Free Agent

By the end of the first quarter at the Georgia Dome on Thursday, the Ravens offense had no first downs and 9 total yards. Their starting defense had already allowed one touchdown and was on the verge of giving up another, and appeared powerless in trying to slow Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones who had a touchdown and more than 100 yards in less than 15 minutes. Even the special teams got into the disappointing act by allowing Dominique Franks to return a punt to the Ravens' 15-yard line.

As if there weren't enough obstacles facing an undrafted rookie in the NFL, wide receiver Deonte Thompson knows his every move is being observed by Ravens coaches. That can cut both ways depending on how the University of Florida product fares in training camp, but Thompson said he is simply thankful for the opportunity to make an impression with the coaching staff. “They tell me that every day, you're getting evaluated. So I want to go out there and show my talents,” he said Thursday.

The Ravens will hold their first full-team practice of training camp on Thursday, July 26. Each day leading up to the official start of camp, The Sun will examine several key position battles that will be decided during preseason. THIRD WIDE RECEIVER The competitors : Jacoby Jones, Tandon Doss, LaQuan Williams Breaking it down : The Ravens have 11 receivers on their roster and only three of them - Anquan Boldin, Torrey Smith, and LaQuan Williams - have caught a pass from Joe Flacco in a regular-season game so there are obviously a lot of questions about this relatively inexperienced group.

OK, so in late October, the San Francisco Giants were shopping lefty Jonathan Sanchez and contacted the Orioles. At the time, the Orioles were without a GM, so nothing materialized between the clubs. And in early November the Giants dealt Sanchez to the Kansas City Royals for outfielder Melky Cabrera, who incidentally was the 2012  All-Star Game MVP. This offseason, the Orioles were looking to trade their own veteran pitcher with a high salary, Jeremy Guthrie. Basically, they didn't want to pay what Guthrie was going to get in arbitration (he settled for $8.2 million)

The Ravens made two moves this offseason to secure the futures of two of the organization's better young players, but they have one prominent name still in line for a contract extension before the start of the 2012-13 season: quarterback Joe Flacco. The Ravens signed restricted free agent Lardarius Webb in early April, agreeing to a six-year, $52.7 million contract with one of the league's top young corners. On Monday, just minutes before the deadline to sign designated franchise players, the Ravens struck a deal with Ray Rice, presenting the Pro Bowl running back with a five-year, $40 million deal that includes $5 million in escalators and $24 million in guaranteed money.

Big news day in Baltimore, so here's the rundown after Buck Showalter's press conference. The Orioles purchased the contract of reliever Miguel Socolovich and activated catcher Taylor Teagarden from the 60-day disabled list - both 40-man roster moves. To make room, they designated lefty Dana Eveland for assignment and outrighted catcher Ronny Paulino to Triple-A Norfolk. Paulino, who already cleared waivers, can refuse the assignment and become a free agent. He has 72 hours to make that decision and said Saturday that he hasn't decided what he will do. Eveland is on waivers now and the team will know by Monday if he clears.

NHL Capitals to part ways with veteran Halpern Potomac native Jeff Halpern said Friday that general manager George McPhee called recently to inform him the Washington Capitals wouldn't try to re-sign him. Halpern, a 36-year-old center set to become an unrestricted free agent July 1, said he wasn't surprised by the news. "I just think how the last 20 games went, it was there," said Halpern, who signed a one-year deal as an unrestricted free agent last summer for a second stint with his hometown team.

The Orioles have signed 49-year old LHP Jamie Moyer to a minor-league contract. Moyer is expected to start for Triple-A Norfolk on Saturday. The Colorado Rockies released Moyer and he cleared waivers, making him a free agent. Earlier this season, Moyer became the oldest pitcher to win a major league game. He had a stint with the Orioles from 1993-1995. This season, Moyer was 2-5 with a 5.70 ERA with the Rockies.

When Jameel McClain was an unrestricted free agent in March, there was a sentiment that the inside linebacker, who had started 31 of the Ravens' 32 games over the past two seasons, could be courted by a pair of former defensive-coordinators-turned-head-coaches in the New York Jets' Rex Ryan and the Indianapolis Colts' Chuck Pagano. Pagano presented an especially interesting option, as he had been the team's defensive coordinator until Indianapolis hired him away Jan. 25. But McClain said he wasn't too intrigued about playing for the Colts because of his desire to remain with the Ravens.

Besides seeing limited action in a pair of preseason games last summer, Michael McAdoo hasn't played a meaningful game in nearly three years. After going undrafted in the 2011 supplemental draft, he was signed by the Ravens as a rookie free agent, but the outside linebacker spent the season on injured reserve. And in two seasons at North Carolina before the NCAA suspended him, McAdoo made just 29 tackles and three sacks. No wonder McAdoo, who is just 21, shot me a confused look Wednesday when I told him that I get more questions from Ravens fans about him than maybe any other player besides Ray Rice or Joe Flacco.