Can we once and for all put an end to the RFA talk?

[AntiMoon]

Every year we have to listen to nonsense about how our RFA's or somebody else's is going to get signed to a big offer sheet and it NEVER happens. If nobody is going to sign Wallace then lets accept the fact that NOBODY will ever sign a big offer sheet again. Someday the people on here will learn this but I doubt it.
Rant over

[floridaraven]

Why wait for a rookie to develop, if the Ravens signed this guy there would be no defense able to cover our wr's. Flacco would have a banner year. Why waste a 1st or 2nd on a wr when a player of this quality is there. So what if the Ravens have to give up a 1. It usually is a low number 1 and even if Pitt has to use it they will be to cap poor to keep two number ones.

[AntiMoon]

Too late. Deadline to sign Wallace was yesterday

[AVATAR]

I was hoping they could have reached a deal with either Flacco or Rice mah doddles to get some cap space and steal him from the Squaler's. But you where right. I guess I'll listen to yall next year cause Ozzie ain't biting. Hopefully the Defenses won't crush his ast and we can grab him next free agency. The Staller's still wouldn't have enough space to sign him without cutting allot more geritol users.

[Ravens2006]

With the current CBA, #1 picks are no longer a risky cap proposition at all. They're worth more than ever now, and you're not going to see anyone deal out of a very high pick for anything remotely related to "cap issues".

At the same time, RFA tenders are not used as tools to trade someone anywhere NEAR as often as people fantasize. Dropping a "1st" instead of a "1st and 3rd" on somebody is pretty much NEVER a sign that a team is eager to trade that guy. There was a lot of speculation about that being the intent when they tendered Gaither a few years back. Ozzie himself recently admitted that they (the Ravens) treat the tenders as a protective tool... to scare other teams away from sacrificing a certain level of draft picks to pry a guy away. Basically, when the Ravens drop a big tag on a guy, it means they 1) want to keep him, and 2) don't think anybody will match at that level.

[cprenegade]

Why wait for a rookie to develop, if the Ravens signed this guy there would be no defense able to cover our wr's. Flacco would have a banner year. Why waste a 1st or 2nd on a wr when a player of this quality is there. So what if the Ravens have to give up a 1. It usually is a low number 1 and even if Pitt has to use it they will be to cap poor to keep two number ones.

If it was just giving up a number 1 at the Raven's draft position it would probably not be a big deal. But it would be giving up a number one, and then also having to reach an agreement with a guy who wants Fitzgerald type money. The Ravens are not in a cap position to do that. They already have a lot of cap money tied up in Lewis, Reed, Suggs, Ngata, and Yanda, with Rice and Flacco still to get paid. Pittsburgh already had to part with some high old timer salaries to even just get in position to deal with Wallace. Unless the Ravens were ready to let Reed and Lewis go, they would not be in any real financial position to deal with Wallace. The 29th pick in the draft won't cost them nearly as much.