The Baltimore Ravens announced that they were cutting defensive lineman Chris Canty on Friday morning in a move that frees up $2.6m in cap room. It didn't come as much of a surprise, with the veteran apparently considering retirement before the team parted ways with him.
If the move indicates that he's decided to continue his career, he'll find plenty of suitors out there and, while he won't have the same impact as someone like Ricky Jean Francois, who recently signed for Washington, he is still capable of helping a team's run defense. He might only be able to provide 400-500 snaps in 2015, but he's good enough as a run defender that he can still improve a defense.
So if he's still a good run defender, why have the Ravens decided to let him go? Well, for one, the cap savings make sense for a Ravens team that will struggle to re-sign key free agents in the coming weeks, but they also have enough talent on the defensive line that they can afford to take the risk. Timmy Jernigan (+8.9) was very impressive on just 312 snaps as a rookie, grading positively both against the run and as a pass rusher. They also have Brent Urban and Kapron Lewis Moore returning from injury and are reportedly very high on both of them. The only concern will be if they are unable to extend Haloti Ngata, with his cap number an issue this offseason, but you would expect them to be content with Ngata and Jernigan starting with Urban and Lewis Moore behind them.
In the end, this is a move that suits both parties if Canty wants to continue his career. It's unlikely that he'll struggle to find work, while the Ravens get to clear some cap space as they push their younger players into bigger roles.
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