OWINGS MILLS — The Ravens made their first move of the offseason, signing wide receiver Nelson Agholor to a one-year extension.
Agholor, 30, also signed a one-year deal before last season and caught 35 passes for 381 yards and four touchdowns.
Agholor had a void year on last year’s contract, so the deal saved the Ravens $1.67 million in dead money because they signed before Monday’s 4 p.m. deadline. Agholor also has a winning pedigree, having won a Super Bowl with the Eagles in the 2017 season.
The void years are used to essentially help teams navigate the salary cap. The void years are often called “dummy years” or “fake years” on a contract that allows a team to spread out the signing bonus. The player does not play nor does he have a base salary for those years and is set to become a free agent once the contract voids.
Dead money is a salary cap charge for a player who is no longer on a team’s roster.
Agholor is now third on the depth chart behind two former first-round picks, Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman.
Two other wide receivers, Odell Beckham Jr. and Devin Duvernay, are eligible for free agency this offseason.
General manager Eric DeCosta will need to add another playmaker or two at wide receiver before training camp. However, he lauded the team’s current depth
“We have a lot of guys that can make plays and, watching Zay this year and just picturing Zay and ‘Bate’ out there next year is very exciting, and we’ll see where that leads,” DeCosta said. “We’ve also got the Draft, and we’ll have conversations with our free agents, as well, and we’ve already started those conversations in some cases. So, I would expect the receiver room to be very strong next year and very productive.”
