Most Underrated Move Ravens Made in Free Agency So Far

The Baltimore Ravens have been at the center of the biggest storyline in NFL free agency with their handling of the edge rusher position.

At first, they traded two first-round picks to the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for five-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Maxx Crosby, but his failed physical led the Ravens to back out of the deal. Less than 24 hours after that, the Ravens announced they had agreed to a four-year, $118 million contract with Cincinnati Bengals free agent edge rusher Trey Hedrickson.

Even amid the massive news of signing Hendrickson, the Ravens were also making other moves to improve the roster while many of their top free agents departed.

There is one move the team made that did not get the attention it deserved, but was actually a sneaky great move for 2026.

Quiet Ravens offseason move no one is talking about

The Ravens ended up re-signing cornerback Chidobe Awuzie to a one-year deal with $5 million guaranteed. Awuzie spent last season on the team after being signed to a small deal, but ended up playing well with 43 tackles and seven pass deflections in 14 games as the team's top slot corner.

Baltimore Ravens cornerback Chidobe Awuzie | Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

Only Ravens fans will know how good Awuzie was last season, as he was arguably the most consistent coverage corner on the team. Guys like Marlon Humphrey and Nate Wiggins were far too inconsistent for a Ravens pass defense that ranked 31st, allowing 247.9 yards per game in 2025.

Humphrey took a ton of criticism as he allowed a career-high 64.4% completion percentage and 920 yards in the air, as well as a passer rating of 84.6, the second highest of his career. Wiggins showed regression from his strong 2024 rookie season, allowing a 60.7% completion rate for 782 yards and two touchdowns, along with a passer rating of 76.6.

Awuzie, on the other hand, had one of the best seasons of his career in 2025, lining up as a slot corner for the Ravens. Despite having zero interceptions, he allowed a completion percentage of 55.6% for 400 yards while allowing an average of 11.4 yards per catch, the second lowest of his eight-year NFL career.

Not many Ravens fans could have imagined Awuzie would play as well as he did in 2025, but he more than earned his new contract with the team. With new head coach Jesse Minter, Humphrey and Wiggins should improve, but Awuzie could end up becoming an elite slot corner, and that could be coming at the right time in his career since he will be 31 by the start of the 2026 season.

Baltimore is happy to have one of their top corners back for another season as Awuzie hopes to have the same kind of success.

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