The Ravens made Terrell Suggs the highest-paid linebacker in National Football League history Wednesday, but the $63 million price tag over six years was the cost of doing business in the NFL.
By keeping the loquacious pass rusher in Baltimore, the Ravens added another chapter in their instructive book on how to beat free agency and the salary cap. In an era when players in all professional sports casually trade uniforms and traditions year to year, they are one of the rare organizations with the ability to re-sign core players and keep the team together.
"I think it's a model organization," said Charley Casserly, a CBS television football analyst and former general manager of the Washington Redskins. "No. 1, they do a good job of picking the players. Then, they're not afraid to let a player go if they know they can't afford him because they're confident in their ability to develop and replace players."
It is a confidence born of a successful track record. Under general manager Ozzie Newsome, the Ravens have watched first-round draft picks become Pro Bowl selections. Suggs, who has 53 sacks in six seasons as a hybrid linebacker-defensive end, follows a long and illustrious line of franchise-type players who found Baltimore more alluring than the open market.
Among those who came - and stayed - were Jonathan Ogden and Ray Lewis, Peter Boulware and Chris McAlister, Todd Heap and Ed Reed.
That's what the Orioles - Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. spent his entire 21-year career here - and the Washington Redskins once did, but both area teams have gotten away from the winning formula. The Redskins rent a star player every free-agent period. This year it was defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, drawn to Washington by a reported seven-year, $100 million contract with $40 million in guarantees.
In contrast, the Ravens operate on the principle of finding the best talent in the draft and keeping that talent in-house. It's a system that starts with Newsome, but incorporates every level of the franchise.
"It is a process and Ozzie leads the process," team president Dick Cass said. "Ozzie tries to identify not only a Pro Bowl player, but one who brings something extra to the table - leadership, professionalism, intensity - that separates them from the others."
The process brings together player personnel, coaching and college scouting departments in a decidedly opinionated discussion. The goal, said director of player personnel Eric DeCosta, is an "honest evaluation of players."
