The Ravens made several bold moves this free agency, adding key pieces but also watching familiar faces leave. A similar scenario is building once again, and this time it involves Zay Flowers. The Ravens hold the option to keep their two-time Pro Bowler locked in, but the clock is ticking.

On March 11, the Raiders signed Tyler Linderbaum to a three-year, $81 million contract. That deal made him the highest-paid interior offensive lineman in league history. But what made it sting for the Ravens was the fact that Linderbaum had been a cornerstone of Baltimore’s offensive line for four years. Still, they let him walk into free agency, and the front office has been warned not to let that happen again.

“By all accounts, the Ravens fully intend to keep Flowers, and they’d like to reach a deal sooner rather than later. They have until May 1 to pick up the fifth-year option on his deal and keep him under contract through at least 2027, but that’s seen as a formality. DeCosta and company understandably want to do more than that,” The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec reported on March 25.

“While the Tyler Linderbaum situation was obviously different — his fifth-year option was declined — it nonetheless was more proof of the perils of letting a highly productive player get close enough to free agency. The Ravens may have officially lost Linderbaum to the Las Vegas Raiders when the new league year began on March 11, but it was the previous 10 to 12 months when they couldn’t get a deal done that did them in. They’ll want to avoid a repeat with Flowers.”

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Zay Flowers is in the final stretch of his four-year, $14.03 million rookie deal, which runs through the 2026 season. The Ravens have a fifth-year option available on his contract, escalated to $27.29 million for 2027 because Flowers has earned two Pro Bowl selections.

So, according to Zrebiec, Baltimore has until May 1 to activate that option and keep Flowers under contract through the 2027 season.

Flowers has been one of the best wide receivers in Ravens history since the day they drafted him 22nd overall in the 2023 draft. He has played in every game except one across his first three seasons, topping 1,000 receiving yards in two of them. His pair of Pro Bowl appearances also makes him the first wide receiver drafted by the Ravens to earn the honor twice. ​

Apart from that, Zay Flowers and Lamar Jackson are close friends. The two work out together in the offseason, and given the influence Jackson reportedly carries within the Ravens organization, that relationship adds real weight to the idea of Flowers staying in Baltimore. ​

But the financial picture is complicated. If the Ravens activate the fifth-year option, Flowers will earn $27.29 million as his base salary in 2027. And that will make him the highest-paid player among the entire 2023 draft class.

Baltimore currently has $29.5M in cap space after the first wave of NFL free agency. The money is manageable. But a long-term extension, which is almost coming if the team picks up the option, will demand significantly more. And the receiver market just got a whole lot more expensive.​

Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s record deal raises the price on Zay Flowers

The Ravens need to take a long, hard look at what the Super Bowl LX champions just did for their star wideout, because the contract set this week has pushed the wide receiver market into uncharted territory.

Just days ago, the Seahawks locked up Jaxon Smith-Njigba through the 2031 season. On Monday, March 23, Smith-Njigba signed a four-year, $168.6 million contract extension with Seattle.

Smith-Njigba’s contract averages $42.15 million per year, making him the highest-paid wide receiver in league history by average annual value. That amount is almost $2 million above Ja’Marr Chase’s record of $40.25 million per year.

The deal with Smith-Njigba reflects how serious Seattle was about getting it done. This year, he earns $36.5 million, which includes a $35 million signing bonus. There are $120 million in total guarantees in the deal; the remaining two years, totalling about $75 million, are not guaranteed.

Smith-Njigba’s performance earned every dollar. He recorded 119 receptions for a league-high 1,793 receiving yards and ten touchdowns last season. He capped the year with his second Pro Bowl selection and the NFL Offensive Player of the Year award.

That’s why the Seahawks did not hesitate. They didn’t want uncertainty to loom over their most important offensive weapon. So they exercised his fifth-year option, then immediately followed it with a historic long-term extension. Yet, the Ravens are still weighing their options with Zay Flowers, with the receiver market now reset.

All in all, Flowers’ fifth-year option, if exercised, could carry a $27.3 million cap hit in 2027, and by the looks of things, he could land a deal that exceeds $30 million annually after Jaxon Smith-Njigba agreed to a four-year deal worth $168.6 million.