The Baltimore Ravens once again failed to reach the AFC title game, but quarterback Lamar Jackson got his first playoff victory and the buzz around the franchise is considerable. The mood is optimistic that the next step can be taken. There is reason to be full of excitement after another playoff trip.

The Ravens and Jackson are here to stay and face an offseason full of question marks as they look to upgrade the roster and find a way to get to the AFC title game and the Super Bowl.

While Baltimore has some key free-agent decisions with Matthew Judon, Yannick Ngakoue, and Derek Wolfe, they need to find a way to keep some of their big-name guys and might have to make some cuts if they want any chance to sign one of those stars back.

Running back Mark Ingram was released after the playoffs ended, and working some financial magic will be necessary for them to improve this roster going into next season. Gus Edwards and JK Dobbins had good years in 2020, so the release of Ingram not only freed up some money, but it also will allow the Gus Bus and the rookie Dobbins to take charge of this backfield for the next couple of years.

The defense is full of guys about to hit free agency, and the money they have needs to be used on that end and to add a wide receiver or two, or three, to give Jackson more weapons to throw to.

The Ravens certainly don't want to just make the playoffs, they want to make the AFC Championship Game and ultimately they want to make the Super Bowl.

With all that being said, who is one player the Ravens could decide to part ways with to free up some extra cap space?

Ravens TE Nick Boyle

Boyle seems like one of the easier plays for the Ravens to part with for a couple of reasons: Mark Andrews and Boyle's high cap-hit. He has a casualty of $7.8 million going into 2021, and the fact the Ravens need to find a way to re-sign one of their defensive starts and bring in a wide receiver makes this an easy decision.

He has never been much of a pass-catcher, as he finished 2020 with 113 yards and two scores while playing in just nine games due to a knee injury, and the emergence of Andrews makes Boyle a bit of a luxury.

The Ravens receiving group needs work big time, and Jackson struggled to find an open man more often than not throughout the 2020 season. Hollywood Brown led the team in receiving with 769 yards and eight scores, and right behind him was Andrews with 701 yards and seven touchdowns.

After that, it was pretty bad, as Willie Snead had 432 yards and Miles Boykin finished with 266 yards while rookie Devin Duvernay had 201 yards on the year, so adding a receiver is not a secret for this Baltimore team.

They don't need to pay Boyle that much money for a position they don't need to fill, and getting a backup tight end who can block can be had for relatively cheap, whether it be on the open market or through the NFL Draft.

Boyle's best part of his game is his ability to block, which is needed but freeing up some extra cash to spend elsewhere is something this franchise needs to do, especially with questions remaining about the decrease in the salary cap due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ravens will surely miss Boyle's ability to block, however, upgrading the aerial attack is priority numbers one through three if they want to get to that next level and compete in the AFC.

Jackson threw for just 179 yards in their Wild Card win against the Tennessee Titans with Brown accounting for 109 of those yards. The next game against the Buffalo Bills was a different story as Jackson threw for 162 yards, zero touchdowns and one pick as the Bills defense created havoc on the former NFL MVP before he was forced to leave the game due to injury.

The Ravens are just a year removed from being talked about as the favorites in the AFC, and their season in 2020 was strange. They started off 5-1, then went 1-4, and then finished the year with six straight victories before being ousted by the Bills in the Divisional Round.

This Baltimore team isn't too far off from being able to compete with the Kansas City Chiefs and the Bills, and whoever comes jumping out from the AFC next year, and releasing Boyle and using that money elsewhere should be an easy decision going forward.