Free agency opened on Monday, and for Ravens fans that start was amazing. Fresh off coming to an agreement with the Las Vegas Raiders for edge rusher Maxx Crosby the previous Friday, the fan base was excited.
However, the waves of highs and lows in free agency can come quickly and really sneak up on you. After signing Crosby, it was expected to be a slow and calculated start to free agency for the Baltimore Ravens. The Crosby deal was worth $116 million, and the Ravens were tight against the cap. In fact, they would have needed to clear $8 million on the cap just to accommodate Maxx Crosby’s cap hit.
With this being the case, the Baltimore Ravens saw nine players from last year’s team sign contracts with other organizations. These deals are listed below:
- C-Tyler Linderbaum-3-year, $81 million deal with the Las Vegas Raiders.
- Edge-Dre’Mont Jones-3-year, $39 million contract with the New England Patriots.
- TE-Charlie Kolar-3-year, $24.3 million deal with the Los Angeles Chargers.
- S-Alohi Gilman-3-year, $24.75 million contract with the Kansas City Chiefs.
- TE-Isaiah Likely-3-year, $40 million contract with the New York Giants.
- S-Ar’Darius Washington-1-year, $3 million deal with the New York Giants.
- P-Jordan Stout-3-year, $12.3 million deal with the New York Giants.
- LB-Jake Hummel-2-year deal with the Houston Texans (terms not released).
- FB-Pat Ricard-2-year 8.5 million deal with the New York Giants.
The Baltimore Ravens were losing players left and right. In the meantime, all they had done was re-sign QB Tyler Huntley to a two-year, $11 million contract and sign G John Simpson to a three-year, $30 million deal.
Then Tuesday evening came around, and everything came crashing down for the Ravens. It was announced that the Baltimore Ravens had backed out of the trade for Maxx Crosby. After losing all the players above, this news was a huge shot to the gut for any Ravens fan. However, we were only two days into free agency, and a lesson was about to be learned.
As a fan, it is easy to get emotional over the highs and lows of free agency, especially at the beginning when there is so much anticipation over who could be added to or cut from the roster. This is to be expected. It is all part of being a fan. However, I would urge us as a fan base to try our best to stay calm and trust General Manager Eric DeCosta to do his job and put a competitive roster on the field next year.
There is still a lot of time between now and September to add valuable players to the roster, and today things got better. The Ravens were able to come to an agreement with QB Lamar Jackson and restructure his contract. This move freed up almost $40 million in cap space. This is exactly what the Ravens needed to make some moves. After this, Eric DeCosta went out and added the following players to the roster:
- DE-Trey Hendrickson-Agreed to a four-year $112 million contract (worth up to $120 million with incentives).
- S-Jaylinn Hawkins -Agreed to a two-year, $10 million deal.
- CB-Chidobe Awuzie-Re-signed a one-year, $5 million deal.
- TE-Durham Smythe-(specifics of this deal have not been disclosed).
These are unbelievable moves in the right direction. The Trey Hendrickson move offsets the disappointment of losing Maxx Crosby. Hendrickson is a little bit older at age 31, but he has an incredibly impressive résumé. See below for his career stats:
2017: 7 tackles, 2 sacks
2018: 7 tackles, 0 sacks
2019: 11 tackles, 4.5 sacks
2020: 22 tackles, 13.5 sacks
2021: 20 tackles, 14 sacks
2022: 22 tackles, 8 sacks
2023: 28 tackles, 17.5 sacks
2024: 33 tackles, 17.5 sacks
2025: 11 tackles, 4 sacks
While I don’t think Hendrickson is quite as good as Maxx Crosby, he is still one of the best pass rushers in the league and gives the Baltimore Ravens a huge boost on defense. As you can see from the statistics above, Hendrickson had a slow start to his career but really picked things up over the past six seasons. In fact, he is only two years removed from his best season. Last year was a bit of a down year, as he missed seven games due to back and hip injuries.
I know that people are disappointed about losing Maxx Crosby, but I think adding Hendrickson and getting two first-round picks back is a much better deal.
Hendrickson was definitely the biggest addition today, but the other additions should play valuable roles as well. After losing safeties Alohi Gilman and Ar’Darius Washington, the signing of a player like Jaylinn Hawkins was a must. The Baltimore Ravens are at their best when they can move chess piece Kyle Hamilton all around the field. The addition of Hawkins will allow them to rotate him in as they have done with Gilman and Washington in the past. This gives the Ravens the freedom to move Kyle Hamilton all over the field and allow him to be the matchup nightmare that we as fans have come to love.
We saw everything we needed to see from Chidobe Awuzie last season. He proved to be a solid backup cornerback, improving the depth at that position. Awuzie has also started 42 games in his career, so he brings starting experience to the roster.
Tight end Durham Smythe is following new offensive coordinator Declan Doyle to Baltimore. The pair were with the Chicago Bears last year, so Smythe is familiar with Doyle’s style. Smythe will likely fill in as a blocking tight end and fullback to offset the losses of tight end Charlie Kolar and fullback Patrick Ricard.
It has been a rollercoaster start to free agency, but the Ravens currently have $54.5 million in cap space and can now continue to add to this roster. Baltimore also has 11 picks going into this year’s draft. With all the cap money and draft capital, they have, don’t be surprised if another big trade happens.
The biggest area of concern for the Ravens is now the offensive line. After the loss of Tyler Linderbaum, the entire interior offensive line is a major concern. I can’t wait to see what the next move is, but with the cap position we are in now, let’s try not to get upset and just see what Eric DeCosta can do. If September rolls around and the roster still leaves a lot to be desired, then let’s start pointing fingers. But for now, let’s get our popcorn ready and enjoy the show.
Check out more Baltimore Ravens related articles here.
Forged For Football is dedicated to helping Baltimore Ravens fans keep up with the latest team news.
