OWINGS MILLS Md. The following is the summary of the first day of free agency. Baltimore RavensA safety agreement was reached Marcus WilliamsOffense tackle Morgan MosesAccording to sources, Tuesday
The Ravens have found Williams their ball-hawking safety and Moses their right tackle answer.
A source said that Williams and Baltimore reached an agreement for a 5-year, $70million deal. According to a source, the deal includes $37million, with $31 million for the following year.
Within hours, the Ravens had reached an agreement to sign a $15 million three-year contract with Moses. The Athletic first reported this development.
Williams, a full-time safety starter for free New Orleans SaintsAfter being selected in the second round, 2017 draft, he played under the franchise label ($10.612M), after the parties were unable to agree on a long-term agreement.
Williams turns 26 on September 26, and has been an integral part of New Orleans’ defensive turnaround. The unit ranks sixth in the NFL for both yards and points allowed. He is 6-foot-1 and 195-pounds. In his 15 years of service, Williams has returned one touchdown for New Orleans in 2019. One interception was also returned in the playoffs. He has also had three forced fumbles as well as 38 pass defenses, and 321 tackles.
Williams is widely considered one of the NFL’s best safeties, despite not being selected to an All-Pro or Pro Bowl team. Pro Football Focus rated him among the league’s top 7 safeties in each of his three seasons.
Williams’ most famous play was his miss tackle against then-Minnesota VikingsReceiver Stefon DiggsHe was in the “Minneapolis Miracle”, playoff loss that ended his rookie year. He has made significant improvements as a tackler over his career. In 2021, he had a career high of 74 tackles. The Ravens will add Williams to their pass defense, which struggled last season.
Pro Bowl cornerbacks Marlon HumphreyAnd Marcus PetersBaltimore had the highest number of passing yards (4,986), yards by reception (12.6), and average yards after the catch (6.4) in the NFL’s last season. Ravens’ pass defense gave up 31 touchdown passes, which is the worst in franchise history, and intercepted nine passes.
Baltimore continues its strong investment in its secondary. The Ravens have made $71 million in guarantee money over the last three years in their defensive backfield. Chuck Clark ($10 million).
Although the Ravens haven’t made many big splashes in free agent, they often do so for safety reasons. Baltimore signed Eric WeddleEarl Thomas in 2016, Earl Thomas in 2019. Weddle was one of the best free-agent additions to the Ravens in 2016, and Earl Thomas in 2019.
After working on the secondary, Ravens moved to the offensive line. They gave up a franchise record 57 sacks in last season. Moses, who turns 31 in March, is one the longest-serving players in the NFL. He has appeared in 113 consecutive games dating back to his second season at Washington (2015). In that time, he missed just one start. It was with the Jets in the season opener in 2021.
Moses signed a $3.6 million contract for one year last June. He was then placed in a competition with George FantRight tackle The preseason was a close one. Fant won the battle, but Moses didn’t stay long on the bench.
Fant was moved to the left tackle by the Jets in Week 1. Mekhi BectonMoses took the right tackle position after going down with a serious knee injury. He played in the 16 final games and was praised for his leadership skills and toughness.
Moses ranked 16th in pass-block win rate among 68 qualifying tackles, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Although the Jets’ running game was slow to begin, they finished second in the league for yards per carry (5.17) in the last eight weeks.
After sustaining a knee injury in the first game, he couldn’t finish it. However, he was cleared to play and was told that he wouldn’t require surgery. Moses, a 6-foot-8, 318-pound player, stated that he has plenty of football left to play.
Baltimore’s problem spot at right tackle last season was right tackle. In 2021, four Ravens linemen played at least 60 snaps as right tackle.
Rich Cimini and Mike Triplett, ESPN’s Mike, contributed to this report.