Why does it always seem like the Baltimore Ravens front office gets it right?
They are one of those teams, whether it's free agency or the draft, that seem to be on point. The Ravens make their share of mistakes -- who doesn't? -- but they seem to understand that building through the draft, not getting crazy in a wild free-agency market, is the right way to go.
They also seem to do a great job of letting free agents walk when the time is right and keeping those that they want.
? While the football world was going nuts Thursday as DeMarco Murray, the NFL's leading rusher, signed with the Philadelphia Eagles for more than $8 million per season, the Ravens quietly re-signed their own running back Justin Forsett for $3 million a year.
I am not going to sit here and say that Forsett is Murray. But I will say this: There isn't $5 million-a-year difference. Not in this salary-cap era where every dollar matters, especially for a running back.
Let's take a look at some of the important numbers. Forsett turns 30 in October, while Murray is 26. That's a big advantage to Murray in perhaps the most-important number for a back.
Forsett carried it 235 times and caught 44 passes during the 2014 regular season and had 40 carries and three catches in two playoff games for a total of 322 touches. Murray carried it 392 times and had 57 catches in the regular season and then had 44 carries and four catches in two playoff games for a staggering total of 497 touches last season. Big advantage goes to Forsett.
The career numbers are even worse. Murray has 934 carries in his career, while Forsett has 582.
In 2014, Forsett averaged 5.4 yards per carry, while Murray averaged 4.7. For their careers, Forsett averages 5.1 per carry, while Murray is at 4.8 -- numbers here I think some would see as surprising.
Both ran behind good offensive lines last season, which helped their totals. But, the way I see it, the Forsett deal makes way more sense than the Eagles unloading LeSean McCoy to pay Murray. Good teams like the Ravens, the Packers, the Patriots and some others always seems to get it right at this time of the year. That isn't to say they won't make mistakes, because that's just not possible. But restraint is a good characteristic to have during free agency. It's easy to get seduced by the names.
The Ravens get it. They also seem to always have jars on the shelf, players ready to step in and play when they do take a hit in free agency. They traded defensive tackle Haloti Ngata to the Lions because Tim Jernigan is ready to start. They also have young players in DeAngelo Tyson, Brent Urban (coming off an ACL) and Kapron Lewis-Moore, who they like up front.
In recent years they've lost linebackers like Dannell Ellerbe and Jarrett Johnson and Paul Krueger in free agency and they just plug in guys and keep playing at a high defensive level.
The Ravens aren't without holes. They need help at receiver after losing Torrey Smith to the 49ers and in the secondary. But guess what? They have 12 draft picks. They will find players. They can also sign a veteran receiver like Dwayne Bowe or Stevie Johnson to a small deal as a stopgap to help them outside.
Baltimore doesn't panic. That's why general manager Ozzie Newsome and personnel man Eric DeCosta deserve high praise. It might not always be the sexy way, but it works.
More free agent musings
• The talk that Murray is a better fit for the Eagles than LeSean McCoy reminds me of the Barry Sanders-Emmitt Smith debate. They said Sanders danced too much, which is what a lot of Eagles fans are saying now about McCoy. Here's what I used to say to that: Put Sanders behind the Cowboys lines of those days and see what he would have done. Sanders was a better runner than Emmitt Smith. And McCoy is a better runner than Murray, no matter how you want to shake it out. The Eagles cleared cap room by getting rid of McCoy, but then ate a bunch of it up by signing Murray and Ryan Mathews. I get dumping McCoy to create the cap room. But why not use it somewhere else and draft a young back? Weird.
• The Jaguars releasing defensive end Red Bryant, one year after signing him in free agency, isn't a shock. Once they signed Jared Odrick from Miami and re-signed Tyson Alualu, he was a goner. They saved $4.5 million with the release of Bryant. Alualu, the former top-10 overall pick, outplayed Bryant last year. Alualu has not missed a game in his career. Expect the Jaguars to try and trade tight end Marcedes Lewis to free up even more cap room. With Julius Thomas signed, they don't need Lewis anymore. He used to be one of the best blocking tight ends in the league, but even that has regressed in recent years. He's still good at the point of attack, but just not dominant like he used to be.
• The Cardinals wanted to get tougher on the inside of their offensive line. They signed guard Mike Iupati as a free agent, which helps, but then they released veteran center Lyle Sendlein Thursday after signing A.Q. Shipley. Cardinals coach Bruce Arians had Shipley when he was with the Colts. Jonathan Cooper is expected to be the other guard.
• The Chiefs traded to get guard Ben Grubbs from the Saints for a fifth-round pick. I know the Chiefs guards were bad last year, but Grubbs wasn't very good either. He struggled in a big way on the inside for Drew Brees.
• What are the Saints doing? Their identity has always been as an offensive team, yet there are pouring resources into the defense and dismantling the offense. They gave corner Brandon Browner a three-year, $18 million deal. He's a solid player, but he isn't a kid anymore and that's lot of money. This team seems in panic mode.
• So Seattle didn't see value in the first round, which is why they traded their first-round pick as part of the Jimmy Graham trade? We hear that every year from teams, and this year will be no difference. We should remind people that Seattle got Russell Wilson in the third round. So maybe their value board needs amending.
• Teams love to sign guys they know. Look at the Bucs. Lovie Smith coached both safety Chris Conte and defensive tackle Henry Melton with the Bears. Now he has signed them as free agents. They're stopgap guys at best. It didn't work out with Josh McCown signing with Smith, his former coach, and this won't pay much in terms of dividends either.
• The Colts released Trent Richardson, which isn't a shock. He was traded to the Colts for a first-round pick, but failed miserably in almost two years with the team. This isn't 100percent certain, but there's a good chance Richardson might be the last back ever traded for a first-round pick with the devaluing of the position.
• Smart move by the Browns to bring back tight end Jordan Cameron on a two-year deal. The tight end group in the draft isn't very good. Cameron will be a good target for whoever starts at quarterback.
• The Jets had a major problem at corner, and in three days they've addressed it in a big way. But they've spent a ton of money to do so. After adding Darrelle Revis and Buster Skrine, the Jets signed Antonio Cromartie to a four-year, $32 million deal. They have a reported $131 million tied up in those three. I get that Tom Brady is in the division, but didn't they already have Dee Milliner, the former first-round pick? Sometimes teams get way too focused on one position. I get that coach Todd Bowles wants to blitz and play press-man, but this is a lot of money for one position.
