FanHouse Baltimore Ravens

A little more than four months have passed since Terrell Suggs expressed his desire for a long-term contract, telling the Ravens in February, "If you want me on your team, then do something about it."

Baltimore responded by slapping the franchise tag on Suggs. Since then, no one's seen or heard much from Suggs -- he skipped all of the Ravens' offseason activities. But the talented defensive star finally broke his silence in an an interview with Mike Duffy of BaltimoreRavens.com:

"I feel like we're getting close," Suggs said.

This is great news for the Ravens. Not just because Suggs is a key component in their stout defense, but also because Baltimore signing him to a multi-year contract would almost certainly help the team finally land another wide receiver.

There appears to be some communication problems coming out of Denver.

First, owner Pat Bowlen tells wide receiver Brandon Marshall that he will trade him, according to Marshall's agent, Kennard McGurire. Now, Broncos coach Josh McDaniels said he expects to see Marshall in training camp, according to the Denver Post.

What a mess.

The Baltimore Ravens are not necessarily scrambling to send Denver a trade offer for Brandon Marshall, but they are at least exploring the possibility of pursuing a deal, according to a report from the Baltimore Sun.

The Ravens are often the subject of rumors involving potentially available wide receivers, and it's not hard to see why. Their leading pass-catcher in 2008, Derrick Mason, is still struggling after offseason shoulder surgery -- and he was the only player on the team to catch more than 41 balls last year (80 for 1,037 yards). Their third most-productive WR, Demetrius Williams, missed nine games, and three of Baltimore's top seven receivers were running backs.

Heck, the team's eighth-leading "receiver" was quarterback Joe Flacco, who caught one ball for 43 yards.

So the need is there. But, based on comments made by Baltimore coach John Harburgh on Tuesday, Marshall might not be a great fit.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- It takes less than 10 steps to get from Ray Rice's stall to Cedric Peerman's in the Ravens' practice facility locker room. The distance between their spots on Baltimore's depth chart looks substantially larger.

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OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Before Ravens head coach John Harbaugh immerses himself in Baltimore's training camp, and the rigorous NFL season, he's going to take a few days out to gain some perspective.

Harbaugh will join Tom Coughlin, Bill Cowher, Jeff Fisher and Jon Gruden on the inaugural NFL-USO Coaches Tour. The event will take the five current and former coaches to the Persian Gulf, where they will spend nearly a week visiting with U.S. troops.

"The Persian Gulf trip is going to be a great experience," Harbaugh said with an excited smile on his face after Baltimore's Tuesday OTA. The trip runs June 30-July 5, "so it will be over the Fourth of July, and I think that's going to be pretty amazing," he added.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Time and time again during the Ravens' OTA on Tuesday, wide receiver Derrick Mason found himself wide open, an easy target for quarterbacks Joe Flacco and Troy Smith to pick out.

It's amazing how easy football can be when no one's allowed to touch you.

Just four months removed from surgery to repair his right shoulder, Mason has been forced to sport a red "no contact" jersey at Baltimore's offseason workouts. He's hopeful that he will be able to shed that apparel and don his pads when the Ravens open training camp in late July, but his recovery may linger later into the summer.

Not all that long ago, the Dolphins took a shot on John Beck as their starting quarterback. The 40th-overall pick in the 2007 draft out of BYU, Beck entered the Miami lineup after the team's 0-9 start to 2007. Beck lost four straight, committing eight turnovers and throwing exactly zero touchdown passes in that stretch.

And just like that, Beck's initial chance to be a No. 1 guy in the NFL ended. His career in Miami ended as well earlier this offseason, and now Beck will try to latch on with Baltimore after reportedly agreeing to a one-year deal with the Ravens this weekend.

Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 2009 Draft Grades.

Jonathan Ogden retired last summer, leaving the Ravens with a young but deep group of offensive linemen to protect rookie quarterback Joe Flacco. Not surprisingly, Ogden's replacement, Jared Gaither (a former supplementary draft pick) was inconsistent, but occasionally flashed glimpses of big-play potential.

NEW YORK -- The New England Patriots drafted UConn's Darius Butler thinking he could replace cornerback Ellis Hobbs at cornerback and in the kick-return game. Today, they accelerated that process, trading Hobbs to the Philadelphia Eagles for a pair of fifth-round picks. The wheeling-dealing Pats immediately flipped both picks, trading up in the fourth round to take Penn State offensive lineman Richard Ohrnberger.

The Eagles, who actually had five fifth-round picks before this deal, sent New England the No. 137 and 141 overall picks in exchange for Hobbs. New England immediately traded both of those picks to Baltimore for the 123rd and 198th picks, and selected Ohrnberger at 123.

The power of social media took another step during the 2009 NFL Draft when the Patriots reported -- before ESPN mentioned it, before Roger Goodell said anything and before anyone in New York City knew -- that they would be trading their first-round pick.

And they announced it via Twitter. Of course; who could possibly think it's jumped the shark? The more important question though is: "Who did the Patriots trade with?" The answer: "The Baltimore Ravens." Who promptly took Michael Oher.

As I wrote a few minutes ago, Oher fell down draft boards quite quickly. Baltimore, who has a fantastic history of making first round picks, obviously saw something in Oher and made a deal with the Patriots to pull a trigger.