Linebacker Terrell Suggs will likely not be present at the Baltimore Ravens first full-team practice on Friday.
Suggs received an $8.5 million one-year deal from the Ravens during the offseason after the team placed the franchise player tag on him. Suggs was awarded the contract under a new hybrid linebacker-defensive end tag as a compromise between him and the team. A franchise player receives the average salary of the top five players at a position. A defensive end?s average salary is higher than that of a linebacker. Suggs and the Ravens were unable to come to terms on a long-term deal by July 15, meaning the two sides cannot negotiate a new deal until after the season.
Reports also have hinted that Suggs may hold out until right before the end of training camp. The 10th pick in the 2003 draft out of Arizona State has 45 sacks in five seasons, but had a career low five sacks in 2007 despite recording a career-high 80 tackles.
“We don’t know yet,” said Ravens coach John Harbaugh on whether Suggs will sit out of training camp. “We’re going to find out. His situation is a little bit unique. He’s got to decide what’s best for him going forward.”
All rookies on board
Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said most of the credit belongs to rookie quarterback Joe Flacco‘s agent, Joe Linta, and team vice president of football administration Pat Moriarty, for working together to get the former University of Delaware star signed before the start of training camp.”A lot of times we get involved in negotiations and everybody wants to wait on the other guy,” Newsome said. “They want to wait on the team behind them and in front of them but [Linta] took the position that it was important for Flacco to be in camp on time and Pat was astute enough to say we’ll win some battles and lose some battles but getting him in camp on time was very important to us.”
Newsome also praised Ravens director of pro personnel George Kokinis for helping get the team’s lower draft picks signed before training camp begins. This marks the second straight year the Ravens have entered training camp without a rookie holdout.
“That’s where all of the credit goes,” Newsome said.
