Ravens Free Agency: Projecting Contract Offers for Baltimore

After making the playoffs in 2014, the Baltimore Ravens will need to re-sign several key free agents to ensure they make it back to the postseason next year.

With a host of key players set to hit the market, Baltimore will likely avoid pursuing other teams' big-name free agents. Instead, the Ravens should focus on keeping their own guys in hopes of going on another playoff run.

One reason why is Baltimore won't have much money to spend on its own free agents, let alone pursue other teams' players. Over the Cap projects the Ravens to have just $9 million of cap space.

Regardless, after Baltimore barely lost to the AFC-champion New England Patriots in the divisional round, it has a great roster in place if it gets its key free agents re-signed. 

Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome and head coach John Harbaugh have done an outstanding job at drafting and developing talented players since Harbaugh was hired in 2008.

A key reason why the Ravens have been in the playoffs six times since then while winning one Super Bowl is because they've kept their key free agents nearly every season. 

For Baltimore to become a championship contender again, it'll need to do the same this offseason. Here is a preview of four contract offers the Ravens should make this offseason.

Justin Forsett

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Of all the free agents the Ravens have, running back Justin Forsett made the biggest impact of them all this past season. 

Forsett finished fifth in rushing yards with 1,266 yards and was a big reason Baltimore improved from 30th in rushing offense in 2013 to No. 8 this past year. 

A career backup prior to last season, Forsett signed just a one-year contract in the offseason to back up Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce. 

Then came Rice's suspension and release, leaving Forsett and Pierce to battle for carries before Forsett eventually took over the lead role. 

Forsett was also a viable pass-catcher with 44 catches for 263 yards. To give you an idea of how important he was to the offense, Forsett averaged 103 total yards over the final seven regular-season games.

The Ravens went 5-2 in those games and clinched a berth in the playoffs on the final day of the regular season after Forsett topped 136 total yards in a 20-10 win over the Cleveland Browns. 

Best contract offer: Three years, $11 million; $4 million guaranteed

Forsett was a career backup before breaking out this year. One-year wonders typically don't get big contracts, and with the running back position being devalued, it won't take a big contract to keep Forsett in Baltimore. 

Owen Daniels

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The Ravens love using their tight ends, and Owen Daniels played a pivotal role in the offense. After Dennis Pitta went down with a season-ending hip injury, Daniels stepped in and became the full-time starter for the final 16 games, including the playoffs.

He went on to catch 56 passes for 638 yards and five scores while helping Baltimore advance to the divisional round. 

Daniels could very well remain the full-time starting tight end next year if Pitta's hip injury ends his NFL career. According to Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun, the Ravens remain cautiously optimistic Pitta will return next year, but it's no certainty.  

This increases Daniels' value to Baltimore and should ultimately help lead the two sides to work out a deal. 

Best contract offer: Two years, $7 million; $3 million guaranteed

Daniels' age (32) will keep him from getting big money on the open market, giving Baltimore a good chance to re-sign him to a favorable deal for both sides. Daniels signed a one-year, $1 million deal last offseason, so he's happy to get any deal that's for multiple years with several more million included. 

Darian Stewart

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The Ravens secondary was a mess due to injury this past season, but one of the most consistent players from beginning to end was Darian Stewart. 

After James Ihedigbo left in free agency and Matt Elam regressed in his second NFL season, Stewart got starts at both free and strong safety this year, though he did better at strong safety.

According to Pro Football Focus, Stewart played the fifth most snaps this year of any Ravens defender while finishing fourth on the team in tackles (53).

In coverage, Stewart surrendered only 21 catches for 293 yards and two scores while intercepting two passes. He was a quality safety who needs to be re-signed this offseason.

Best contract offer: Three years, $8 million; $3.5 guaranteed.

Stewart is a good safety but not a great one, and this was his first year of being a full-time starter for an entire season and into the playoffs. He started 16 games this past year, including the postseason, but had just 19 career starts in his previous four seasons before signing a one-year deal with the Ravens last offseason.

Torrey Smith

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The biggest free agent Baltimore has will not only be the hardest to re-sign, but the hardest to gauge what the market will be for. 

Torrey Smith is a great No. 1 receiver when he's at his best, but he's far too inconsistent to warrant a contract that pays him like the Pro Bowl-caliber receiver he's shown flashes of being. 

In four seasons, Smith has caught 213 passes for 3,591 yards (16.9 avg.) and a franchise-record 30 touchdowns. He finished this past season with 49 catches for 767 yards (15.7 avg.) and a career-high 11 scores. 

Smith is a big weapon in Baltimore's offense, and keeping him will be key to the Ravens offense going forward. He stretches the field and opens up the run game while also providing quarterback Joe Flacco with a true deep threat at receiver. 

B/R's own Andrea Hangst did a great breakdown of Smith's situation heading into free agency, and to sum it up, she also comes to the conclusion that determining what Smith can make on the open market is too difficult to project. 

However, Hangst points out that the Ravens can increase their chances of re-signing Smith by freeing cap space elsewhere by restructuring the team's biggest contracts. 

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To free up the money, the Ravens will have to either release or restructure nose tackle Haloti Ngata, who has the Ravens' highest cap number in 2015 at $16 million. (Joe) Flacco, too, would require restructuring—he accounts for $14.6 million of Baltimore's cap, as would cornerback Lardarius Webb, who is scheduled to make $12 million in salary and bonuses in 2015.

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Best contract offer: Four years, $35 million; $15 guaranteed.

If Baltimore is to have any chance of re-signing Smith, it's going to have to restructure some contracts and/or cut some players to free up more money.

Ozzie Newsome and John Harbaugh are used to making those kinds of difficult decisions, and they won't hesitate to cut a quality player to re-sign a more important one.

Note: All contract information in this article is from Spotrac.com.