The draft is over, but the offseason reshaping of the Ravens' roster will continue.
Baltimore has made major moves recently, signing wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., agreeing to contract terms with franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson and putting together a talented six-player draft class led by first-round wide receiver Zay Flowers.
However, there will be more roster retooling during the coming weeks, as General Manager Eric DeCosta keeps the pedal down in his quest to build the strongest team possible. Starting later today, free-agent signings do not count against the compensatory formula.
Arguably, the Ravens' biggest immediate need entering the draft was cornerback and they didn't take one until the fifth round with Kyu Blu Kelly from Stanford. Thus, Baltimore could look to sign a veteran cornerback free agent.
"As we've said, the roster is never set," DeCosta said. "I think what you'll see is in the coming weeks, there are a lot of potential moves for us to make: free agents, guys that we've had, guys that we like who are available."
DeCosta pointed out that two corners the Ravens drafted in the fourth round last year, Jalyn Armour-Davis and Pepe Williams, are "good, young players" who they probably would have drafted in the same spot in this year's draft. Both dealt with injuries as rookies, and this will be an important Year 2 for their development.
"That being said, would we like to potentially add a veteran corner? Yes, I'm sure we would," DeCosta said. "It's an important position. What we've seen is you can never have enough good corners to start the season and throughout the season. That's a fast way to get beat, is to not have enough corners on the field."
Two veteran cornerbacks who played with the Ravens last season remain free agents – Marcus Peters and Kyle Fuller. Peters has been the starter opposite Marlon Humphrey since 2019, while Fuller suffered a season-ending knee injury Week 1 last season.
Other top cornerbacks available on the free agent market include:
- Rock Ya-Sin – Started 9 games with the Raiders last season, and the Ravens reportedly had him in for a visit.
- Shaquill Griffin – A 2019 Pro Bowler who was limited to five games with the Jaguars last season due to a back injury.
- Bryce Callahan – Played 15 games with the Chargers last season as their primary slot corner and revived his career with 47 tackles and three interceptions.
- Troy Hill – Started 12 games with the Rams last season with 67 tackles and one interception.
- Eli Apple – A starter with the Bengals last season with 49 tackles, eight passed defended and no interceptions in 15 games.
- Tre Flowers – A veteran in the Bengals rotation last season with 27 tackles and one interception in 15 games.
The Ravens could also be in the market for a pass rusher, and two veterans who played for them last season remain unsigned – Justin Houston and Jason Pierre-Paul.
Houston led Baltimore in sacks (9.5) in 2022 and said after the season that he was interested in returning. Houston didn't re-sign until July 31st last year, and it would not be surprising to see a similar scenario unfold this summer.
"I remember last year being on the beach with my dad when we signed Justin Houston in July," DeCosta said earlier this offseason.
The Ravens drafted former Mississippi edge rusher Tavius Robinson in the fourth round, but they want to add reinforcements to the rotation that features veteran Tyus Bowser and young pass rushers Odafe Oweh and David Ojabo.
Other top free agent edge rushers include:
- Leonard Floyd – During the past three seasons with the Rams, Floyd has produced 29 sacks.He had nine last year.
- Melvin Ingram – He played all 17 games with the Dolphins as a situational pass rushers with six sacks and 22 tackles.
- Frank Clark – In the past four seasons with the Chiefs, Clark has produced 23.5 sacks. He had 13 quarterback hits in 2022.
- Jadeveon Clowney – The three-time Pro Bowler had two sacks in 12 games with the Browns last season.
- Yannick Ngakoue – Ngakoue had three sacks in 11 games with the Ravens in 2020, and has been with five since 2019.
DeCosta was pleased with Baltimore's draft class, but the pursuit of more talent prior to Week 1 won't stop.
"I think we all feel pretty good, but we also understand and realize that we have more work to do," DeCosta said. "We have four or five months – whatever it is. There's going to be opportunities along the way to sign players and we'll do that if we can.
"The roster is going to look different than it does now – hopefully better. But it is going to look different, and we're going to keep building and building and building, until we can build the team that can go as far as possible."
