Ravens Keeping A Very Close Eye On A Former Linebacker Ahead Of Possible Trade

The Ravens are very interested in beefing up their options an inside linebacker, according to league sources, and are keeping a very close eye on a former day two pick of theirs.

Steelers linebacker Malik Harrison remains very much on Baltimore’s radar, with him on a bit of a roster bubble in Pittsburgh and having significant past experience in Jesse Minter’s defense from his time in Baltimore. Harrison was selected in the third-down in 2020, and while he never developed into the impact starter general manager Eric DeCosta hoped for, he has good enough athletic traits and has matured over the years, and the Ravens are seeking better veteran depth behind and round former All-Pro Roquan Smith.

Smith himself is coming off two straight poor seasons (the veteran basically apologized for a lost 2025 campaign this spring), and the Ravens are not even allowing young players like Trenton Simpson, who has been a significant disappointment to this point since being a third-round pick as well, to see the field in exhibition games as a nod to how important that depth is right now. And they still have two more preseason games to get through.

Starting middle linebacker Jay Higgins suffered a concussion in Saturday’s preseason opener, which then forced Baltimore to use Dominic DeLuca for 27 snaps, most of any linebacker (again, they are resting everyone). DeLuca is a former walk-on at Penn State who was an un-drafted free agent. The roster is light and this is a prime attrition position.

Teddye Buchanan was a breakout performer as a rookie, but that versatile linebacker is still just off the PUP list recovering from season-ending knee surgery. As much as everyone is raving about Simpson, he has had a very rough start to his career and I suspect is being looked at much more as a speed option on the outside to attack the ball but asking him to cover or understudy to Smith would be a stretch.

Familiar Faces

Harrison spent the first five years of his career in Baltimore, becoming a core special teams player and also averaging 240 snaps per season at linebacker. Having him play next to Smith in the middle of the defense was the idea, and he played primarily as a WILL linebacker for the Steelers in their 3-4 last season after signing a two-year, $10M deal with them.

Harrison is set to make $4.75M this season and the Steelers have a loaded linebacker room in front of him, paying big money to keep three legit pass rushers and also investing draft capital in the position in recent years. The Ravens are overloaded with corners – there is a strong sense around the NFL Baltimore will be moving one if the group stays healthy through the preseason.

Steelers top corner Joey Porter Jr. is involved in a “hold-in,” and it’s a position in which depth is always a need around the league. It might be odd for the two rivals to make a trade, but they also tend to see players on defense in a similar way and one of the players ahead of Harrison on Pittsburgh’s depth chart of former Ravens first-round pick Patrick Queen.

Regardless, the Ravens adding an inside linebacker with legit NFL playing experience is going to be a priority for their pro personnel department between now and Week 1.

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