If you’re a little older, you remember some old sayings and cliches that no one says anymore. People used to say, ‘offense sells tickets, and defense wins championships.’ Remember that? Well, it’s been amended. ‘Defense allows the offense an opportunity to win.’ Place that on the shelf next to Get this, Baltimore Ravens fans. The most popular player on the team is the backup quarterback.’
Now, that one may be true in some other towns, but Lamar Jackson is the face of the Ravens franchise. Heck, give him a few more years, and he might be the face of an entire city.
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No one should see that as being disrespectful to Baltimore’s backup, Tyler Huntley. He’s beloved by leadership, coaches, teammates, fans, the media, and, of course, Lamar Jackson.
Unfortunately, however, he’s also one of more than 20 impending Ravens free agents. Perhaps you have heard. There are questions about cap constraints and Jackson’s massive cap number.
Baltimore would love to retain the man affectionately known as ‘Snoop.’ Still, if there’s any outside chance they don’t, let’s hit a few potential free-agent targets who could be considered to replace him.
Something tells us Aaron Rodgers and Daniel Jones aren’t coming to Baltimore to serve as backups. We’re also settling into the idea of both staying with their current organizations.
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Russell Wilson can’t play anymore, but he still sees himself as a starter. By our calculations, that makes Malik Willis the best of this free-agent bunch.
Now, there’s a chance that he stays in Green Bay. He may also have done enough to win himself a starter’s role. Time will tell, but he’s currently one of the top backups league-wide.
Baltimore got a front-row seat to see what he could do this season. Fortunately, Derrick Henry ran wild, and the Ravens wound up with an important road win.
At this point, we have all decided that Marcus Mariota will never be what he was expected to be. He may never again be a full-time starter, but he can be counted on to step in if need be and win a game or two, sometimes.
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Here’s a fair and honest critique. Extended time in the starter’s chair can be detrimental to a team’s success. His skill set and experience speak for themselves, but at most, all he can be trusted with is a short-term starting opportunity and nothing more.
Here’s a familiar face. The Ravens drafted Tyrod Taylor during the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. It may seem like he’s already 40 or so. The truth is that he’s close, but he isn’t there yet. He turns 37 on August 3.
He only attempted 35 passes in Baltimore. He earned a Pro Bowl nod elsewhere, but he’s family. He’ll always be a Raven, even if we haven’t seen him for a while.
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There’s a buzz growing around this ‘Kyler Murray to the New York Jets’ narrative. If Huntley moves on and Taylor moves out, might Baltimore entertain yet another reunion? This offseason has already produced several.
We’re really stretching here. This came down to a conversation between Kenny Pickett and Jimmy Garoppolo, and in the end, Pickett emerged as the victor.
Garoppolo is more of a proven winner. Three teams have already moved off Pickett since he entered the league in 2022. The Raiders might be a fourth, but we’ve seen Pickett win when the coaching is great, and the supporting cast is above-average to elite, as we saw with his time with the Philadelphia Eagles. So the guy we thought he’d be is in there somewhere.
This article originally appeared on Ravens Wire: NFL Free Agency: 4 targets Ravens could sign to replace Tyler Huntley