Personality also plays a part.
In the past two years, the Ravens were a relatively young team and possibly couldn’t absorb a high-maintenance player, but the nucleus of this team is older now. Harbaugh has shown he can work with temperamental players like Peters, but not totally destructive ones such as Thomas.
Former Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome used to say, “right player, right price” when talking about free agency, but that was mainly about fitting in under the salary cap. There are just so many other parts of the equation, which is why teams spend much time poring over video, talking to assistant coaches, checking medical reports and doing off-the-field background checks before making decisions on players.