Ravens designate outside linebacker Matthew Judon with franchise tag

The Ravens have designated star outside linebacker Matthew Judon with the franchise tag, general manager Eric DeCosta announced Friday, keeping the team’s top pass rusher from entering free agency as they negotiate a long-term deal.

The NFL’s deadline to designate pending unrestricted free agents with the franchise tag is Monday, but the Ravens had long been expected to retain Judon. He made his first Pro Bowl last season, when he led the team with 9½ sacks and had 33 quarterback hits, fourth most in the NFL, and the Ravens don’t have the salary cap space, draft capital or positional depth to replace him easily.

Under the nonexclusive franchise tag for linebackers, which allows teams to match any offer and, if their player signs elsewhere, receive two compensatory first-round draft picks, Judon would receive a one-year tender offer of about $16 million. With the retirement Wednesday of guard Marshal Yanda, the Ravens are projected to have about $38 million in cap space ahead of the start of free agency Wednesday.

DeCosta told Baltimore reporters at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis that the team is “trying to get a long-term deal done with Matt, if we can.” With Judon now tagged, the Ravens have until July 15 to negotiate a multiyear extension that would likely be the richest for a defender in franchise history.

“Tremendous respect for Matt, his year that he had this year, his leadership, his production, his effort, what he brings to the team,” DeCosta said at the combine.

While the franchise tag will keep Judon from free agency, uncertainty about his near-term future in Baltimore remains. According to Pro Football Focus, Judon rushed the passer on nearly four times as many snaps as he dropped into coverage last season. When asked at the combine whether Judon could be designated as a defensive end, where a tender could be worth over $19 million, DeCosta declined to comment. As it did for fellow edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney last season, the NFL Players Association could file a grievance against the Ravens on Judon’s behalf.

Judon is also reportedly a candidate to be tagged and traded, which would free the Ravens of his cap hit. The Houston Texans dealt Clowney to the Seattle Seahawks before last season for a 2020 third-round pick and a pair of outside linebackers. In April, the Seahawks had traded their own tagged defensive end, Frank Clark, to the Kansas City Chiefs for a 2019 first-round pick, a 2020 second-round pick and a swap of 2019 third-round picks.

“Teams have done it in the last couple of years pretty effectively, so it’s like anything else,” DeCosta said last month of trading tagged players. “There’s always going to be a strategy in place. Teams will usually have a way of doing it if you want to do it, so we haven’t given much thought to that at this time.”

With the Ravens expected to challenge for the Super Bowl next season, team officials have stressed the need for a top-level pass rusher in 2020. Inside and outside Baltimore, there aren’t many options besides Judon. Outside linebacker Tyus Bowser has 8½ sacks over three seasons, including a career-high five in 2019, and Jaylon Ferguson had 2½ sacks as a rookie.

In free agency, the market for elite edge rushers is expected to be out of the Ravens’ price range, and in the draft, the Ravens will likely find better value with the No. 28 draft pick at other positions.

While Judon does not affect a game plan like Clowney, the class’ top pending free agent, or have gaudy 2019 numbers like Shaquil Barrett, whom the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are expected to tag after an NFL-best 19½-sack season, the 27-year-old has been the picture of self-improvement in Baltimore. After posting four sacks as a rookie, Judon had eight, 7½ and 9½ over the next three seasons. His number of quarterback hits has improved every year, and his 2019 season was the highest graded of his career, according to PFF.

Judon’s final season on his rookie contract was not flawless. His 14.3% missed-tackle rate was the highest of any regular contributor to the Ravens’ front seven, according to Pro-Football-Reference. A review of 2019 film also found that the Ravens brought an average of 5.1 pass rushers on plays in which Judon registered a quarterback hit, raising questions about how much he’s benefited from a blitz-happy defensive scheme and a talented secondary.

But other data suggests his pass-rush success was no fluke. According to ESPN, Judon beat his block within 2.5 seconds on 20% of plays last season, the No. 18 rate in the NFL among edge rushers. And according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, in the Ravens’ 15 games against qualifying passers, just eight quarterbacks took longer to throw, on average, than their season-ending mark.

Judon, a former fifth-round pick who said at the end of the season, “I love it in Baltimore,” is the seventh Raven to be tagged in franchise history. Only offensive lineman Wally Williams and outside linebacker Terrell Suggs did not sign long-term deals the year they were tagged; Suggs, who was tagged in 2008 and again in 2009, agreed to an extension before the 2009 season.

“There’s no question that [retaining Judon] is a priority for us, and that’s something that’s really important to us,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said at his season-ending news conference in January. “Matt is probably right at the top of the list, for sure. … Our goal will be to have Matt back. That’s what we’ll try to do.”

NFL key dates

Monday-Wednesday: Clubs are permitted to contact, and enter into contract negotiations with, the certified agents of players who will become unrestricted free agents.

April 23-25: NFL draft, Las Vegas.