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          NFL Nation

          Jeremy Maclin's cap hit ranks 45th among wide receivers in 2017

          • Jamison Hensley, ESPN Staff WriterJun 26, 2017, 04:15 PM
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              Jamison Hensley is a reporter covering the Baltimore Ravens for ESPN. Jamison joined ESPN in 2011, covering the AFC North before focusing exclusively on the Ravens beginning in 2013. Jamison won the National Sports Media Association Maryland Sportswriter of the Year award in 2018, and he authored a book titled: Flying High: Stories of the Baltimore Ravens. He was the Ravens beat writer for the Baltimore Sun from 2000-2011.
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          OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- The Baltimore Ravens were able to get an impact wide receiver without using up a chunk of their limited salary-cap space.

          Jeremy Maclin will only count $3.5 million against Baltimore's 2017 cap, according to ESPN's roster management system. That ranks 45th among wide receivers this season, just one spot ahead of the underpaid Odell Beckham Jr.

          Maclin signed a two-year, $11 million contract on June 13, but the Ravens structured it where there isn't much of a hit in the first year. In 2017, he will make $1 million in base salary along with a $5 million signing bonus (which is prorated over two years).

          Maclin's cap hit jumps to $7.5 million in the second and final year of his deal. In addition to his $4 million in base salary in 2018 ($2 million of which is guaranteed for injury), he is due a $1 million roster bonus in 2018 that the Ravens have to exercise on the third day of the league year.

          This is very similar to the contract that Baltimore gave wide receiver Mike Wallace a year ago.

          The Ravens, who ranked among NFL teams with the least amount of salary-cap space entering the offseason, created a little over $6 million this month by releasing tight end Dennis Pitta ($2.5 million) and cornerback Kyle Arrington ($2.1 million), in addition reducing the salary of tight end Benjamin Watson ($1.75 million).

          Maclin brings a level of consistency that the Ravens needed in the passing game after Pitta re-injured his right hip, Steve Smith Sr. retired and Kamar Aiken left in free agency. In Maclin's seven NFL seasons, he has averaged 67 catches, 913 yards receiving and six touchdown catches.