Change is inevitable in the NFL, regardless of how a season ends.
The Ravens are still dealing with the disappointment of Sunday's 27-25 divisional playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills, but planning never stops.
Here are some of the biggest questions facing the Ravens, as they begin their offseason and prepare for 2025:
What do the Ravens need to get over the hump?
The Ravens have some important roster decisions to make, but what they don't need is an overhaul.
Of the nine initial Pro Bowlers for the Ravens, eight are under contract, the lone exception being fullback Patrick Ricard who seems likely to return.
Baltimore may have the league's deepest roster and could have as many as 11 draft picks. The Ravens can enter the 2025 season as legitimate Super Bowl contenders without making drastic changes.
"I feel like we can go up against anybody and get a win," All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton said. "With Lamar (Jackson) at quarterback – we have 'Ro' (Roquan Smith) leading the defense – there's really not much more that you need. You just have to put people around them with the right mentality."
Going through another offseason, training camp, and the regular season before they can even reach the postseason will be a mental challenge for the Ravens, just as it was this season. Making the playoffs six times in the last seven years has been impressive. Not winning a Super Bowl has been disappointing.
A talented core group gives the Ravens another chance to win a Super Bowl in 2025, but it guarantees them nothing. However, that's a challenge that Head Coach John Harbaugh is up for. He has made the playoffs in 12 of his 17 seasons, including a Super Bowl victory in the 2012 season. He believes in the current core group of players and expects the 2025 Ravens to believe strongly in their ability to win a Super Bowl, regardless of what supporters or naysayers think.
"For the past 17 years, you don't see us getting blown out," Harbaugh said. "You don't see us falling apart … either in a game or in the season. You always see us fighting back.
"I think that is the real measuring stick; not the narrative that, 'You can't do this, you can't do that.' You keep striving forward to stack those games together and put three or four really good games together, error-free games together, and go ahead and win a Super Bowl. When you do that, it's really a great accomplishment. We're capable of doing that. We put ourselves into position to do that, and we'll keep striving for that. If I've learned anything, I've learned that."
Will the left side of the offensive line change dramatically?
Starting left tackle Ronnie Stanley is a pending free agent, as is starting left guard Patrick Mekari. Protecting Jackson's blindside is critical to Baltimore's success, along with the run blocking for Derrick Henry, who ran for almost 2,000 yards behind a line that performed better than many expected.
If the Ravens don't re-sign Stanley, will they move Roger Rosengarten to the left side after an impressive rookie season at right tackle? Will Andrew Vorhees or Josh Jones be ready to take over at left guard if Mekari doesn't come back?
The Ravens had three new starters on the offensive line in 2024, and more changes could be in store.
Can the offense reach even higher heights?
In Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken's second season, Baltimore was the first team in NFL history with more than 4,000 passing yards and 3,000 yards rushing. Lamar Jackson had the best season of his career, which may earn him a third MVP award.
It remains to be seen if Monken leaves to become a head coach or stays to enter his third season in Baltimore. The Jacksonville Jaguars announced last week that they completed an interview with Monken.
For obvious reasons, the Ravens would love to keep Monken, but regardless of his future, the Ravens won't stop pushing the envelope offensively. Jackson has young weapons trending upward like Flowers, Rashod Bateman, and Isaiah Likely, and Henry showed he's still at the top of his game. It's an offensive league, and the challenge for Baltimore is to continue to find more ways to use its weapons effectively.
"I really am excited about 3.0, that iteration of this offense going forward, because we found ourselves through the last offseason and into this season, in terms of how we want to organize the offense and tie it all together and use the different platforms," Harbaugh said. "We're kind of in every world offensively, and it's not easy to do that, but we can do that because our quarterback is capable of living in all of those different offensive worlds."
How much help will the Ravens get in the draft?
DeCosta loves the draft and keeping young talent coming into the pipeline will continue to be critical, especially with Jackson under a long-term contract.
Edge rusher, cornerback, safety, and offensive line appear to be the Ravens' biggest needs heading into the offseason. The Ravens, slated to pick 27th in Round 1, have their seven original picks and are expected to receive four compensatory picks, according to OvertheCap, for a total of 11.
In his first mock draft of 2025, ESPN's Mel Kiper has the Ravens selecting cornerback Shavon Revel Jr. of East Carolina.
Baltimore's deep roster makes it difficult for rookies to earn playing time, but first-round cornerback Nate Wiggins and Rosengarten did so in 2024. Recent draft picks like Flowers (2023), Hamilton (2022), and Tyler Linderbaum (2022) became immediate contributors, while Bateman (2021) broke out this season.
Will the Ravens reach contract extensions with any of their standouts from the 2022 draft class?
Hamilton and Linderbaum are both eligible for contract extensions for the first time.
The Ravens will presumably exercise the fifth-year options on Hamilton and Linderbaum by May 1 to keep them under contract for two more seasons. However, DeCosta did not rule out the possibility of members of the 2022 draft class agreeing to extensions this offseason.
"We'll work on that," he said. "I sat up here in 2019 and said we're going to try to retain as many of our good young players as we can, and I think we've done that. I'm proud of that. I think you'll continue to see that this offseason."
