The Ravens passed on the chance to use their franchise tag on left tackle Eugene Monroe on Monday although they were reportedly far apart in negotiations on a long-term deal.
Several days have passed, but things don’t appear to have changed much at all. Matt Zenitz of the Carroll County Times reports that Monroe is looking for a deal that pays him $10 million in average salary with the Ravens seeking a deal that would pay him $8 or 9 million a year. As a result, Monroe’s expected to be on the market when free agency opens on Tuesday.
That doesn’t rule out a return to Baltimore, although Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun doesn’t think Monroe will be back because of the divide in desired contracts and the amount of teams looking for a left tackle in free agency.
The Dolphins are believed to have Monroe high on their list of free agent targets, although there should be no shortage of choices at the position with Branden Albert and Jared Veldheer also on track for the open market. That would work well for the Ravens too as they’ll need a new left tackle should Monroe move on.
