Is the Ravens’ Choice Not to Tag Eugene Monroe Too Big of a Gamble?

March 4, 2014   ·   Andrea Hangst   ·   Jump to comments

The Baltimore Ravens could have used the franchise tag or transition tag on left tackle Eugene Monroe by Monday's deadline but opted not to.
The Ravens have a respectable $24.929 million in salary cap space for 2014, per Spotrac. However, the franchise tag would have eaten up $11.654 million and the transition tag $10.039 million—far too much money for a good, but not All-Pro caliber, left tackle like Monroe.
This means that unless a deal is hammered out between now and the March 11 start of free agency, Monroe could be destined for the open market and another team. While it's true that players—even left tackles—come and go in the NFL, for the Ravens, this could be a major tipping point.
The Ravens had a poor offensive line in 2013, but Monroe was one of the brighter spots. Monroe was the Ravens' best pass protector and second-best run-blocker according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required) and ranked in the top 10 among left tackles on the...

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