The Baltimore Ravens got another MVP season out of Lamar Jackson. Unfortunately, it ended in the divisional round with a loss to the Buffalo Bills. The season was far from perfect, and Jackson covered up a lot of warts on the team. Derrick Henry had another dominant season at the running back position, continuing his Hall of Fame career. This is a team whose Super Bowl window is open now. Here are three important questions for the Ravens this offseason.
1. Can The Baltimore Ravens Upgrade Their Defense?
Lamar Jackson will continue to be great for the Baltimore Ravens. Every quarterback could use a better defense. Jackson single-handedly won some games for the team this year as the defense bled points. While there was improvement over the year (they ended the year 9th in points allowed per game), the unit struggled overall. More specifically, their pass rush numbers were putrid. They ranked 29th in pass rush win rate despite a 12.5 sack season from Kyle Van Noy.
The Baltimore Ravens have some elite pieces in their secondary but need some better complementary pieces. There are some quality veterans available in free agency, and the Ravens are a prime target. The Super Bowl window is now. They can afford to take on veterans on small deals to try and compete. They can manipulate the salary cap to kick the can down the road. We saw what Jackson could do last year with a dominant defense. 2025 is the time to bring it back.
2. What About The Offensive Line?
If there is one concern on offense, it is the offensive line. The line was shaky for most of the season and Ronnie Staley is a free agent. He is among the best when he is healthy but has struggled to stay on the field. A retooling might not be a bad idea to try and give Jackson and Derrick Henry better blocking.
The Baltimore Ravens have been great at finding talent in the draft. It would not shock me if they lean into the offensive line in the 2025 NFL Draft. While they could nab some veterans in free agency, the long-term plan should be to find the cornerstones of the future. I expect the Ravens to take some young linemen and hopefully develop them.
3. Who Gets An Extension?
The 2022 NFL Draft was great for the Baltimore Ravens. This is the first offseason those players can receive extensions. The list isn’t short. Kyle Hamilton, Tyler Linderbaum, Travis Jones, Daniel Faalele, Jordan Stout, and Isaiah Likely are all eligible to get a new contract. All of these players are ones they would love to keep. However, they may have to make some decisions in the short term.
Hamilton is the obvious one. In three seasons, he has racked up 250 tackles, 7.0 sacks, five interceptions, 27 passes deflected, and four forced fumbles. He has been named to the Pro Bowl twice, along with two All-Pro nods (one first team and one second team). Linderbaum is the other likely candidate to get an extension. He has anchored the line and is a piece they want to keep long-term. The others are important, and it will be interesting to see what direction the front office decides to go.
Final Thoughts
The Baltimore Ravens want to maximize the prime years of Lamar Jackson. However, the NFL salary cap makes it difficult. Teams can’t keep everyone,e especially when their quarterback eats up a huge amount of the cap space. When this happens, teams have to find ways to get cheap talent either through the draft or in free agency. The Ravens are going to be good because of their offense. If they are going to win a Super Bowl, they have to improve certain areas.
