The Ravens’ 2026 reset isn’t a tear-it-all-down job. It’s more like a sharpen-the-edges move.
Baltimore turned over a huge chunk of its coaching staff, with Jesse Minter stepping in as head coach, but the organization clearly wasn’t looking to blow up everything that came before. The roster still carries plenty of talent, and a lot of the familiar building blocks from the John Harbaugh years remain in place.
That’s part of what makes the Ravens such a fascinating team heading into 2026. The identity isn’t being scrapped. It’s being repackaged, with coaches like Minter, Anthony Weaver, Anthony Levine, and Joe Lombardi tied to the same general blueprint that helped define the franchise from 2008 to 2025.
Albert Breer pointed to that continuity in a Sports Illustrated look at where each NFL team stands before training camp, noting that Baltimore’s approach appears to be paying off.
"“The Ravens’ hire of Jesse Minter is indeed an indication that the organization didn’t want a total teardown of the John Harbaugh era. And the signs are there that the idea is working-with Harbaugh era draft picks such as Malaki Starks, Nate Wiggins and Roger Rosengarten having big springs in a new setting, and GM Eric DeCosta taking a guy in the first round, Penn State guard Vega Ioane, who has the look of a guy who’d fit any Ravens era.”"
That’s the basic story: keep the structure, upgrade the execution.
And there’s a real argument that Baltimore’s ceiling is higher now than it was before. The Ravens clearly needed a change in tone this offseason, but they didn’t need to drift away from the roster they already had. Minter gives them that middle ground - a fresh voice without a total philosophical reboot.
The biggest gains could come from players who were already part of the foundation. Malaki Starks, Nate Wiggins, and Roger Rosengarten all have a chance to take another step in this setup.
Starks had a solid rookie season, but there were growing pains. Under Minter, he could be used in a better way than he was under Zach Orr in 2025, with the possibility of turning into a true ballhawk on the back end.
Wiggins is another name to watch. After a strong rookie year, he leveled off some last season and gave up the second-most yards in the NFL among cornerbacks. Still, the 22-year-old has had a good offseason and looks ready for a jump.
That defensive transition should matter across the board. Minter and Anthony Weaver bring familiarity, and that comfort level could help the entire unit settle in quickly. It also matters that Baltimore avoided what may have been a stalled path with Orr still calling the defense.
On offense, the tone shifts a little more. Rosengarten remains part of the reliable core, along with Derrick Henry and Zay Flowers, but the rest of the group was described as disastrous last season. Better injury luck would help in 2026, but the bigger boost could come from Declan Doyle.
Doyle gives the Ravens a more innovative offensive voice, and that’s where the ceiling really gets interesting. With Lamar Jackson, Henry, Flowers, and other weapons spread across the field, Baltimore has a chance to get back to the kind of dominance that makes this team so dangerous.
The Ravens didn’t need to reinvent themselves. They needed a younger, fresher version of what already worked. Minter, Doyle, and Weaver give them that.
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Maxx Crosbys name keeps circling the rumor mill, and the Ravens are among the teams now left to wonder what might have been. Baltimore and Las Vegas had worked out a framework that would have sent the pass rusher to the Ravens, only for the move to collapse before it became official, leaving Crosby still with the Raiders and the league still talking about what kind of market he could command.
Former Raider Gerald McCoy thinks the noise could end up sharpening Crosbys edge this season, and he is not the only one watching for the next twist. With the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles also being mentioned as possible destinations, Crosby has kept his public stance muted, even as some of his social media activity has fed the speculation and kept the question of where this ends very much alive. [Read more 🡒]