It appears as though Ray Rice is destined to receive Baltimore's franchise tag. Rice's agent, Todd France, met with team officials at the NFL scouting combine and is now awaiting the designation. "The meeting went fine," France said. "We obviously know the tag is coming, but we will continue to have open dialogue and see if we can come to a long-term agreement, which is the preference for both sides."

Joe Flacco is entering the final year of his rookie contract and his agent has begun talking to the Ravens about a possible extension. The two sides haven't begun negotiating yet, but they established that both have a desire to get a deal done. "We just wanted to make sure that he was really as valued as much as we thought he was," agent Joe Linta said. "It was very clear to me that everybody in their organization from the owner on down feels that way and is committed to him as their franchise quarterback. This was just confirmation for us."

The Ravens appear unlikely to target Mike Wallace if the wide receiver hits the market. "The problem with going after restricted free agents, at that point, the player and the agent have the leverage because you have to do a deal that you don't think the other team is going to match," Baltimore general manager Ozzie Newsome said. With restricted free agents, the player's current team offers a tender, meaning any team that wants to sign him would have to give up a draft pick that corresponds with the tender. In the case of Wallace, Pittsburgh is likely to place a first-round tender on him.

The Ravens have confirmed that Ed Reed is preparing to play next season. Reed, who turns 34 before the season begins, has been considering retirement every year since the end of the 2008 season because of a nerve impingement in his neck and shoulder.

Ray Rice is set to become an unrestricted free agent next month and figures to cash in significantly. Peter King of Sports Illustrated writes that Rice wants an Adrian Peterson-like contract. Peterson signed a seven-year, $100 million contract in September, with $36 million guaranteed and $40 million in the first three years. There has been little progress between the Ravens and Rice on a long-term deal and they will likely place their franchise tag on the running back.

Monday is the first day in which teams can place their franchise tag on players, which means the Ravens will officially begin their pursuit of signing Ray Rice to a contract extension. The team is expected to have some contact with Rice's agent, Todd France, this week at the Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. If an agreement isn't reached by the March 5 deadline for teams to apply the franchise tag, the Ravens have indicated that they will use the tag to keep Rice under contract for 2012.

Joe Flacco's agent still has a couple of days before he's set to meet with the Ravens' brass during the Scouting Combine to discuss a new deal for his client, but that didn't prevent him from revealing one of his main negotiating chips in a Wednesday interview with The Baltimore Sun. "If the game is about wins and losses, he has to be in the top five (quarterbacks)," Linta said of Flacco, who has gone 44-20 in his four seasons in Baltimore and has led the Ravens to two AFC Championship game appearances.

The Ravens and Joe Flacco's agent, Joe Linta, are scheduled to begin talks on a contract extension next week at the 2012 NFL Scouting Combine, according to a league source. Baltimore is committed to keeping the 2008 first-round draft pick, whose contract expires after the 2012 season. Following the end of the season, Flacco said he felt he had proved enough to earn a new deal with the Ravens.

Billy Cundiff said the support of his Baltimore teammates and the lessons learned from his Midwestern upbringing have helped keep the biggest miss of his career in perspective. Cundiff shanked a 32-yard field goal attempt with 11 seconds left in the AFC Championship Game that sent the Patriots to the Super Bowl. "It's been impressive. I expected a lot more backlash," the kicker said of his teammates. "I had a lot of guys that kept telling me, 'Look, I've made mistakes.' Obviously, everyone sees my mistakes. That's just the way it goes." Cundiff called the miss a "tough pill to swallow."

Terrell Owens didn't play in the NFL this past season, but still has plans to continue his career and says the Ravens could have used his services. The wide receiver is currently playing for the Allen Wranglers of the Indoor Football League. "I know I can play. That's not even a question that I can play. You look at the NFC Championship and the AFC Championship. You look at those games, especially the NFC championship. Their starting receiving corps had one catch for three yards," Owens said. "You look at the AFC championship. The Baltimore Ravens the past two years brought in two guys they thought could get the job done. It comes down to crucial catches and they didn't make those catches. So I am definitely aware of my talents. "I have never been shy of confidence. For whatever reason, I didn't play this year. That doesn't mean I can't play the game. Everybody knows I'm in great shape. It's just a matter of getting the opportunity."