MASNsports.com is your online home for the latest Orioles and Nationals news, features, and commentary. And now, you can connect with MASN on every digital level. From web and social media to our new mobile alert service, MASN has got all the bases covered.
Get the latest breaking news direct to your phone with our mobile texting service.
Mark Clayton said a few days ago that he hoped the NFL wouldn't fine Giants safety Antrel Rolle for an illegal hit that left Clayton concussed in the teams' third preseason game last Saturday.
The Ravens' wide receiver must not have a lot of pull in the league office. Rolle was fined $7,500 for the hit this afternoon.
Back to roster-related topics, as the Ravens look at the candidates for their 53-man squad, they'll obviously consider a player's previous experience, how he has performed throughout training camp and the preseason, and how he fits into the mix with the other players at his position.
But one other factor that will come into play will be the player's salary.
Two guys in particular, safety Ken Hamlin and cornerback Travis Fisher, have salary issues working against them as they try to earn a spot on the Ravens' roster.
Both of those guys are "vested veterans", meaning that they have over four years of accrued NFL service. By rule, if a vested veteran is on a team's 53-man roster Week 1, the team must pay that player's entire base salary for that year.
In other words, if the Ravens don't feel confident that Hamlin or Fisher would be on the team for more than a couple weeks, they might opt to just release them now so they don't have to guarantee each vested veteran's entire 2010 salary.
"That's a big factor," Harbaugh said today, when I asked about how much the guaranteed salary plays into the decision of whether to keep a vested veteran. "The budget is real, and that factors in tremendously. That's just the way the rules are written. Maybe that will change to some extent in the next contract, but you've got to factor that in."
One tactic that teams often employ to get around the guaranteed salary rule is they will release the vested veteran before Week 1, and then re-sign that player after the first game has been played. That way, they can keep the player as long as needed without having to lock themselves in to that guy's entire year's salary.
Hamlin might be good insurance for injured safety Ed Reed, and Fisher might have outperformed undrafted rookie Prince Miller for the fifth cornerback spot on the final 53-man roster.
But since the Ravens would have to guarantee decent chunks of money if those guys on the roster Week 1, Hamlin and Fisher could find themselves on the outside looking in on final cutdown day.
