The Ravens Have Released Super Bowl Hero Jacoby Jones
The Ravens have terminated the contract of WR/KR Jacoby Jones. http://t.co/IuhWqM3pnO
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) February 25, 2015
#RavensNation it’s been real….. #luv
— Jacoby jones (@TheRealJacoby12) February 25, 2015
(Ravens) – The Ravens have parted ways with veteran receiver and return man Jacoby Jones. The team terminated Jones’ contract Wednesday after his three years in Baltimore. “We thank Jacoby for what he did for us,” Head Coach John Harbaugh said. “He was invaluable to our success. Opponents, especially on special teams, schemed to stop him. What a compliment to him.” He was scheduled to enter the second season of a three-year deal, and was reportedly set to carry a $3.3 million cap hit. Cutting Jones will free up salary cap space and give the Ravens some flexibility heading into free agency next month. General Manager Ozzie Newsome said during Tuesday’s press conference that the team would “exhaust every avenue” to get flexibility under the salary cap, and cutting Jones reportedly frees up $750,000. The team could have saved more by designating Jones as a post-June 1 release, but this way he can potentially land a job and higher salary as soon as free agency opens on March 10.
And so begins the onslaught of salary cap concessions for the Ravens. Even though I anticipated his release, it’s still a weird feeling. You could make a case that Jacoby has made more iconic plays for this franchise than any other Raven, in only 3 years at that. The Mile High Miracle is probably at the very top of that list. The Super Bowl kickoff return is in the top 5, and the long TD catch in that game isn’t far behind. Hell, that time Mike Tomlin stole a TD away from Jacoby just might be the most iconic of any play in the Ravens-Steelers rivalry. So it’s odd that a guy with such a long list of memorable moments couldn’t be retained for 2.5 million bucks.
But that’s just Ozzie ball. If there’s a move that allows you to allocate cap space more efficiently, he won’t hesitate to do it. I can’t go as far to say that Jacoby wasn’t pulling his weight anymore, but he was far from a bargain either. His value as a receiver had essentially disappeared and the juice that was his return game wasn’t worth a $2.5 million squeeze. We’ve got a young guy in Michael Campanaro that can hold his own in the return game. That’s just the way it goes. And technically it wasn’t even worth a $750,000 squeeze considering that’s all they’re freeing up in cap space by not waiting until June 1 to cut him. They’re doing him a solid by allowing him to leave before free agency starts.
This is the first domino in a series of many for the Ravens going into the offseason. Ozzie expressed yesterday that they’re going to do whatever they can to gain cap room, and this confirms that. Pernell McPhee is gone for sure, and I don’t feel as good about Torrey coming back as I did a week ago. Steve Bisciotti mentioned how ridiculous the Mike Wallace deal was, so you can tell he’s thought long and hard about what Torrey is worth. And I got the sense that he knows what Torrey is going to get on the market is more than he’s willing to pay. He even said he’d be happy to see Torrey go if it meant him maximizing his earnings. Maybe cutting Jacoby is a means to an end to pay that top dollar for Torrey. But I wouldn’t count on it. Expect more heart-breaking decisions in the coming weeks.