Ravens Urged to Go All-In on Star DE

Fans of the Baltimore Ravens had good reason to anticipate sweeping changes to the organization following an 8-9 campaign that'll go down as one of the more disappointing in franchise history.

With one of the NFL's top quarterbacks leading a team with perennial championship expectations, they missed the playoffs entirely following a crushing loss in the regular season finale. Fans didn't have to wait long until heads started rolling, with the Ravens waiting just two days before parting ways with longtime head coach John Harbaugh.

Former Baltimore Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh — Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh walks the sideline in the fourth quarter of the NFL football game between Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Dec. 14, 2025. | Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The drastic changes aren't expected ton stop there, as Harbaugh was far from the group's only issue in 2025. The roster was flawed to begin with, the coordinators were unequipped to unite whatever pieces they were left with and Baltimore's means of business have demanded questions.

The Athletic's Jeff Zrebiec spent the season closely monitoring these Ravens, and he, like everyone else, knows that the reformation can't stop at the head coaching search. They've spent enough time solely using draft picks to cobble together a contender, and have to finally dip into their asset pool for a big, culture-setting on-field acquisition to partner with the changes to the sideline.

"Former general manager and current executive vice president Ozzie Newsome always believed in building the team from the inside out, concluding being strong and deep in the trenches was the best way to construct a winner," he wrote in his offseason repaid manual. "It feels like the Ravens have gotten away from that a bit in recent years."

"And if there were ever an offseason for [General Manager Eric] DeCosta to take a big swing on a veteran acquisition, this is it...you want your defense to get off the field more often and end this pattern of gut-wrenching losses and blown leads? You want your defense to get back to being feared again? Be willing to dip into your draft capital and trade a young player or two to acquire Las Vegas Raiders pass rusher Maxx Crosby."

Las Vegas Raiders Defensive End Maxx Crosby — Dec 14, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby (98) on the field after loss to the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The Need for Maxx

The Ravens' defense struggled all season long, especially whenever they tried applying pressure to opposing quarterbacks. After posting three consecutive top-10 defenses, they fell into the league's bottom half for the first time in four years. And Crosby, who's relationship with the Raiders has reportedly grown strained after seven campaigns together, would completely revitalize the sleepy pass-rush.

He'd arrive a year after a positive showing at the 2025 NFL Draft encouraged fans that their reliance on newcomers would help consolidate the Ravens' long-term plan, but they need win-now stars as badly as they ever have in salvaging what's left of their contending goals.

Bagging Crosby won't be easy, with restructuring Lamar Jackson's contract already near the top of the organization's priority list in the interest of re-signing his most necessary role players, but this is the sort of aggression they'll need to demonstrate this summer. They've strayed away from that hard-hitting mentality in the mid-2020s, and a tough, proven trench-worker would be instrumental in a bounce-back.

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