Baltimore Ravens
Projected Cap Space: $12.9 million
Draft Picks: 8
- 1st (No. 30)
- 2nd (No. 62)
- 3rd (No. 93)
- 4th (No. 131)
- 4th (No. 134)
- 5th (No. 164)
- 7th (No. 226, NYJ)
- 7th (No. 248)
Notable Free Agents:
- DT Justin Madubuike
- LB Patrick Queen
- OLB Jadeveon Clowney
- G Kevin Zeitler
- S Geno Stone
- G John Simpson
- LB Kyle Van Noy
- WR Devin Duvernay
- RB J.K. Dobbins
- CB Ronald Darby
- CB Arthur Maulet
- RB Gus Edwards
- RB Dalvin Cook
- LB Malik Harrison
- QB Tyler Huntley
- CB Rock Ya-Sin
- DL Brent Urban
Top Three Needs
1 – Offensive Line
Part of what makes the Ravens’ loss in the AFC title game so stinging is that Baltimore captured lightning in a bottle last season. They assembled an outstanding roster with a combination of high-end talent, solid role players, promising youngsters and steady veterans. It all went up in smoke. This same team will never be together again. Age, expiring contracts and injuries will weather the roster into a different shape in 2024.
The offensive line is a perfect example. The only player the Ravens can feel confident about for the next two or three seasons is C Tyler Linderbaum. Both starting guards, Simpson and Zeitler, are on expiring contracts. There are questions about whether either will be back due to price or age concerns.
At tackle, there are longevity concerns with both LT Ronnie Stanley and RT Morgan Moses. The latter is turning 33 and has come up as a potential cut candidate to save $5.5 million. That’s a steal if Moses plays as well as he did in 2023, but his age means that’s not a given. Baltimore could also look to do something with Stanley’s contract, as he still doesn’t seem to have recovered from a severe ankle injury in 2020. He’s been limited to 11 and 13 games respectively the past two seasons and has not recovered his former All-Pro ability.
I don’t think the Ravens will replace four starters this offseason. But I wouldn’t completely rule it out either. Offensive line is too important a position group for there to be this much instability, and ensuring the group remains strong has to be the Ravens’ top priority this offseason. They could need two new starters at guard, either via free agency or the draft or by a former backup being ready for a bigger role. They need long-term options at both tackle positions, likely via the draft.
If I had to guess, the Ravens will prioritize a tackle with an early pick and give Stanley one more year while keeping Moses on the right side. Simpson and Zeitler will walk, with the door open for Zeitler to come back if his market doesn’t materialize. Someone already on the roster like Ben Cleveland, Daniel Faalele or Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu will take one starting guard spot, while a free agent or Zeitler gets the other.
2 – Outside Linebacker
The Ravens struck gold with Clowney and Van Noy last season despite both being added to the roster extremely late in the process. Clowney signed a one-year deal worth less than $3 million on August 18, while Van Noy didn’t end up signing until the end of September. Both were pivotal role players, with Clowney in particular having his best season in years with 9.5 sacks. Van Noy chipped in nine as well.
That offset younger players like Odafe Oweh and David Ojabo not taking the step forward the Ravens hoped, with Ojabo playing less than 100 snaps due to injury. To be fair to Oweh, he had his most productive season with a career-high 51 pressures, per PFF. But he had just over 400 snaps after clearing 600 in his first two seasons, and both Clowney and Van Noy surpassed him.
Both players still figure into the Ravens’ plans at edge rusher for 2024 and perhaps longer, but the Ravens need to rebuild their rotation if Clowney and Van Noy don’t return. At the same time, they don’t need to rush out and do this first thing in March. It’s become an annual trend to have a deep group of veteran pass rushers unsigned until deep into the summer.
It would also not be surprising to see the Ravens draft another edge rusher to restock the pipeline. Oweh is entering the final year of his contract, presuming the Ravens don’t pick up the fifth-year option on his deal which would guarantee him more than $13 million in 2025. Ojabo has played five games in two seasons. There are a lot of questions here looking ahead.
3 – Running Back
There are great arguments to be made for other positions to be higher on the Ravens’ priority list this offseason, like linebacker, cornerback, defensive line and wide receiver. All of those positions are probably more important than running back, even though the Ravens do rely on the run game quite a bit.
But the reason I have running back listed so high is because the Ravens’ roster is so bare here heading into the offseason, sparser than any other spot on the roster. Not including futures contracts, the Ravens have two players under contract in 2024 — Justice Hill and Keaton Mitchell. Hill is a third-down back, while Mitchell showed a ton of juice in limited reps before a brutal knee injury.
Four other backs are on expiring contracts, showing just how many injuries the Ravens dealt with at the position last year and why they need to add at least two more players to their current backfield. More than likely, they’ll have to be outside additions as there are real doubts about all four pending free agents. Cook and Gordon are on the last legs of their careers, and Edwards probably is too given how the team handled him toward the end of last season.
Dobbins might be the most likely to return but he’s coming back from a torn Achilles which in the past has been a career-killer for running backs, though rehab science has made some progression in the past several years. For instance, Hill tore his Achilles in 2021 and had his best season in 2023. He’s under 200 pounds and lighter backs tend to have better outcomes, but it’s worth noting and something the Ravens could consider.
Still, the Ravens wouldn’t feel great about a backfield consisting of just Dobbins, Hill and Mitchell, meaning another notable addition would be needed. The Ravens were linked to Titans RB Derrick Henry at the trade deadline last year, and that’s a name to watch heading into free agency.
One Big Question
Can the Ravens regenerate after the expected offseason attrition?
Out of all 32 offseason previews we’re doing this week, the Ravens have one of the longest lists of pending free agents to sort through. It shows just how much attrition the team faces this offseason to try and hold on to its place at the top of the AFC and the top of the AFC North. Honestly there’s a great chance they’re dethroned from both, even if they still should be good enough to be a playoff team in 2024.
But while this particular offseason might be an extreme example, the Ravens aren’t going to be doing anything they’re not used to this offseason. Baltimore has been one of the best organizations over the past couple of decades at replacing talent. The front office is terrific at identifying which players are rare talents and which players have been maximized by their scheme.
The Ravens tend to let the latter group leave in free agency and trust that they can replace them with players already on the roster. When those players sign notable contracts and qualify for compensatory picks, Baltimore gets extra ammunition to restock the pipeline and keep the cycle going. The team might be wounded, but like Wolverine they’ll regenerate sooner rather than later.
While the Ravens will have some financial challenges working around the contract they gave QB Lamar Jackson, having a two-time MVP quarterback like him to build around also raises the floor for the team considerably. Even if the team takes a step backward in 2024, Jackson and the system built in place around him are too good for the Ravens to fall too far.
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