be a fun battle of the minds between Eric DeCosta and Howie Roseman.
00:41Two guys who want to be the smartest guy in the room and usually do a pretty good job of
00:47winning that war.
00:48However, it sounds like, you know, based off everything that we saw yesterday with the D.J. Moore trade, that
00:56is only strength.
00:57And the Eagles position has a team that would ask for a one for D.J. Moore and maybe a
01:02little bit more.
01:03So I just think that you'd really have to make like a home run offer because the Eagles, like the
01:08Ravens, are in a position where they're not really actively trying to get worse.
01:13Like they are in the Super Bowl window.
01:15They have a bunch of, you know, dead money hits coming up.
01:18And I just think that that is kind of putting potential students over a barrel.
01:23So even though the Ravens, you know, I think Zay Flowers at this point, I would probably rather have him
01:28on my team in 2026 than A.J. Brown, just based off, you know, the fact that I think you
01:34could still safely say that Bay is in his prime.
01:35And we don't know if A.J. is in his anymore.
01:39He's been a little bit banged up over the years.
01:41The top speed doesn't really seem to be there all the way.
01:45So I think it's probably less likely than, I guess, maybe a Max Crosby deal, as, you know, some people
01:52have reported.
01:53So I think it's probably not something to get your hopes up too high for.
01:57And you mentioned Max Crosby.
01:59Nice segue, Jonas Schaefer, Trey Wingo, tweeting this one out that Dallas thought they had a deal done.
02:07And then another team came in or maybe teams with the two first round picks that the Raiders want because
02:13they wanted Dallas and Green Bay.
02:15Sort of deal.
02:16The Ravens have been possibly mentioned.
02:18What can you give us in regard to Max Crosby, who has said all along he likes to stay in
02:24Vegas, but, you know, can't always get what you want, as Mick Jagger said way back when.
02:30Yeah, I mean, I would be delighted to have another high-profile redhead here in Baltimore.
02:34I think that would make me very happy.
02:37I think Diane Rossini of The Athletic reported about 45 minutes ago, or no, it's not 45, about an hour
02:43ago,
02:43that he's drawing interest around the league.
02:45The Cowboys are closely monitoring the situation and remain very interested.
02:49While the Ravens are also a team to watch, I think you're probably up against it if you are trying
02:55to, like, figure out who has the better hand between the Cowboys and the Ravens.
02:59Just because the Cowboys, for the very reason of having traded away their own star fast rusher, are well-equipped
03:05in terms of draft compensation.
03:07They've got a couple first-rounders, if that's what it takes.
03:10I don't think Eric Dacosta would have much interest in trading multiple first-rounders, to say nothing of even one
03:17first-rounder,
03:17unless you're getting a bona fide star, which Max Crosby definitely is.
03:20But I guess that's going to be something that probably is figured out over the next 40 hours or so,
03:26maybe 72 hours or so, before that zampering period, because of all the sliding doors here with Lamar and Linderbaum
03:32and God knows who else.
03:34But, you know, as far as edge rushers go, I just think he would make so much more sense than
03:38spending $20 to $25 million on a guy like Trey Hendrickson,
03:42because Max Crosby is a dog in run defense, and Trey Hendrickson is not.
03:49Like, Trey Hendrickson has those T-Rex arms, and he's figured out how to make it work as a pass
03:53rusher,
03:54but he's kind of a movable object in the run game.
03:57And Max Crosby, as anyone who watched that 2024 game in Baltimore where the Raiders came in and upset the
04:03Ravens,
04:04is just a pain in the butt to deal with in the run game.
04:07Just as a frontside defender, backside defender, he's just a guy.
04:12He's a guy who never comes off the field and whose motor never runs cold.
04:15So I think he would be an incredible investment for Jesse Minter and for Anthony Beaver in that defense.
04:20But obviously the Raiders are going to kind of hold their cards until they get the best offer.
04:25You mentioned the uncertainty with Linderbaum, and it feels like every passing day it seems less and less likely that
04:30he'll be back here.
04:32What would you guess their financial ceiling for him is?
04:36It's like when DaCosta said that they made him that market-setting offer, we just assumed the $19 million, maybe
04:42$20 million at most
04:44that would get you over the top contract in the league.
04:47But now as the days go by, it's at $22 million, $23 million.
04:51We've got upwards of $25 million even being reported now.
04:54What would you consider their absolute ceiling, as high as they'd be willing to go?
05:00Yeah, I think what Eric has done in the past to maybe get around the fact that he might not
05:07be the highest offer.
05:11It's tough to say, guys, because a lot of the big deals that he's done have been done with guys
05:14who are under contract.
05:15So he'll sign a Marlon Humphrey or a Ronnie Stanley, and he'll give them a deal that is not really
05:24market-setting,
05:25but it is impressive for the fact of how much guaranteed money it has.
05:31And I just wonder if that strategy is a winning one than this one with as many potential suitors for
05:37Tyler Linderbaum.
05:38So I mean, like, yeah, I'm not paying $25 million for a Pro Bowl center who has some limitations in
05:43pass protection.
05:44It's just as simple as that.
05:46I think, you know, that the market direction from the Creed Humphrey deal from a couple years ago
05:51wouldn't mean that the Ravens would probably be paying $21 to $22 million for basically the same cap,
05:57for the same share of the salary cap.
06:00I think that's reasonable considering where the Ravens are and how important Linderbaum is to the locker room
06:05and just how much Eric Acosta needs to win in this offseason to get things going.
06:11And maybe you just get, you know, that hometown discount.
06:14You know, of Tyler wanting to go to a team that is actually in the mix for Super Bowl
06:18and not one that is going to be stuck in the wilderness for a couple of years.
06:22Like, the Chargers signed Yadish, I think, is a good sign because that is a team that, you know,
06:26you could expect to contend.
06:27But the Raiders, are the Raiders going to be serious contenders?
06:30Are the Giants going to be serious contenders?
06:33You know, there are just not a lot of teams.
06:36Like, the Commanders, are they going to be serious contenders next year or even the next two years?
06:41You know, I guess anything can happen in the NFL.
06:44But if I'm Linderbaum, I'm definitely considering the fact that I don't have to have the best offer on the
06:51table
06:51to make it still a ultimately respectful one because of what you might be coming back to.
06:56Now, Linderbaum, clearly a guy, if he doesn't come back here, he's signing in that legal tampering period early next
07:03week.
07:03Maybe throw Isaiah Likely's name in there as a candidate for that as well.
07:07But anybody else here in the group of pending Ravens free agents that you think would garner enough interest
07:13to be one of those early signers next week?
07:18It's a good question because I think usually when you look at the list, those top 100 lists of free
07:23agents,
07:24like the top 10, top 20, those guys are signed within hours of or they're under contract within hours of
07:30that tampering period getting started.
07:34You know, I guess a Draymond Jones could go pretty quickly because there aren't, there are only so many talented
07:41edge rushers.
07:41I don't think he'll be first in line there considering Jalen Phillips and Trey Anderson, Boya Mafe, Akuma Dafeo away.
07:50So I think Tyler is obviously the prize pig in all this with the Ravens stuff.
07:56But I do think there will be a market for, you know, a Charlie Kohler, for Draymond Jones,
08:02for obviously an Isaiah Likely because of just what those guys have shown.
08:07And if I'm the Ravens, I'm trying to lock up Charlie Kohler before, you know, start a free agency.
08:12I'm trying to lock up Jordan Stout before the start a free agency.
08:15It probably doesn't make those guys the most money to not hear what other offers might be out there.
08:21Of course, they're already hearing offers because this is the NFL we're talking about.
08:25I just think that the Ravens, you know, can't be caught with their pants down in the next couple of
08:31days.
08:31Like they have a lot of guys who I think would be smart, sensible re-signings.
08:36And if they're stuck trying to, you know, pull off a miracle with Max Crosby or God knows who else,
08:44A.J. Brown,
08:45then they might really look back at, you know, the start of free agency as kind of a wasted opportunity
08:49for them.
08:50Jonas Schaefer, Baltimore, Banner, Vinny and Haney, 105.7 The Fed, Bob Haney, Nolan McGraw, featured artist Friday.
08:55Real quick, Jonas, because no, you're a busy man.
08:57You're going to be the most prominent redhead in the city, at least for right now.
09:00The next time we read or hear about Lamar Jackson on a national news level, it'll be about once.
09:09I mean, does the contract restructure not count?
09:11Yeah, that, I'm saying, it's done.
09:14What are we thinking?
09:15Well, we're getting to neck crunching time, guys.
09:17I think at some point we're probably going to see the tweet from Field Gates about how, you know,
09:24per sources, these organizations have restructured, have agreed to a simple restructure with Lamar Jackson.
09:30I mean, like, they need to get to a certain point with that cap where it makes sense.
09:35I mean, you can find out of Lindnerbaum to a backloaded deal where you don't really have to worry too
09:39much about the 2026 cap hit
09:41because you have some space right now, but they've got a lot of work to get done.
09:45So I think Lamar will probably within strike range of hearing some Lamar news.
09:50But he's an extension.
09:53Don't ask me, guys.
09:54I'm in the dark, as is everyone else.
09:57Jonas Schaefer, Baltimore Banner.
09:58Jonas, always appreciate the time.
09:59Have a great weekend.
10:00We'll talk to you next Friday.
10:02Thanks, fellas.
10:03Take care.
10:03Bye.
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