How Ravens First Wave of Free Agency Impacts Their Draft Plans

The Baltimore Ravens approach to this year's three-day event will have to dramatically change with so much talent headed elsewhere after agreeing to hefty deals.

Jan 29, 2026; Owings Mills, MD, USA; Eric DeCosta during press conference at Under Armour Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Lexi Thompson-Imagn Images | Lexi Thompson-Imagn Images

The biggest winners of the first day of the NFL's legal tampering period, by far, were the Baltimore Ravens, as seven of their pending free agents agreed to new deals to sign elsewhere. There were four members of the 2022 NFL Draft class in particular, who negotiated contracts to put them among the top five highest-paid players at their respective positions, including three that reset the market.

In the case of three-time Pro Bowler Tyler Linderbaum, he absolutely shattered the top of the center market by nearly $10 million on a three-year deal worth $81 million. His $27 million per year average far surpasses the next closest player, Kansas City Chiefs Creed Humphrey, at $18 million.

Coming off a breakout season in which he earned Pro Bowl and First Team All Pro honors, Jordan Stout will become the highest-paid punter by the New York Giants when the new league officially begins. Joining him in defecting to the Big Apple to reunite with former head coach John Harbaugh will be tight end Isaiah Likely on a three-year deal to become the fifth-highest paid player at his position and nickel/safety hybrid Ar'Darius Washington on a one-year deal.

Charlie Kolar is heading to the Los Angeles Charger a.k.a. the West Coast Ravens, on a three-year deal to become the highest-paid blocking tight end. Both of the veteran defenders the Ravens traded for last season parlayed their respective standout second halves into three-year deals with new teams in the same conference for higher-than-projected salaries. Hybrid edge defender Dre'Mont Jones is heading to the reigning AFC champion New England Patriots for $13.1 million a year, and safety Alohi Gilman is going to the Kansas City Chiefs for $8.25 million annually.

All seven of these reported soon-to-be departures of players who played prominent roles for the Ravens last season and for the duration of their careers up to this point, for the first five mentioned, have left holes general manager Eric DeCosta will need to fill. Since they aren't among the league leaders in available cap space, the bulk of their reinforcements will have to come via the 2026 NFL Draft.

Building and restocking through the draft has always been the lifeblood of the Ravens organization. Their strategy heading into this year's three-day event, where they currently hold 11 picks again after getting their first rounder back following the reported trade for Maxx Crosby falling through, will have to change following their reported losses in free agency and here's how:

Target Linderbaum's replacement early

Iowa center Logan Jones (65) runs onto the field during a NCAA football game against Ohio State, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022, at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. 221022 Iowa Ohio St Fb 070 Jpg | Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Ravens have expressed a lot of faith and confidence in 2024 undrafted free agent Corey Bullock, who is the top internal candidate to succeed the former first-rounder after serving as his primary backup last season. While there are still some solid veteran free agents who could be signed, using one of the second or third of their top 100 picks on one of the top center prospects to come in and compete with Bullock would be the cheaper and more likely route.

In the second round at No. 45 overall, they could target the likes of Florida's Jake Slaughter, Auburn's Connor Lew or Kansas State's Sam Hecht. If they want to go with a more premium position with that pick and wait until the Third round at No. 80 overall or the early fourth at No. 115, some options could include Alabama's Parker Brailsford, Duke's Brian Parker II or Iowa's Logan Jones, who replaced Linderbaum for the Hawkeyes, won the Rimington Award last year, given to the top center in the nation, and tested exceptionally well at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine.

Guard is a much less pressing need

Dec 15, 2024; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; New York Jets offensive linebacker John Simpson (76) before the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images | Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

The one reported addition that the Ravens are slated to make is at left guard, where they are slated to bring back former starter John Simpson to reclaim his spot in the lineup after it was a glaring weakness and liability last season. According to reports, the deal is for three-years and worth $30 million to reunite with the 2023 breakout who spent the past two season with the New York Jets.

Prior to this move, they were being linked to several of the top guard prospects in this year's talented crop, including projected top 20 pick, Olaivavega Ioane of Penn State, and could be back in the running for him again now. They remain high on 2025 third-rounder Emery Jones, who was expected to compete for one of the starting guard spots heading into his second season, regardless of who else gets brought in this offseason.

With Simpson penciled at the left guard spot, the Ravens don't need to spend one of their Day 2 picks on a guard and can use one of their remaining eight on Day 3 to bring in some competition for Jones and overall depth at the position. Parker is versatile enough to play guard as well as center and could be depth at both spots, or another target could be Iowa's Beau Stephens in the fifth round or sixth round.

Ravens will almost certainly double dip at tight end again

Oct 26, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal tight end Sam Roush (86) breaks a tackle by Wake Forest Demon Deacons defensive back Zamari Stevenson (17) during the fourth quarter at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images | Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

With the reported soon-to-be losses of Likely, who signed for just a tick above the extension the Ravens gave to three-time Pro Bowler Mark Andrew, and Kolar, who essentially signed the same deal as former Baltimore blocking extraordinaire, Josh Oliver, adjusted for salary cap inflation, the team has to replenish their depth at tight end. Thankfully, it is one of the strongest and deepest position groups in this year's draft class, and the odds of them taking two in the same year for the fifth time in franchise history are very high.

Four years ago, they didn't just select Likely and Kolar in the same class, but took them in the same round, just 10 picks apart in the fourth, where they made six selections in total. This year, the Ravens have four picks in the fifth round alone, which could be where they pick one or both of their new depth pieces at tight end to play behind and alongside Andrews in blocking or primary pass-catch roles. Some appealing prospects they could target in the third round or later include Stanford's Sam Roush, Baylor's Michael Trigg, N.C. State's Justin Joly or Notre Dame's Eli Raridon.

Ravens need to find a new third safety

Jan 31, 2026; Mobile, AL, USA; American wide receiver Aaron Anderson (2) of LSU runs past National safety Bud Clark (21) of TCU during the first half of the 2026 Senior Bowl at University of South Alabama, Hancock Whitney Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images | Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

Since they are slated to lose both Washington and Gilman, head coach Jesse Minter will need to find a new complementary piece in the secondary to fill what is essentially another full-time starting role. The presence of another capable playmaker or at least stabilizer in the backend will allow him to deploy three-time All Pro Swiss Army Knife Kyle Hamilton in the hybrid slot defender role that he can move all around the line of scrimmage and in the box.

There are still a lot of experienced veteran safeties on the open market that they can and likely will target at some point, including a pair of familiar faces in former Ravens Geno Stone and Tony Jefferson. In the middle rounds of the draft, they could also find some prospect who could thrive in that role with TCU's Bud Clark topping the list.

The former Horned Frog was one of the best ballhawks in college football the past four years, recording 15 interceptions over that span, including at least three in each. He was one of the brightest standouts during the Panini Senior Bowl and followed it up with an impressive showing at the Combine. The range in which he might come off the board could range from the third to the fourth round, so he'd be an option for Baltimore at either No. 80 or No. 114 and would be an absolute steal if he lasted until No. 153 in the fifth round.

Ravens have to replace a star specialist yet again

Dec 7, 2024; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs punter Brett Thorson (92) punts the ball to the Texas Longhorns during the first half in the 2024 SEC Championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Not even a year after saying goodbye to franchise legend and future Hall of Fame kicker Justin Tucker and replacing him with Tyler Loop, who had an up-and-down rookie season, the Ravens find themselves needing to find a successor to Stout as the next punter. The position wasn't viewed as a potential need because it was widely assumed that they'd be able to re-sign him at a rate around the top of the market, not one that completely reset it.

While the position of punter is one of the most unheralded in the game, having an elite one of the caliber that Stout blossomed into can be a truly difference-making weapon for a team any given week and over the course of a season, but especially in the postseason when championships can be won and lost in the margins.

A couple of field-flipping weapons the Ravens can target late on Day 3 either with one of their four fifth-round picks, their lone sixth-rounder or one of their two seventh rounds include Georgia's Brett Thorson and Michigan State's Ryan Eckley.

Of the two, Thorson offers the most upside as the Australian not only possesses a booming leg that can flip the field whenever needed but has shown a penchant to execute the coffin-corner kicks that can pin opposing offenses inside their own 10-yard line with no chance at a return.

Ravens might have to replace explosive speedster

Feb 28, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Arkansas running back Mike Washington Jr. (RB20) during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

In one of their most surprising moves, the Ravens opted to not assign a tender of any kind to running back Keaton Mitchell, who was a restricted free agent and will now become unrestricted and free to sign with anyone. The former undrafted gem burst onto the scene midway through his rookie year and was emerging as one of most explosive weapons in the league before a severe knee injury ended his season in 2023. It took over a year for him to fully recover but he was looking like his old self last season on the limited opportunities he got.

Many pundits speculated that the Ravens would be tempted to move on from veteran Justice Hill in order to clear cap space to retain Mitchell at the $5.8 million figure of the second round tender or the $3.5 million of the original round tender. Since they did the exact opposite, the offense could be in need of another speedster to pair along with five-time Pro Bowl running back Derrick Henry. Arkansas' Mike Washington Jr. ran the fastest 40-yard dash time among all running backs at the Combine with a blistering 4.33 and could be an alluring option a some point on Day 3, perhaps with one of their four fifth-rounders.

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