The Ravens didn’t just patch up their secondary this offseason - they may have turned it into a strength.
That’s the feel around Baltimore after a summer that changed nearly every corner of the roster, especially on defense. The Ravens tied for the second-worst passing defense last season, but the picture looks a lot different now. The same names are mostly back, yet the overall depth and the new pieces around them have raised the ceiling.
Robert Longerbeam’s exit is a good snapshot of that shift. Baltimore didn’t keep him on the 53-man roster, but the team did want him back on the practice squad.
Instead, Longerbeam opted to go to the Philadelphia Eagles’ practice squad. For a player fighting for a slot corner job, that move says plenty about how crowded the room has become.
To his credit, Longerbeam made noise in camp and held his own in preseason action. But at 5-foot-11, he was battling for a limited lane, and the competition around him simply had more juice. Keyon Martin and Chandler Rivers were the guys who won that fight.
Martin brought exactly the kind of edge the Ravens want. He played with urgency, handled special teams work, and backed it up with solid defensive reps. That combination made him hard to ignore.
Rivers made an even louder case. Baltimore grabbed him in the fifth round of the 2026 NFL Draft, and he quickly looked like a problem for every other slot corner on the roster. The Duke product stood out right away, and the preseason only sharpened that impression.
At 5-foot-10, Rivers still controlled the catch point, limited yards after the catch, and flashed the kind of coverage ability that turns a crowded position into a closed door. He finished with a 90.1 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus, best among rookie cornerbacks.
That kind of depth changes everything. Once Martin and Rivers were performing at that level, Longerbeam’s path all but vanished.
Of course, the Ravens still need the top of the secondary to answer the bell. Marlon Humphrey and Nate Wiggins have to rebound after finishing as the top two in yards allowed in coverage in 2025. That kind of production can’t repeat if Baltimore wants the whole unit to take the next step.
The good news is that both corners are moving into a different defensive environment. Jesse Minter is the big swing here. His Chargers defense finished fifth in the league against the pass last season, and Baltimore’s new setup comes with a clear promise: fewer big plays.
Minter’s defense allowed only 37 passing plays of 20 yards or more in 2025. Baltimore gave up 64, which was last in the league. That gap tells the story.
The preseason hinted at the same direction, with Minter keeping opposing offenses off balance across the three games. If that carries into 2026, the Ravens could be looking at a secondary that doesn’t just survive - it actually drives the defense. Add in the pass rush, and Baltimore may have flipped two of its biggest weaknesses into real assets.
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Ravens Look Like Contenders But These Roster Cracks Could Change Everything
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Eric DeCosta has not made a major in-season trade to patch things up, so much of the burden falls on internal answers and players whose roles are still taking shape. Ethan Pocic and Nnamdi Madubuike are part of the injury and recovery picture, while several untested names are expected to be pressed into bigger jobs. For a team that looks capable of competing deep into the year, the real test may be whether these roster cracks hold steady long enough to get past Week 1. [Read more 🡒]