Teddye Buchanan is back in the Ravens lineup, but Sunday’s win over the Dallas Cowboys made one thing clear: Baltimore is in no hurry to throw him right back into the fire.
The second-year linebacker returned from the ACL tear he suffered in mid-December and was active in Week 3, but his workload was tiny. Buchanan played only three snaps, a sign that the Ravens are choosing the cautious route as he works his way back.
That approach makes sense given the timeline. Even with what was described as the best-case rehab path, Buchanan’s return was always going to be a gradual one. General manager Eric DeCosta and head coach Jesse Minter praised his recovery all offseason, but getting back to game-ready form is still a separate step from simply being available.
Baltimore also doesn’t have a pressing need to force the issue. The linebacker group is settled right now, even if the defense overall has had its issues.
Roquan Smith appears to be back in Pro Bowl and All-Pro form, and Trenton Simpson has become the bigger story. He has now stacked three straight weeks of looking like one of the best defenders on the field.
Simpson’s rise has been hard to miss. Running plays are finding little room at the second level because he’s getting there so quickly, reading the action well, blasting through blocks and finishing with a real feel for the football. With that kind of production in place, Baltimore has even less reason to rush Buchanan into a larger role.
For now, the Smith-Simpson pairing looks locked in. That tandem isn’t the part of the defense that needs fixing, so there wasn’t much incentive to change the formula in Buchanan’s first game back.
The best use of Sunday may have been as a controlled first step. Buchanan can build from there and try to get back to the player he was before the injury - the one who came out of his rookie season playing with relentless energy and nonstop speed. After an ACL tear, that kind of full-throttle style can take time to return.
In Other News...
Ravens Escaped Dallas But One Debate Is Just Getting Started
The Ravens left Rio de Janeiro with a narrow win over the Cowboys, but the trip back from Brazil comes with a familiar kind of reflection: how much of what happened was encouraging, and how much was simply survival? Tyler Loop handled his part, Zay Flowers gave Baltimore a much-needed spark, and Lamar Jackson again sat at the center of every important conversation, with the game offering plenty of material for a deeper look at both the offense and the way the team managed the moments that mattered.
There were also the kinds of details that tend to linger after a close one, from defensive stretches to special teams execution and the coaching choices that shaped the flow of the night. Baltimore got the result it wanted, but the larger debate is only beginning, because the performance invited as many questions about situational awareness and consistency as it did praise for the players who helped push the Ravens over the line. [Read more 🡒]
Ravens Win Still Has Cowboys Answering For That Final Sequence
Even after the Ravens walked out with the win, the final sequence kept drawing attention in Dallas. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said mistakes were made and insisted the team has to learn from them, while quarterback Dak Prescott was left to reflect on not connecting with an open receiver on the games last play. It was the kind of ending that lingers long after the final whistle, especially when a game turns on the smallest details.
Brian Schottenheimer backed the decision to throw the ball away on that snap, but the broader debate around the finish still hangs over the Cowboys. For Baltimore, it means a victory that should have been a clean postgame story instead came with an extra layer of scrutiny, because the opponents reaction only sharpened the spotlight on how the game closed. [Read more 🡒]
Ravens Suddenly Have A Marlon Humphrey Concern They Can't Ignore
Through three weeks of the 2026 season, Marlon Humphrey has become one of the more uncomfortable storylines for Baltimores defense. The veteran corner has long been a stabilizing presence in the secondary, but his early work in coverage has looked uncharacteristically shaky, and the numbers are hard to ignore as the Ravens sort through what has been a more uneven start on the back end.
The latest reminder came against the Cowboys in Week 3, when Humphrey was targeted often and gave up six catches for 108 yards and a touchdown. For a player who has built his reputation on slowing down opposing passing games, the bigger concern is the trend line: 15 completions allowed, 215 yards surrendered and a passer rating against that has already climbed past his previous career low point. Baltimore does not need this to become a lingering issue, but it is clearly one the Ravens have to keep watching closely. [Read more 🡒]