The 4 Most Pressing Issues Ravens GM Eric DeCosta Must Still Address

There are four actionable items Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta should address before the start of the regular season. And likely must address before the midseason trade deadline.

Most of them have hung over this franchise throughout the offseason and some have provided a potentially-perilous backdrop for the entire football operations for far longer than that. Truth is, this team has been in Super Bowl-or-bust mode throughout this GM’s now-lengthy reign, and outside of 2023 they haven’t gotten even reasonably close.

If you exclude owners like Jerry Jones (Cowboys) and Mike Brown (Bengals) who have final say over football matters, DeCosta is the 10th longest tenured GM In the game. So this has been no small run since taking over for Ozzie Newsome in 2019. And with DeCosta now being able to hire his own head coach for the first time and have significant sway over the composition of the entire staff, his acumen is even more in the crosshairs now than ever before.

And there is also commonality in this cluster of roster needs among position groups, in that they always tend to stand out this time of year on DeCosta’s rosters. And the most important hurdle of all to overcome is wrought with unforced errors and mistakes – both public and private – that go all the way back to Lamar Jackson’s third season in the league when he was first eligible for a new deal.

There is work to be done, especially in these four areas:

Get Jackson Signed Now

It’s not normal and it’s certainly not ideal to be weeks away from the start of a training camp with one of the greatest QBs in NFL history heading into a lame-duck year in his contract and essentially a free agent in 2027. But that’s where we are … Again.

This should’ve been done a year ago, and it might be headed for another trade demand in a few months. Other teams continue to quickly and quietly get their franchise guy extended over and over again (Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, for starters), but not here.

If/when Jackson, who represents himself, cuts off negotiations, and if he is as “cool” with his restructured deal as he says, then given his near-$90M cap hit in 2027 and his no trade clause and his no tag clause, then he is essentially an unrestricted free agent.

Get A Proven Center

For all of their money spent on payroll this year, over $350M and a team record, it’s odd they are trying to pretend it includes a starting caliber NFL center let alone a difference maker.

They’ve been too cute by half about this position since Tyler Linderbaum turned down what they had on the table to make considerably more with the Raiders. And going with a journeyman former back-up while installing a totally new offense with an offensive coordinator who has never actually done the job before seems unnecessarily risky to me.

Oh, and also to everyone we’ve discussed it with on “The Daily Flock Show” be it Brian Baldinger or Charles Davis or Bucky Brooks or Marty Hurney. Oh, and while Broncos head coach Sean Payton, Doyle’s mentor, wasn’t going to speak about another team’s personnel – nor can he under tampering rules – seemed to me he was making a point about the vast import of it when I probed him about his experience with that position when he joined the show.

Add Another Pass Catcher

The Ravens will and should get a look at the panorama of rookies who can potentially impact the passing game, whether it be receivers Elijah Sarratt and Ja’Kobi Lane or tight ends Matthew Hibner and Josh Cuevas or “Joker” Adam Randall. And they have resisted the temptation to bring in another old and (usually) washed receiver to the mix.

And I’m down with that part of it.

But Mark Andrews might be cooked himself and I believe a veteran move tight end is going to be a need for them, even more than receiver. But I also believe a true downfield deep threat like Keyshon Boutte makes a ton of sense too.

Add Another Pass Rusher

DeCosta had the audacity to say years ago, “nobody appreciates pass rush as much as us,” but we all know that’s ridiculous. They certainly couldn’t evaluate it in the draft or develop it and they sure as hell weren’t going to spend for it … up until their 2025 season collapsed and they got shamed into doing it this offseason.

Even then, after bailing on their deal for Maxx Crosby to grab an older-and-cheaper Trey Hendrickson, they had the gall to tell their fans they really wanted them both. Really?

We know that’s BS and the entire NFL, frankly, called BS on that. But with that backdrop and with the likelihood that second-round pick Zion Young is more of a long-term play than immediate impact – go out and sign Jadeveon Clowney or trade for Josh Sweat and show that you really do want to keep up with the Howie Rosemans and Les Sneads of the NFL.

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