 in the near future is the most exciting time of the year for a lot of NFL teams and fans and I'm not talking about the Super Bowl I'm actually talking about free agency free agency is a time period that can give a lot of teams hope it can make a lot of teams feel like this player is going to be the guy or these sets of players are going to be the guys that can really help turn this team around or if your team is already turned around these group of guys that you sign they can actually take your team to the next level it's fun time to see the different players that teams acquire because there's a lot of movement a lot of stuff that goes down in the NFL and both in the first second and third wave of free agency along with the good and the exciting times come for the scary and sad times too because for as many players as teams acquire they also get rid of some guys too and that's the question that's sort of looming over a lot of Ravens fans head and of course the Ravens there uh there's their coaching staff as well so in this video we're going to discuss what we think is going to go down with Tony Jefferson to team keep it clean what's going on is Aang Raven here with another video and in this video like we mentioned um Tony Jefferson his status with the Baltimore Ravens uh it seems to be in limbo it is a topic of many conversations that I've had with a lot of you all and that you all have had amongst yourselves um what's going to go down with Tony Jefferson especially with the emergence of Chuck Clark um because Tony Jefferson unfortunately his season ended abruptly uh and it sucks it sucks how that went down it sucks how that went down um but in this business you you know what say uh what have you done for me lately type of business so people are focused on the right here the right now what's gone down recently and with Chuck Clark coming in and filling in for Tony Jefferson and him like playing really well him uh controlling the defense calling out the plays and whatnot and and him having really really good play uh he was very impressive uh and Tony Jefferson in what is this the the third year of his four-year deal I believe um and with the Ravens possibly being able to save I think about seven mil uh of salary cap space by releasing him I do think there is a a high chance that the Ravens do end up do end up making that move um and cutting Tony Jefferson now um I do believe too that Tony Jefferson he knows the business he knows the business and shout out to him because I believe he was an undrafted free agent and he he made not too many undrafted free agents make it man they really don't and to establish himself the way that he did um throughout his career uh undrafted free agent makes it on the Cardinals goals then shines does this thing then gets a big money deal from the Baltimore Ravens and free agency like yeah he did it man so I'm happy for him I'm proud of him um shout out to him uh but with the business he knows that it is just that a business and I know a lot of people refer to the uh the Instagram comment that he made um a few months ago where somebody asked him are you gonna be an unrestricted free agent this off season and he said probably so again he he knows the business he he's not naive to the business he knows and then another interesting thing shout out to my guy Kobe Lewis because I would have never seen this um but with uh my my guy Kobe Lewis sent me the uh the picture of Tony Jefferson's Instagram and he sent it to me and I was like oh wow he uh he had actually got rid of a pretty much all his pictures um there wasn't even any really anything from the Cardinals but he got rid of pretty much everything all his Ravens pictures except for one video where it's a highlight video some plays that he made last year and then another uh picture from the day that uh he got hurt this year uh talking about year seven he said year seven thank you uh live by it die by it so I took it to the chin year eight I'm in the lab and I'm not turning down anything bet it back then that's to keep a clean version so you can go check his Instagram yourself to see that but with him clearing out all his posts um it sort of reminded me last year um of a Zadaria Smith I remember little before free agency Zadaria Smith he he cleaned out everything cleaned out everything I think he stopped following the Ravens too and he just I guess maybe try to prepare the fans a little bit for it what he knew was coming and I mean we all we all pretty much saw that one come into um I don't think there was anybody I wanted them to but I didn't think they were going to but I don't think there was anybody I can't recall anybody thinking that the Ravens were gonna resize the Zadaria Smith um and he ended up going to the Packers he ended up going to the Packers so now it seems like possibly the same not the same process because Tony Jefferson is still under contract for next year but I think he does know by by those actions um that he's probably gonna end up uh being released so I mean we'll we'll just see what happens in that case but he with Tony Jefferson um if this is the end of his time uh as a Raven um we appreciate it uh I know Tony Jefferson he was thrust into that leadership role um this offseason because I mean Ravens at every level of their defense they lost big time leaders they lost an Eric Guetto they lost the CJ Mosey they lost the Terrell Suggs and with them losing those guys you need leaders you need veterans on the team you need guys that can get guys in line and this not just on the field this is off the field too um you need guys who can be leaders and Tony Jefferson was just that uh he was somebody that he was always in the community with Baltimore and stuff doing stuff uh for the Ravens and the Ravens community and whatnot um and he was somebody that was always speaking up he would speak to the media and whatnot he would have the interviews I remember during the offseason he was um he was always having the interviews with like uh with the Ravens media team and whatnot so he was definitely uh he was he became a voice of the Ravens um he I remember early on in his Ravens career um I was a little bit frustrated with him um but then I realized like wait a minute this this guy when he was with the Cardinals he was primarily a safety that was that was in the box he was around the line of scrimmage um but then with the Ravens they had him drop back a lot and had him as more of a coverage safety so I was thinking like hold up why and and I I had voiced this about him and there was a lot of other Ravens a lot of other Ravens players that they did it to as well um where they whether there was somebody that they drafted or somebody that they acquired via free agency it was usually with people that they drafted though but when they would get some people they wouldn't even use them to their strengths it wouldn't use them the way that they were used in whatever previous system that they were in like um camele Correa he's a past rusher and you you turn him into an inside linebacker wonder why he struggles you wonder why he struggles Kenan Reynolds um the guy was a quarterback and he was a quarterback in what navy I think they turned him to a wide receiver and wonder why he didn't catch on Matt Elam another popular name there he was a another box safety in college for Florida they they they brought him in and they try to turn him into a free safety or a roaming around safety and and then they also try to turn him into a slot corner and they wondered why it didn't work now I'm not saying that this is the case for every single player because I know peanut he plays safety it's obviously worked out for him uh at inside linebacker Lidarius Webb he plays safety it worked out for him at corner um so it's it's not every case but I'm just not a big fan of trying to fix what's not broken um but with that I feel like that's what the Ravens did with the Tony Jefferson I feel like they tried to fix what wasn't broken and then wonder why there was a certain struggle there um but I just I don't feel like early on he was his strengths were really used like that um but as time went on uh he did get better he got more comfortable and that's another thing too when you're you're learning a new defensive system for the first time in your career it can be a struggle and that can be really with anything uh if you've been so accustomed to doing something for a certain way for such a long period of time then all of a sudden you got to switch it it's all of a sudden you got to do it a different way and it's not just in football that's just in life period but he had been with the Cardinals for so long and then all of a sudden he comes to the Ravens and things are completely different so that can take some time so that's understandable um but then uh so he went when he was around the box he looked a lot more comfortable uh looked a lot better and I think he made more plays there too and I do remember uh it was sometime last year because I remember it was on Twitter I forgot somebody was getting on his plate um somebody was getting on Tony Jefferson saying this and that and he or maybe it was Instagram I forgot whatever it was whatever social media outlet it was um which again like I always say they're a gift in a curse at the same time um because they do give everybody a platform which can be good but they also give everybody a platform which can be the worst thing in the world um but anyway whatever social media platform it was they were talking about Tony Jefferson and they were talking about how he was always giving up big plays and stuff but then he said um he said wait a minute and he said no I'm learning a new safety a new a new position I'm learning I'm he said I'm learning like and he said he was learning like two different positions like at the same time I forgot exactly what he said it was a it was a long time ago it was not too long ago but it was a while back um definitely I think it was sometime last season maybe early last season I forget but it just it obviously uh it just seems like things are going to be going in a different direction now and again of course with how this season ended for him um with him going out doing I think it was the Steelers game I believe uh and you you had to know that he knew you you had to know that he knew as soon as because it's like with some of these injuries you can just tell me what you could you can tell when it's just see when it's when it's over for the season you can tell me like when when Matt's girl went down yeah we all knew we were not all of us but I know I figured I said oh man that's that's it that's it I was hoping that it would be something minor but I just I just knew like man that's a wrap man and the same thing with Tony Jefferson's but shout out to him because he um even though he was going down with injury in that game he still stuck to the play and he finished the play I think they ended up calling like defensive holding or illegal contact I forgot what they called on him but had he just went down and not grabbed the Steelers I think tighten with them then it would have been a touchdown it would know yeah it could have been a touchdown because I think he um he ended up the ball ended up getting tipped and I think that's when other Thomas picked it I believe but it obviously didn't count because it was the uh the penalty called on Tony Jefferson but again he didn't give up the play even in going down even even his season being over right then in there he still didn't give up the play so you gotta give a big shout out to him for that um and it just reminded me of um that that warrior mentality man that um that really just putting it all out there for your guys mentality uh that reminded me of with Flacco back when he whether he tore his Achilles or ACL I always forget always get those two mixed up so I don't remember which one it was for Flacco but he and he knew it he knew that something was wrong but he still finished the game he still finished the game and went out there and I think he just did a couple handoffs but still he could have come out the game but he stayed in he stayed in um then they end up kicking the game win the field goal against the Rams back in 2015 so just you gotta uh you gotta respect those guys for being willing to do that um but yeah I do think uh again like we spoke about with the emergence of Chuck Clark when Tony Jefferson went down uh it was gonna be the Sean Elliott and Chuck Clark's time then the Sean Elliott went down so Chuck Clark he he rose up to the occasion and he was a guy that the uh the coaching staff had ranted and raved about um I remember back from last year uh maybe even two years well he was drafted two years ago I believe but they they loved them some Chuck Clark they they loved them and early on in his career I'm like I mean it's still early on in his career now but I was like uh okay and I remember even when Tony Jefferson went out last year with his hamstring injury um and Chuck Clark was playing I'm like oh this is the guy that they they've been so impressed with that's that's him that's okay and I it when when when he was out there just it made me miss Tony Jefferson more it really made me miss Tony Jefferson and I was like wow I guess I really didn't really appreciate this guy so then Tony Jefferson came back and I was like ah yes let's get it and he played he played great especially the last the last couple of games after he came back from the hamstring injury last year oh man he was on it man you could tell he missed the game man my favorite play from him last year when he came back was when he hit uh Mike Williams I think it was in that charges game the first charges game not not the playoff one but um the uh the first charges game oh man he he made Mike Williams feel that one man um but this year really showed that Chuck Clark Chuck Clark could do it he could handle the role um and he Chuck Clark along with a lot of other pieces too um they really helped transform this defense I know before uh the green dot they gave the green dot to peanut then they gave it to Tony Jefferson and I think they gave it back to peanut but then they ended up giving it to Chuck Clark um and he held it down they talked about how smart he was I remember but before before he or when he first got the green dot um I know it was the autumn interviews and stuff leading up to the first game where he had the green dot they were like oh they were like oh yeah he's so smart and he knows the players Earl Thomas called him like one of the smartest players he's ever been been around and I thought Earl Thomas oh yeah he's probably just talking talking probably just trying to boost him up or whatnot which I ain't got no problem with but I just thought he was just talking but then when you watch the defense and watch that that turnaround um Chuck Clark held it down he held and he held it down all year um before I know early on the first four or five weeks of the season you saw a lot of guys running wide open you saw a lot of guys just Ravens players out of position um but once Chuck Clark got it things got in line things got in line and in this team the defense they just completely turned it around they were such a better defense than what they had started being early on uh and Chuck Clark was a big part of that again he wasn't the only part of it but he was a big part of it because again I know we we didn't talk about this list for a long time but we got to bring it up again it was Chuck Clark uh they acquired Marcus Peters Jimmy Smith came back Josh Byms LJ Ford Don Pico along the way Justin Ellis along the way um who else I know I'm missing somebody uh oh Jiha Ward that was another one um but yeah it was it was a group of guys there's a group of guys and then of course with everybody who is also still there too and everybody just up in their game that much more uh but yeah again this is uh this is the business side of things where it can it can it can get a little testy um it can it can get a little rough and it happens every single year uh pretty much every single team they got to go through this part and again like I said free agency it's super exciting it's like who are we gonna get who are we gonna get who are we gonna get oh well let's get this person that person but then it's this part too and again with as many people as you get you can't keep everybody you can't so some people got to go and with this business with the Ravens this year I mean last year Eric DeCosta showed it like he doesn't let emotions get in the way he doesn't let emotions get in the way so again with Tony Jefferson I do believe that um if they did release him I believe it will free up about seven million dollars in cap space um and he like the Ravens they I believe they only got they only getting ready to have like 29 mil something like that maybe like 26 to 29 mil um I had before I heard it was like 50 or something maybe like high 40s but now I'm hearing this I just read something over the cap um yesterday I read it and it said about I think it said either from 26 to 29 mil somewhere around there so I mean we'll see what happens with that we won't know the official number till we know the official number and then of course again Ravens they're still gonna be making whatever moves that they end up making so uh so even though they're getting ready to have some of the most salary cap space that they had in a little while they still I believe Jeff Zerbiak said they're still in the bottom the bottom third of the league they're still in the bottom third of the league with salary cap space because there's a lot of other teams that have a lot more money than the Ravens do so we're gonna see if they have Lamar Jackson if that that effect that he can have on free agents is real because I mean people don't talk about him how old man he's he's look fun like like he's really fun to play with something like but we'll see how real it is um because Ravens ain't got all the money in the world but anyway um I do believe that they may end up uh creating some more salary cap space by possibly releasing Tony Jefferson so we'll see how it goes down man um again y'all already know it ain't nothing personal against the players um it's just that you know it's the business man it's the business and again Tony Jefferson you know he understands the business uh more than anybody he done been on both sides of it he done seen it uh he done been through it he'd been in the business for a while and again as an undrafted free agent for him to make it this far that's pretty good and for him to keep going that's pretty good he know he's gonna keep going he already said he's gonna keep going so we'll just see what happens man for anybody team keep it clean appreciate y'all I love y'all and I'm out