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Undrafted Free Agents Getting More Money from Baltimore Ravens than in Past Years

May 18th, 2013 at 10:50 AM
By Josh Michael

We have harped on it ever since the 2013 NFL Draft concluded, but the Baltimore Ravens love signing undrafted free agents and have quite a track record at finding very productive players. Baltimore has continued to find these guys this year, but have given higher signing bonuses than normal.

'Maryland Terrapins beat Wake Forest - College Football' photo (c) 2012, Mrs. Gemstone - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Leading up to the draft, all you seemed to hear about was how deep of a draft this class was on talent, as that has been evident by the amount of undrafted free agents being snatched up, but in Baltimore is shows more evident by the signing bonuses the Ravens are giving out.

The following list of players are past Ravens undrafted rookie free agents: running back Priest Holmes ($2,000 signing bonus in 1997), center Mike Flynn (no signing bonus in 1997), linebacker Bart Scott ($500 in 2002), linebacker Jameel McClain ($3,000 in 2008), linebacker Dannell Ellerbe ($2,000 in 2009) and kicker Justin Tucker (no signing bonus). This is quite an impressive list of key contributors for the Baltimore Ravens.

Baltimore, as you can see by the list of some of the previous Ravens undrafted free agents, traditionally does not spend a lot in signing bonuses for these players.

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Ravens101 Introduces ‘Guess the Baltimore Ravens Player’

May 17th, 2013 at 9:24 AM
By Josh Michael

We here at Ravens101 thought it would be fun this offseason to randomly test your Baltimore Ravens fandom, by introducing a little game we like to call, "Guess the Baltimore Ravens Player.' Each time we do this, we will select a random player from the Ravens roster and provide you with some stats first, then perhaps his college, and lastly his experience, before we give you the answer.

'M&T Bank Stadium' photo (c) 2010, Marlon E - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Are you ready to test your Ravens knowledge? Be sure to play honestly and do not scroll to the bottom to find out who the player is. We will not place a picture of the actual player in the article as to not give it away.

Here we go!

Stats:

  • This player ranked in the top ten in every major category for his position.
  • This player led the league in the post season in two major categories and was second in another
  • He ranked sixth at his position in fantasy football in 2012

Odd ball notes:

  • This player was born in the late 1980's
  • This player is six foot tall
  • He was a second team All Conference selection his senior year in college
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Troubled LB Rolando McClain Elects to Retire from the NFL at the Age of 23

May 16th, 2013 at 7:44 AM
By Josh Michael

Receiving a lot of criticism after signing the troubled LB Rolando McClain to a one year deal this offseason, the Baltimore Ravens have now been given a get out of jail free card, no pun intended, as McClain has elected to retire from the NFL.

'Raiders in the Rain' photo (c) 2011, Jeffrey Beall - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

McClain, just 23 years old, has not been able to get his NFL Career going in the right direction since he was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the 2010 NFL Draft in the first round, the eighth overall selection.

“Rolando let me know that he plans to retire from the NFL,” general manager Ozzie Newsome said in a team statement. “We have placed him on the reserve-retired list.”

It was not just his on the field performance that has been underachieving, but his off the field performance has been much more abysmal. When the Ravens signed him this offseason,  McClain faced misdemeanor charges of third-degree assault, menacing, reckless endangerment, and illegal discharge of a firearm in his hometown of Decatur, Ala. in 2011. The charges were eventually dropped after an original conviction was appealed. He was also arrested in January of this year after failing to sign a citation related to illegal window tint on his vehicle.

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Baltimore Ravens WR/KR Jacoby Jones Advances to ‘Dancing with the Stars’ Finals

May 15th, 2013 at 8:14 AM
By Josh Michael

The year continues to get even better for Baltimore Ravens WR/KR Jacoby Jones as he advanced to the finals of 'Dancing with the Stars' last night.

'_DSC3960' photo (c) 2007, Corey Balazowich - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/

The finals consist of four stars and their partners and Jones joins Kellie Pickler, Aly Raisman, and Zendaya in the battle for the Mirror Ball Trophy.

Jones came off a great performances on Monday Night that saw Jones garner a perfect score of 30 during the night. Jacoby continues to show that his end zone dances are not the only style of dance he can do.

The 'Dancing with the Stars' finals will be next week on Monday Night and Ravens Nation will continue to watch and push their slogan #VoteJacoby.

Soap Opera star, Ingo Rademacher, was the one eliminated last night after he was obviously the weakest competitor remaining in the competition.

Jones will be looking to complete one heck of a year for himself. Over the past year, Jones has signed with the Ravens, earned his first Pro Bowl nod, garnered an All Pro selection, tied a Super Bowl record for the longest kick off return for a touchdown, and of course, hoisted the Lombardi Trophy. Now Jones will attempt to win the Mirror Ball Trophy as the 'Dancing with the Stars' Champion!

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TE Dennis Pitta Signs Restricted Free Agent Tender with Baltimore Ravens

May 14th, 2013 at 7:27 AM
By Josh Michael

'Dennis Pitta' photo (c) 2013, Jeffrey Beall - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Although it has taken a while, TE Dennis Pitta has finally signed his restricted free agent tender with the Baltimore Ravens. The second round tender is worth $2.023 million.

Pitta was a very intricate part of the Super Bowl Championship run for the Ravens last season, as he reeled in 14 grabs for 163 yards and three touchdowns during the playoffs, including four grabs for 26 yards and a touchdown in the Super Bowl.

Dennis continues to improve each year and last year he posted a career year. The 2012 season saw Pitta rack up 669 yards on 61 catches with seven touchdowns, and his production really seemed to take off once Jim Caldwell took over as Offensive Coordinator for Baltimore.

It is safe to assume his production will continue to get better this season with the departure of Anquan Boldin, as several NFL people have suggested that Pitta could replace Boldin's up the middle production.

There was some interest shown in Pitta from other teams. The Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49'ers were intrigued by Pitta, but ultimately nothing materialized and no offer sheet was submitted for the three year pro.

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