The Ravens’ trade deadline problem is staring them right in the face: cornerback.
That’s the part that should surprise almost nobody and still manages to feel jarring. Baltimore has spent years chasing answers in the secondary, from first-round picks to splashy bets and plenty of failed swings along the way. And yet, a third of the way into the season, the unit that was supposed to be a strength looks shaky enough to push the Ravens into a move they probably didn’t want to make.
It’s not hard to see why. The schedule has been soft so far, the quarterbacks have mostly been ordinary, and the Ravens still haven’t found a corner who’s been able to consistently make plays on the ball.
Even worse, too many of them have been liabilities when the game tightens up. That’s a bad place to be with Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, Trevor Lawrence, and even Bryce Young and CJ Stroud still ahead on the calendar.
Jesse Minter was hired with the idea that his coverage expertise could elevate a defense built with significant offseason resources poured into the back end. Instead, the Ravens have spent the early part of the season looking thin on the boundary and uneasy in key coverage spots.
Chidobe Awuzie doesn’t appear to be trusted, Marlon Humphrey is not the same player he was a few years ago, and Nate Wiggins still hasn’t made the leap. With 206 targets against him and only four career interceptions, Wiggins may simply not be the kind of corner who regularly turns throws into takeaways.
The latest issue is TJ Tampa, whose injury could be more important than it first seemed. Baltimore had wanted people to know Tampa drew trade interest over the summer, but he has also been banged up often. Now the depth chart looks even thinner, and that’s a problem for a team that already dealt a second-round pick to address the offensive line and has even brought in competition at kicker.
The numbers aren’t soothing, either. Ravens corners have not recorded an interception this season.
They’ve managed just six pass breakups on 86 attempts. As a group, they’re allowing a QB rating of 94.4.
The quarterbacks Baltimore has faced this year have a collective passer rating of 86.0, have already combined for 23 interceptions, and are averaging only 6.5 yards per attempt - which is to say the Ravens haven’t exactly been tested by a murderer’s row of passing attacks, but the results against them still haven’t been good enough.
Humphrey’s issues have been there for a while, and quarterbacks have been going after him for years. Last season, he was a bottom-10 corner in the NFL in many categories, and that hasn’t really changed. The pass rush might eventually start bailing out the back end, but that’s not something Baltimore can count on right now.
What really makes the matchup danger real is what’s coming inside. Awuzie has played just 47 coverage snaps all season, and Baltimore seems reluctant to move Humphrey into the slot more because the outside depth isn’t trustworthy.
In the dime role, rookie Chandler Rivers was benched Sunday and Keyon Martin is there now, but both have allowed a QB rating of 119 in the slot. That’s exactly the kind of spot a player like Ja’Marr Chase can exploit, especially after already posting three games of 190 yards or more against the Ravens.
Against the slot this season, Baltimore has seen 58 passes, the seventh-most in the NFL, and the results are ugly: a 117.7 passer rating allowed, 74.1% completions, 510 yards, and 8.8 yards per attempt.
Lamar Jackson will eventually be back to rescue the offense, though maybe not this week. But the longer this goes on, the harder it is to ignore the same uncomfortable truth: this secondary is the piece that could force Baltimore’s hand.
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Lamar Jacksons Ravens Return Outlook Just Put Week 7 In Doubt
Lamar Jacksons absence has already stretched through two games, and now the next checkpoint comes with Week 7 looming against Cincinnati. The Ravens quarterback has been out since Week 4 with an ankle injury, and head coach Jesse Minter said Jackson could potentially practice this week, a sign that Baltimore may be getting closer to learning whether its offense can have its centerpiece back on the field.
For now, the status remains unsettled, which leaves the Ravens in a familiar holding pattern heading into a divisional matchup. If Jackson is not able to go against the Bengals, Tyler Huntley is expected to step in at quarterback, keeping Baltimores game plan in flux until the practice week reveals more. [Read more 🡒]