Schrager: Ravens FA C Ryan Jensen is visiting with the Colts (Merge)

[stitches]

 

[Fisticuffs111]

[MTC]

He'll play guard if he were to sign here. 

[Luck 4 president]

Who needs Norwell when we can get this guy?

[DaveA1102]

6 minutes ago, stitches said:

 

 

Congratulations Ryan Jensen on your move to Tampa Bay!

 

[TomDiggs]

Jensen would actually be a very nice signing.

 

He is pretty versatile and can play OG but also fill in at Center if Kelly misses any time.

 

Living in MD, I know a lot of Ravens fans want to keep him but he is expected to price himself out of their re-signing range.

 

Would be a nice signing if he picks us over TB

 

 

[Jackie Daytona]

eh, he does have some experience as a starter, 25 games, and is still young at 25....... who knows, should be cheap, if that matters for anything....

[TomDiggs]

I will say that most Ravens beat writers expected Jensen to command anywhere from $6M-$9M annually when they talked about how it would be hard to retain him.

 

The starting point for negotiations (they felt) would be  J.C.Tretter's 3 year $17M deal.

 

Jensen profiles very similarly to Zach Fulton in his versatility. I would expect him to command similar money. Since Fulton is rumored to be getting around $7.5M a year, I would expect Jensen to be looking for similar money.

 

Also of note is that some select beat writers here in MD actually stated they expected Jensen to become the highest paid Center in the NFL this free agent season. They were talking how he could command $10M plus in this crazy market (Linder is currently the highest paid Center at $10.3M average annually).

 

There was some optimism that with him going "unsigned" during the tampering period, that the Ravens could get him back for a below market deal. We will see where this leads. But I would not expect him to be cheap by any means.

[PeterBowman]

Been reading that he's a good player and versatile....wonder how he rated in the last year or 2?

 

probably a big upgrade over Vujn.

[superrep1967]

18 minutes ago, DaveA1102 said:

 

Congratulations Ryan Jensen on your move to Tampa Bay!

 

lol, especially when he feels how cold it is here and how warm it is in Tampa. 

[JColts72]

16 minutes ago, TomDiggs said:

Jensen would actually be a very nice signing.

 

He is pretty versatile and can play OG but also fill in at Center if Kelly misses any time.

 

Living in MD, I know a lot of Ravens fans want to keep him but he is expected to price himself out of their re-signing range.

 

Would be a nice signing if he picks us over TB

 

 

No state income taxes in Tampa

[PrincetonTiger]

Get it done CB

[lollygagger8]

[Shepman]

Would we move Kelly to guard?  I was wondering that about Bond as well.  Would we be willing to keep Bond at Center and move Kelly to Guard?

[ColtsBlitz]

In the name of competition please (and Lucks shoulder)

[PeterBowman]

here's a PFF profile on him for this free agency period.

 

Could be a very solid signing. Besides think of the upgrade of Vuj.

 

https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/pro-2018-free-agency-preview-baltimore-ravens

[jameszeigler834]

43 minutes ago, MTC said:

He'll play guard if he were to sign here. 

Is he any good?.

[BProland85]

Would be a very lackluster signing and I would hope he wouldn't be a starter at OG. 

[PrincetonTiger]

13 minutes ago, Shepman said:

Would we move Kelly to guard?  I was wondering that about Bond as well.  Would we be willing to keep Bond at Center and move Kelly to Guard?

He would be playing G

[DaveA1102]

3 minutes ago, BProland85 said:

Would be a very lackluster signing and I would hope he wouldn't be a starter at OG. 

 

What makes you say that?  Genuine question as I have no idea who he is but other posters seem to be fairly high on him as a starter?

[csmopar]

im thinking this is more of a depth signing in case Kelly goes down again.

[bananabucket]

Cannot possibly be worse than Vujnovich

[Andrew Luck fan club]

He’s having a visit.  and the Texans just locked up Zach Fulton. Why we’re not doing everything we can to protect Andrew is puzzling. 

[PeterBowman]

1 minute ago, bananabucket said:

Cannot possibly be worse than Vujnovich

exactly.....yes Vujnovich's best attribute was his availability. Unfortunately what was available was crap.

[El Potro]

He was ranked 6th in pass-blocking efficiency for centers last year apparently. 

Sounds like someone Luck needs. 

[Fisticuffs111]

This guy is easily talented enough to be a starter for us.

[NewColtsFan]

1 minute ago, csmopar said:

im thinking this is more of a depth signing in case Kelly goes down again.

 

Not depth.    He's a quality starter.   Can play center or guard.    He's pretty much a top-50 free agent in every free agent wish list.     

 

He's available, not because he's not good...   he's available because he wants good money.    And now that most of the cap money has been spent,  it's just the Colts and the Bucs that can afford him.

 

This would be a very good signing.  Very.

 

[TomDiggs]

Make no mistake here:

 

IF we sign him (not saying we will), he is being brought in to be a starter.

 

Sportrac estimates his contract to be around 5 years and $44M ($8.9M annually).

 

That falls right in line with what the Ravens beat writers think. And it also falls in line with the average salary for a top-10 Center.

 

He is the best Center on the market and as such a handful of teams will likely want him.

 

I still don't see the Colts moving Kelly out of the Center spot for us. But Jensen would be a nice piece who could start at OG and move to Center if Kelly gets hurt like last year.

 

He rated pretty highly in pass protection efficiency and is often referred to as having a "nasty streak".

 

So if we do make a strong play for him, he wouldn't be just some cheap depth guy.

[csmopar]

1 minute ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

Not depth.    He's a quality starter.   Can play center or guard.    He's pretty much a top-50 free agent in every free agent wish list.     

 

He's available, not because he's not good...   he's available because he wants good money.    And now that most of the cap money has been spent,  it's just the Colts and the Bucs that can afford him.

 

This would be a very good signing.  Very.

 

right, but we have Kelly.   So which slides to Guard?

[PrincetonTiger]

1 minute ago, TomDiggs said:

Make no mistake here:

 

IF we sign him (not saying we will), he is being brought in to be a starter.

 

Sportrac estimates his contract to be around 5 years and $44M ($8.9M annually).

 

That falls right in line with what the Ravens beat writers think. And it also falls in line with the average salary for a top-10 Center.

 

He is the best Center on the market and as such a handful of teams will likely want him.

 

I still don't see the Colts moving Kelly out of the Center spot for us. But Jensen would be a nice piece who could start at OG and move to Center if Kelly gets hurt like last year.

 

He rated pretty highly in pass protection efficiency and is often referred to as having a "nasty streak".

 

So if we do make a strong play for him, he wouldn't be just some cheap depth guy.

He will be a starter a G 

   He is very versatile 

[BProland85]

7 minutes ago, DaveA1102 said:

 

What makes you say that?  Genuine question as I have no idea who he is but other posters seem to be fairly high on him as a starter?

 

Because he was completely off the radar from expert analysts and wasn't considered a quality free agency option. 

[PrincetonTiger]

1 minute ago, csmopar said:

right, but we have Kelly.   So which slides to Guard?

He does

[buccolts]

1 minute ago, BProland85 said:

 

Because he was completely off the radar from expert analysts and wasn't considered a quality free agency option. 

 

Who is Mel Kiper?

[NewColtsFan]

 

Honestly,  I don't know?   But not sure it matters,   Both players can play both spots.   

 

If if I had to guess -- and it's only a guess -- Kelly would stay at center and Jansen would slide to guard.   But I wouldn't be surprised if it went the other way.

 

I just want the guy signed.

[TomDiggs]

5 minutes ago, csmopar said:

right, but we have Kelly.   So which slides to Guard?

If he signs here I fully expect Jensen to be the guy playing OG

 

What a lot of folks seem to forget is that versatility in offensive linemen is key. Especially if you want to dress fewer on game day.

 

There are a bunch of OL that are versatile and can play OG and OT in a pinch. Think guys like Haeg and Goode.

 

There are fewer offensive linemen league-wide that can play OG and Center and do it at a decent level.

 

Jensen is already an above average Center and he just got to become a starter last year. He has upside and room for improvement.

 

For what it is worth, before last season Jensen had only started 9 games in his previous 2 seasons. And all of those starts came at OG. He can play both positions well and should be a good signing wherever he lands. Hopefully it is here. I actually like him better than Fulton who seems to be a forum favorite

[BProland85]

6 minutes ago, TomDiggs said:

Make no mistake here:

 

IF we sign him (not saying we will), he is being brought in to be a starter.

 

Sportrac estimates his contract to be around 5 years and $44M ($8.9M annually).

 

That falls right in line with what the Ravens beat writers think. And it also falls in line with the average salary for a top-10 Center.

 

He is the best Center on the market and as such a handful of teams will likely want him.

 

I still don't see the Colts moving Kelly out of the Center spot for us. But Jensen would be a nice piece who could start at OG and move to Center if Kelly gets hurt like last year.

 

He rated pretty highly in pass protection efficiency and is often referred to as having a "nasty streak".

 

So if we do make a strong play for him, he wouldn't be just some cheap depth guy.

 

5 years 44 mil for a guy I've never heard of? He's had 1 year starting experience and isn't considered one of the best at his position like Norwell was. If we were to pay that kind of money, why not just get Norwell?

[buccolts]

1 minute ago, BProland85 said:

 

5 years 44 mil for a guy I've never heard of? He's had 1 year starting experience and isn't considered one of the best at his position like Norwell was. If we were to pay that kind of money, why not just get Norwell?

 

1. The fact you haven't heard of him doesn't come into play here.

2. Norwell is reportedly to make way North of that.

[PrincetonTiger]

1 minute ago, BProland85 said:

 

5 years 44 mil for a guy I've never heard of? He's had 1 year starting experience and isn't considered one of the best at his position like Norwell was. If we were to pay that kind of money, why not just get Norwell?

TBH

 RJ was drafted while AN was not

[NewColtsFan]

4 minutes ago, BProland85 said:

 

Because he was completely off the radar from expert analysts and wasn't considered a quality free agency option. 

 

Huh?    What the.....?

 

i don't know what you're reading, but the truth is 180 degrees the opposite.

 

Hes a top-50 prospect in FA.   The top rated center.   He can start either in the middle or guard.

 

Ranked high by NFL.com...  By PFF and by ESPN.  

 

Maybe you have him confused with with someone else?

 

[TKnight24]