A month out from the trade deadline, the Ravens still have some roster questions that are hard to ignore - even after making what looks like their biggest move already.
They paid a heavy price to the Eagles to see whether Cam Jurgens can still handle center. The package included a future second-round pick, and the financial hit was just as real: $15 million fully guaranteed next year on top of a $16.5 million salary this season for a player who may or may not have been getting benched in Philadelphia and carries extreme injury risk.
That kind of swing is exactly the sort of thing Eric DeCosta has been willing to take heading into the deadline, which arrives in early November. He has only hit once in a major way during his long run, landing Roquan Smith from Chicago to try to fix the defense in 2023.
Then he overpaid Smith with a quick extension, and that has stung since. With a team-record payroll and the Jurgens trade already done, there’s not much reason to expect a cautious approach now.
Still, the Ravens could find themselves with new needs before the deadline even hits. For now, the roster is in decent shape overall, especially if the 10 rookies can keep earning more snaps as the season goes on. But a few areas deserve a close look.
The passing game downfield remains heavily dependent on Zay Flowers. He’s having a monster season, but there isn’t much else producing explosives or yards after the catch, and nobody else is really threatening defenses on throws that travel 20 or more yards. Mark Andrews, once treated as the No. 1 move tight end, has been cooked since late in the 2024 season, though rookie Matthew Hibner should start eating into his route volume soon.
At receiver, Ja’Kobi Lane’s start was interrupted before he could really build momentum. The tall slot target barely saw the ball in the NFL before breaking his wrist, which undercut the buzz he had built over the summer.
At 6-4, with a slippery style and a feel for acrobatic catches, he could help right away in the slot and in the red zone. But Rashod Bateman remains inconsistent, Devontez Walker may be more tease than answer, and this has been a known issue for years.
The cornerback room has its own problem. Marlon Humphrey is not playing like a $19 million corner, and it isn’t close. He probably fits best inside at slot corner, but Baltimore doesn’t have many boundary options it loves, and the slot already has plenty of bodies and different body types, including hybrid defensive back Kyle Hamilton, rookie Chandler Rivers and youngster Keyon Martin.
On the outside, top receivers are giving this defense fits, and a better pass rush with the return of Trey Hendrickson from injury could help. Even so, this staff does not seem nearly as willing as last year’s group was to lean on veteran Chidobe Awuzie, and that hesitation stands out.
The matchup problems have piled up. Humphrey against No. 1 receivers is not working, and Nate Wiggins ran into trouble Sunday with Drake London, which is exactly the kind of thing bigger targets can do to him.
Baltimore is using dime more than anyone else in the NFL and still ranks 20th in opposing passer rating with six defensive backs on the field. It is allowing 66% completions, and the corners have not picked off a pass all season.
The numbers are ugly. The corners are giving up a combined passer rating of 101 and 11 yards per completion, and they are not making plays on the ball, with four total pass breakups and zero interceptions. Of all the disappointments on this roster, they stand out the most.
There are still bigger tests ahead, too. With the Bengals looming, along with the Jaguars, Bills and even the new-look Panthers, Baltimore should have a much clearer read by its early December bye on whether this group is good enough to make a deep playoff run.
Tight end remains another spot worth watching. Lucas Scott impressed enough in the preseason to deserve a practice squad look as a young fullback.
Durham Smythe’s ability to fill a “Joker” role initially made that less important, but with Smythe out for the year, Scott is back in the picture. Nick Vannett does not appear athletic enough to do what Smythe did, so the need for a traditional fullback could surface, and Scott may still be a little early in his development for that job.
Smythe mattered in both the run game and the pass game, and Hibner along with fellow rookie tight end Josh Cuevas were not expected to have to shoulder much of that work at the line of scrimmage. In the end, tight end has looked like a problem area from the start, and it is one body short of where the Ravens would probably prefer to be, especially with Lamar Jackson still working through an ankle injury and becoming more dangerous the more tight ends are on the field.
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Nnamdi Madubuike and Broderick Washington Jr. are part of the rotation ahead of him, and the pecking order has not moved in Peebles favor. Washington has even been getting more snaps despite a weaker performance grade, which makes the path for Peebles pretty clear and pretty difficult at the same time: he will need an opening, and he has not found one yet. [Read more 🡒]
Calais Campbell Had Bigger Reasons To Shine In Atlanta
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Ravens May Have Found An Overtime Formula Other Teams Can't Copy
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The wrinkle, of course, is that this kind of formula is hard to duplicate unless a team has the right personnel to sell it. Baltimore has the kind of offense that can keep drives alive, stress defenses with physicality and avoid giving away easy possessions, which is why the approach looked so effective in the moment. Whether it becomes something other clubs can actually copy, though, may depend less on the concept than on having the horses to run it. [Read more 🡒]