It's official now.
The Ravens are on the clock to either sign running back Ray Rice to a contract extension or designate him the franchise player by March 5th.
Otherwise, they'd have to allow him to become an unrestricted free agent.
But there is no need to panic. Rice will remain in Baltimore, one way or the other.
The Ravens are expected to meet with the agent for Joe Flacco this week to eventually sign their franchise quarterback, who has one year remaining on his current deal, to a long term deal.
There's no need to sweat that one, either.
There probably won't be any deals announced this week at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, but Flacco will be around Baltimore for a few more years, too.
There was a sense of panic in town last week after Flacco's agent Joe Linta said that Flacco deserved to be paid as one of the top five quarterbacks in the NFL.
It was the perfect talk radio fodder. The head cases called in and went nuts. They worried about Rice's future, and were concerned a frustrated Flacco would leave Baltimore if he didn't get a new deal done before this season. They even started comparing who was more valuable.
It was great entertainment and hard to determine which was funnier, the concern of fans or Linta's comments about Flacco being a top five quarterback.
Flacco and Rice aren't going anywhere because the Ravens designated them cornerstones last season when they cut receivers Derrick Mason and Todd Heap. Every time there was an issue on offense last season, Rice and Flacco became the spokesmen.
When Ray Lewis and Ed Reed eventually retire, outside linebacker Terrell Suggs will join Flacco and Rice as the unquestionable leaders of the Ravens. All three are still fairly young, in their prime and have some great years remaining.
The question is, when will the Ravens pay Rice and Flacco?
Linta was posturing with his praise of Flacco, and that's his job. He is also inexperienced as far as having done top notch deals for quarterbacks which made his statements so early in the negotiations appear silly.
Flacco isn't a top five quarterback because he isn't cerebral or talented enough to run an offense centered around the quarterback like Green Bay does with Aaron Rodgers, New England with Tom Brady and New Orleans with Drew Brees.
In fact, he wouldn't even make my top 10 because he can't improvise like a Ben Roethlisberger or Michael Vick, but I'd pay him like a quarterback in the No. 6 to No. 10 range because he has done exactly what the Ravens have asked, and more.
They've gotten a four-year starter, four straight playoff appearances and two AFC championship games out of a quarterback from the University of Delaware.
That's almost unbelievable.
Of course, Flacco has played with one of the best defenses in the NFL throughout his time and the Ravens also have a good front office as far as the draft and adding free agents. But that's what is also attractive about Flacco.
He is a team player. Every once and a while he'll whine a little about not throwing enough, but not to the point where he becomes a disruptive force in the locker room. His personality fits in with the Ravens style of play. You don't need a Brett Favre, but an Alex Smith who can manage a game and win it if called upon.
The debate over which player, Flacco or Rice, is more valuable is meaningless. Here's the bottom line: The Ravens can't win consistently without Rice, and they can't go deep into the playoffs without Flacco playing well.
Rice deserves more attention because his time is now. In the past, the Ravens have used the franchise tag on players like Suggs, Chris McAlister and defensive tackle Haloti Ngata. Both McAlister and Suggs were clearly irritated, and held out of training camp.
Most players don't like the designation because they don't get the big, guaranteed signing bonus up front. I suspect Rice wouldn't he happy with the tag either, but he certainly wouldn't be unhappy with the $7.7 million salary he would earn compared to the $600,000 he made last season.
The Ravens would prefer not to go that route. It would benefit them to sign Rice and free up salary cap money to re-sign other players like guard Ben Grubbs, outside linebacker Jarret Johnson and even Flacco.
These could be tumultuous times for the Ravens, especially if Rice decides to hold out and Flacco's potential unhappiness spills into next season.
But it's different when a team has already marched two players out front and center as their stars of the future. I wouldn't be surprised if Rice is tagged for the season, and Flacco gets a new deal soon after training camp starts.
The Ravens have to get these two players in place before they can move on.
You can't build a house without a foundation. The Ravens can't build this team without Ray Rice and Joe Flacco.