The Baltimore Ravens entered free agency knowing they couldn’t retain all of their players set to hit the open market. With the best group of free agents in the league, Baltimore had to make the difficult decision to release Tyus Bowser to clear up $5 million in cap space.
A homegrown talent, the Ravens originally selected Bowser in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft. A Houston product, the edge defender spent most of his early years working as a situational pass rusher on Baltimore’s loaded defense. Despite the limited role, the Ravens re-signed Tyus Bowser as a free agent in 2021.
Bowser originally justified that investment, recording a career-high seven sacks while starting all 17 games in 2021. However, injuries limited him to nine games in 2022 and forced him to miss the 2023 season. With 19.5 career sacks to his name, will Tyus Bowser find a team willing to take a chance on him?
The #Ravens are releasing pass-rusher Tyus Bowser, who has 19.5 career sacks but missed all of 2023 because of a knee injury, per @jeffzrebiec. The move will clear over $5M in cap space. pic.twitter.com/x9oVEZjFYr
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) March 13, 2024
Ravens Release Tyus Bowser – Will He Find Free Agent Home?
Tyus Bowser might have to wait a little while, but some team should be interested in signing him as a free agent. Of course, this all depends on his health. Bowser tore his Achilles in early 2022 and missed the entire 2023 season after fluid built up in his knee. Medically speaking, this might be the end of the road for Bowser, but assuming he can pass a physical down the line, then some team will take a chance on him.
It should go without saying, but nobody is going to break the bank for a player coming off two serious lower-body injuries. No matter how little salary cap space a team has, all 32 organizations should be able to afford Tyus Bowser as a free agent – especially since he didn’t record a single statistic last year.
Not Likely To Be Earned Incentives – or NLTBE – do not count against the 2024 salary cap. NLTBE incentives are defined as thresholds that a player did not reach last year. Seeing as Tyus Bowser missed the entire season, he could sign an incentive-laden deal as a free agent with minimal salary cap implications. So, for instance, if a team puts a $1 million incentive on him playing a single game, that money won’t impact the 2024 salary cap in the slightest.
Possible Team Fits
Note: This article was written on the morning of March 14th. Future signings could change the needs of the teams listed below.
Carolina Panthers
The 2023 Carolina Panthers did not have wide receivers. The 2024 Carolina Panthers do not have edge defenders. After trading away Brian Burns, the Panthers don’t have anyone left who can get to the quarterback from the outside. Seeing as they need multiple players and already spent a lot of money on their interior offensive and defensive lines, they could take a low-risk flier on a free agent like Tyus Bowser.
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars had the fewest sacks in the league last year, and they haven’t done too much to fix that. As of this posting, the team has yet to sign an edge defender to complement superstar Josh Allen. With Calvin Ridley now in Tennessee, Jacksonville has plenty of money left over to sign a free agent like Tyus Bowser.
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions signed Marcus Davenport to start opposite Aidan Hutchinson, but the former first-round pick is anything but a sure bet. Tyus Bowser isn’t a safe bet either, but he’s going to cost next to nothing on the free agent market. With Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jared Goff both needing extensions, this might be the best decision to make from a financial standpoint.
Atlanta Falcons
You don’t hand out a four-year deal to a 35-year-old quarterback if you don’t plan on competing for a Super Bowl in the next few seasons. The Atlanta Falcons went 7-10 last year despite terrible quarterback play, but their defense could improve as well. With Cousins taking up a lot of money, the Falcons could take a low-risk, medium-reward dart throw on Tyus Bowser as a free agent.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs have one of the better defenses in football, but they could use another edge defender. With Felix Anudike-Uzomah underwhelming as a rookie, Kansas City needs a player who is good enough to play a situational role, but not so good that the former first-round pick can’t beat him out if he makes the second-year leap. Tyus Bowser fits this description to a tee, and as a bonus, he’ll cost next to nothing for a team that isn’t done making moves.
Main Photo: Albert Cesare – USA Today Sports
