AD on the Cover of ESPN the Magazine

[52decleetzu]

OK this needs to stop now.Before this year noone knew who AD was,now he has half the National media telling the whole world how great he is!!!!!Please Peter king ESPN find someone else to hype up !!!!!

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2688334

[Ravens0587]

And Thomas began floating all over the field with spectacular results. Baltimore owner Steve Bisciotti even asked for his own copy of Thomas' highlight reel.


This quote makes me believe that he won't be going anywhere

[postalworker]

Ozzie would be a fool to let Thomas walk. I don't care that he's getting "old," we need to resign this man. He's simply too good.

[Ravens0587]

That and if we bring him back we will have 11 out of 11 starters on Defense next year.

[PARavensJeff]

It's not going to end. The talking heads & sock puppets have latched onto him, they've just discovered him after all these years. You didn't expect to hide him him forever, did you? A lot of teams will take a run at him this offseason. I don't want AD to go either, but I don't want the Ravens to break the bank & screw up the cap long term. I don't think he's old, even though he'll be 30 before the season starts next year. He deserves to get paid, & this will probably be his last shot at the "big contract". Hopefully AD & the Ravens will realize that he is a good fit for the Ravens & the Ravens are a good fit for him. As long as both parties keep that in mind, AD should be in the purple & black fold next year.

[flraven]

This is just my opinion, but I believe AD will be back in a Ravens uniform next season. Like Jeff said, both he and the team are a good fit and he excels here. We've only got a couple (2-3?) free agents this offseason and we should be able to get him signed. At least I sure hope so!

[AZRAVEN]

I hope you're right but if he's really just intent on getting the big contract he may be gone. Remember Ozzie with his best player best price philosophy,

[jbecks307]

AD is going going gone...When a player is a free agent, regardless of sport, it ALWAYS, ALWAYS about the money...so even if we do pony up a decent offer (which I doubt we will) someone else in dire need of D help is going to offer more....and AD will take the money and run.....nothing against him or Ozzie or anyone...it's just always about the money....not to mention the fact that he may want to be THE man, not hidden in Ray's, Reed's, or Suggs' shadow.

[52decleetzu]

Anyone know who his agent is?? He has definitely been making some phone calls if you ask me.

Its like all of the sudden the media figured out just how much of a weapon AD is,and Im betting its no coincidence that this just happens to be his FA year.

I think he will be back as well,but I'd say every time one of these articles comes out his signing bonus increases by about 1 million or so,and with a magazine cover???I dont even want to think about it anymore.

[RavensNTerps]

trade ray if it means keeping AD...don't even hesitate.

[AZRAVEN]

That's not likely to happen IMO. Maybe we dump Dwan Edwards, he's kind of dead weight and it would add a little money to the AD pot. I really don't think a lot of our guys are in Ray's shadow that much anyway. Scott, AD and Suggs have shown themselves to be talent and are being recognized by the talking heads.

[Sports Steve]

Now we all know AD has made the big time. Man the Ravens better sign him now.


:jester: :jester:

[Greg]

AD is going going gone...When a player is a free agent, regardless of sport, it ALWAYS, ALWAYS about the money...
Uh, what FA have we left leave over money who did ANYTHING after leaving? Priest Holmes left for a starting gig, not the cash. His initial deal with KC wasn't THAT big. Anybody else? McAlister, Reed, Ray, Ogden, every premium FA we have had come up we have signed. If he goes I will figure Ozzie knows something we don't.

[PARavensJeff]

It's not always about the money, it sometimes is about where the player is happiest. Look at Bart Scott, he gave up millions more from Cleveland to remain here, & he was happy to do it. The Ravens may re work some of the big contracts to free up some cash after the season to help add to AD's $$$$. I think the guy wants him to stay & Steve & Ozzie want him here.

[Mobtown]

It's not always about the money, it sometimes is about where the player is happiest. Look at Bart Scott, he gave up millions more from Cleveland to remain here, & he was happy to do it. The Ravens may re work some of the big contracts to free up some cash after the season to help add to AD's $$$$. I think the guy wants him to stay & Steve & Ozzie want him here.


Gotta disagree. AD never got a real payday and this WILL be his last chance to setup his family. He is going to go after the money and it is absolutely the right thing for him to do.

Also, while I love AD...I don't want him here if he (or his cap hit) is going to hurt the team. That said, I would entertain letting Ray go if it meant we could keep AD.

[52decleetzu]

Uh, what FA have we left leave over money who did ANYTHING after leaving? Priest Holmes left for a starting gig, not the cash. His initial deal with KC wasn't THAT big. Anybody else? McAlister, Reed, Ray, Ogden, every premium FA we have had come up we have signed. If he goes I will figure Ozzie knows something we don't.

Took the words right out of my mouth.But hey Travis Taylor bolted,so I guess he is somewhat correct.

[PARavensJeff]

I wouldn't call Travis Taylor a premium FA, the Ravens let him walk. I hope AD at least gives the Ravens a final chance after he gets his best offer. I still believe he will stay, even for a little less. Mobtown disagrees & he has that right to his opinion. I just believe that if AD lays it all out on the table, his best overall package will be in Baltimore. & the Ravens are not going to cut Ray to keep AD. I believe they will re work some contracts to help free up extra cap room. Ray may be able to get his extension out of the Ravens if he agrees to re do his deal since his cap # is high next year, but he won't get that $50 M signing bonus.

[Mista T]

What would be the impact of tagging him? :229031_confused2:

[Dont Know]

I read somewhere that the Ravens don't like to use tags on players because players do not respond well to that.

[PARavensJeff]

There would be no impact other than that $ amount would go to that years overall cap. There would be nothing beyond the year of the tag on the cap. I have also heard that the Ravens don't like the tag because of their use of it with McAllister & the way he reacted. They would rather not use it than have an upset player, which I don't totally agrre with because the player is getting paid & the team has control. The player is mad because they don't get the signing bonus & a long term deal. The Ravens should at least use the threat of it for leverage, because if they don't, the player has all the leverage.

[highwater]

Also, while I love AD...I don't want him here if he (or his cap hit) is going to hurt the team.

I don't see how AD (or his cap hit) is going to hurt the team. Taking the potential cap hit out of the equation, how could AD hurt the team?

I think we would only lose him if someone grossly overpays for him, which is a possibility. We've seen it happen before.

[ravensfan86]

I read in the fishwrap the Ravens will not tag AD and will let him test the FA waters. It will be a good gauge as to the value of the player. I think this will work against the Ravens being able to re-sign AD. There will be more then one team that will offer a Peterson like contract and AD will be gone.

[Mobtown]

Taking the potential cap hit out of the equation, how could AD hurt the team?



I dont think you can remove cap numbers when looking at the value of a player. In fact, my comments were directed specificly at his cap hit.

You all need to keep in mind that we are going to have some major needs over the next few years in high-dollar positions such as CB, DE, QB, OL, etc. Suggs, for example, only has one year left on his contract.

Would you trade AD for Suggs?

As I said before, I love AD...but his position is easier to replace than a Rolle or JO.

[52decleetzu]

Dont know if anyone caught this but on Football Night in America,Peter King was talking about the FA this year and pointed out AD....AGAIN(seriously is he on AD's payroll or what???) and there was a list of how much under the cap all teams will be at this offseason.

The Ravens were at 5.5 under,but that is taking into account Jamals 11 million that he willl never see so really we are at about 16.5 under assuming Jamal is not brought back(or done so at a much lower cap number).

Now here is the twist,while that sounds like it is a good thing there are MANY teams that were 20,25 30 even 35 under going into next season.If it were up to me,I would let Jamal go,draft a RB and give the large majority of that cash to AD and keep him around.

There is no doubt that we could get a RB in the mid rounds to match Jamal's production and it would cost us next to nothing.I still think that all these predictions of this Mega signing bonus he will get are a bit overstated,30 yr old LB's just dont get that kind of cash no matter how good they are.

I still think he will be back,but there are a lot of teams that are way under the cap that might make it a little more difficult to get it done.

[Gabrosin]

King's MMQB article today suggests that Mike Nolan and the 49ers should open up the vault to bring AD to San Francisco, which is a very legitimate threat, given Nolan's latest pattern of bringing in castoff Ravens. The Browns and Jaguars both also have defensive ties to this organization and might be tempted to make an offer.

Right now, I'm trying not to think about the offseason and whether we're going to lose AD. This team has a lot of good football left this year. But I hope that Thomas will make the decision to come back and play out his career here, rather than break the bank elsewhere. It's a treat to watch him all over the field on Sundays.

[BaltimoreRon]

What a great read.

I sure hope we can find a way to keep AD.

[PARavensJeff]

I think Nolan is going to take a run at him next year, SF is projected to be $42 M under the cap next year. Savage will probably too, the Clowns are projected at $33 M under the cap next year. & Marvin out there in Cincy is projected at $30.2 M under. We are projected at $5.7M under for next year, 28th out of 32 teams. Pittsburgh, at 32nd, is just $150 Thousand under next years cap, so at least we won't see him in Black & piss.