Jesse Minter Hints at Trenton Simpson Playing Versatile Role for Ravens Defense

The Baltimore Ravens might've finally found a way to fully unlock the full potential of one of their most dynamic and gifted defensive playmakers.

Jul 29, 2026; Ownings Mills, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens linebacker Trenton Simpson (32) during practice at the Under Armour Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

A team can tell pundits and fans alike a lot about how they perceive a player and how highly they're valued during this time of year by how early, how long or if they see any preseason action at all.

The earlier a player enters an exhibition contest or if they're among the first to take the field, usually indicates they're competing for a starting spot or are a primary backup on a team that doesn't play its starters much, if at all, during August.

Inversely, the longer a player stays in a preseason game or the longer it takes for them to see the field in one can also suggest the coaches want to get an extensive look at them or they're not very high in the pecking order and need to show something to earn a role or even a spot on the team.

After opening each of the last two seasons as the starting WILL linebacker next to three-time Pro Bowler Roquan Smith, only to get benched at some point in favor of one or more alternatives, Baltimore Ravens fourth-year pro Trenton Simpson entered training camp with a lot to prove.

Not only has he answered the call, but according to head coach Jesse Minter, the 2023 third-rounder has "had an unbelievable camp," so much so that Simpson was among the group of starters and established players who didn't take the field or even suit up for the Ravens' preseason opener this past weekend.

"I feel really good about him," Minter said. "He is an extremely versatile, athletic linebacker that's got a lot of great traits. He can do a lot for us. He can line up in a lot of different places — and [I'm] excited to see that room really come together, you know, over these next 27, 28 days as we get ready for that [regular season] opener."

Coming out of college, Simpson played a multifaceted role at Clemson, where he lined up all over the formation for the Tigers, from off-ball linebacker to edge defender, safety and even as a slot defender.

During his first three years in the league, the Ravens' previous coaching staff had him primarily focused on playing and mastering off-ball linebacker until midway through last season, when he started to play more of a hybrid edge role before having to go back to playing mostly off-ball due to an injury to the player who usurped his spot in the starting lineup in Week 2.

One of Minter's strengths as a defensive mastermind is not only being able to put his players in the best positions to succeed, but also maximizing the potential of positionless and schematically flexible defenders. In both of his seasons at the helm of the Los Angeles Chargers' defense, star safety Derwin James was named Second Team All Pro each year and hopes are high that he'll be able to do the same, if not more, with two-time First Team All Pro Kyle Hamilton in Baltimore.

When the regular season rolls around, expect to see Simpson on the field early and often in a myriad of different alignments that could see him rushing off the edge, blitzing up the middle, spying the quarterback and covering running backs and tight ends.

Ravens continue to marvel at Teddye Buchanan's recovery

Jun 11, 2025; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens linebacker Teddye Buchanan (40) runs during an NFL OTA at Under Armour Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

While Kansas City Chiefs franchise quarterback Patrick Mahomes has had the highest-profile rehabilitation process from a late-season torn ACL this offseason, in Baltimore, the second-year off-ball linebacker Teddye Buchanan has also healed much faster than expected. He passed his physical and was removed from the Physically Unable to Perform list on Friday and made his training camp practice debut on Monday.

"It is always great when you get a guy [like Buchanan] back — particularly just [with] the amount of work you've seen Teddye put in," Minter said. "Honestly, since the first time I walked in this building, I think he was in here rehabbing — [he] might have been one of the first guys I saw.

"He's just been a constant presence here. He has put in the time and the work, for a late-season injury, to be where he is at now is a major credit to him and his mindset, his work ethic."

As a fourth-round rookie, Buchanan opened the season in a two-man rotation at WILL with Simpson before taking over the role just two weeks in and starting 13 of the 14 games he appeared in before suffering a season-ending knee injury in Week 15 on December 14, 2025. Despite missing the final three games, he still finished with the third-most total tackles on the team with 93, to go along with five tackles for loss, two quarterback hits, half a sack, a pass breakup and a forced fumble.

The Ravens will likely gradually ramp up Buchanan's practice participation level, as they've cautiously been doing with other players returning from injuries or other forms of adversity. They've done the same with all three of their projected starting interior defensive linemen: Nnamdi Madubuike (neck), Travis Jones (pectoral) and Calais Campbell (family tragedy).