Ravens fans got a familiar jolt this weekend, and it came from an unexpected place: Daniel Faalele’s first preseason outing with the Giants.
New York dropped its opener to the Minnesota Vikings, 13-10, and Faalele wasted little time reminding Baltimore exactly why his departure feels like a win. Late in the third quarter, the fifth-year lineman delivered a missed block that looked painfully familiar to anyone who watched him in purple and black.
“I still vote for Aaron Stinnie as backup Guard pic.twitter.com/gvUZhauT12”
That kind of rep - slow off the line, clunky footwork, hands out of sync - is the sort of thing Ravens fans know all too well. It also gave them plenty of reason to nod along and say, “I told you so.”
The bigger takeaway for Baltimore is simple: Faalele is somebody else’s headache now.
That matters because the Ravens have already moved on to 2026 first-round pick Vega Ioane, who made a strong first impression in his NFL debut against the Philadelphia Eagles. While Faalele is trying to carve out a role in New York, Baltimore has a new name to build around up front.
For the Giants, the early returns on the move are not exactly inspiring. Faalele is battling for a backup spot in the guard rotation, and he’s facing real competition from Aaron Stinnie and former first-round pick Evan Neal. A performance like this does him no favors.
The financial side of it gives New York an easy escape hatch, too. Faalele signed a one-year, $1.4 million deal in free agency, with just $675,500 guaranteed. If the Giants move on before the regular season, they’d clear $1.075 million in cap space.
Still, there’s one wrinkle that could matter: John Harbaugh has never been shy about backing Faalele, and he kept going to bat for him over the last two seasons. The question now is whether that loyalty follows him to New York, or whether the Giants decide the experiment has already run its course.
Either way, Baltimore can watch this one from a distance and feel pretty good about where things stand. The Ravens don’t have to live with the weekly mistakes anymore, and Ioane’s emergence gives them a lot more to be excited about than a familiar old problem.
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For a team trying to identify who belongs on the 53-man roster for 2026, Martins case is at least becoming more interesting by the day. Head coach Jesse Minter singled out Martin after the game for his playmaking ability and tenacity, and that sort of early praise usually means the competition at cornerback is getting a little less comfortable for everyone else. [Read more 🡒]