Ravens' Marlon Humphrey Addresses Disappointing Season After Loss

Marlon Humphrey was touted as one of the best players on the presumably-stacked Baltimore Ravens roster entering the 2025 season, a proven star at cornerback expected to continue spearheading the squad's lethal deep secondary while guiding the next generation of defensive backs into the next generation.

He remained one of the faces of the Ravens during his age-29 season, but not for the reasons anyone would have hoped for. On a team that will be remembered for age having snuck up on them and an endless stream of bloopers, a combination that ended up costing them a playoff berth in a crushing 26-24 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers,

Humphrey, a former Pro Bowl regular who earned a First Team All-Pro just last year, punctuated his down-season with one more invisible outing. The Steelers won by daring defenders to tackle their running backs, and Humphrey, following a fall of looking unable to make physical plays in space, couldn't do anything to stop the bleeding.

The Steelers generated 218 yards after the catch last night vs. the Ravens. It was the 10th-most in an NFL game this entire season.

Gameplan was pretty simple: force Roquan Smith/Marlon Humphrey to tackle Jaylen Warren in space & they just couldn't. pic.twitter.com/FG5UI4j2tD
— Derrick (@Steelers_DB) January 5, 2026

Now, with a summer of tough decisions expected to follow one of the more disappointing seasons in the history of this organization, the former franchise fixture suddenly finds himself on the chopping block.

Humphrey's Awareness

He knew that he'd fallen well short of last season's mark, let alone the expectations that he himself set entering the 2025 push. But like most of his teammates, he seemed stunned that things had come to close as quickly as they had in speaking to postgame media following that final defeat.

"My standard of play this year was not how I wanted," he said. "I've never been a guy to give up explosive plays like that. ... The preparation I put in, the time I put in, the numbers I put in ... I ran the fastest I've ever ran this past training camp. Nothing really matched up with how I performed on Sundays. It's gonna be a deeper study than what I've probably ever done, just trying to figure out what exactly was it."

An unfiltered Marlon Humphrey gave an honest self-assessment of his 2025-26 campaign:

"My standard of play this year was not how I wanted. I've never been a guy to give up explosive plays like that. ... The preparation I put in, the time I put in, the numbers I put in ... I ran… pic.twitter.com/SrfdZT7Yb4
— Bobby Trosset (@bobbybaltim0re) January 5, 2026

He's not completely beaten down, clarifying that Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin provided some words of encouragement pertaining to his ability to still be viewed as an elite contributor, but he's smart enough to know that tough decisions loom in Baltimore's future.

"They'll figure out who needs to stay, who needs to go," he said. "I'll just wait and see if I'm a part of the plans."

Injuries to his star secondary teammates in Kyle Hamilton and Nate Wiggins opened up the field for Humphrey to prove one last time that he was worthy of sticking around for whatever comes next, but Aaron Rodgers ended up throwing 47 passes without an interception, let alone any disruption on what turned out to be his 37th game-winning drive.

Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin and Quarterback Aaron Rodgers — Jan 4, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) celebrate after defeating the Baltimore Ravens at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images | Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

As quickly as Humphrey seemed to fall from one of the football's top corners to an occasionally-helpless-looking defensive back, he has to shift into spectator mode as the cold business side of the NFL takes centerstage.

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