Two Trades That Still Make Sense for the Ravens as Roster Cutdowns Near

The Ravens need to keep a very open mind as we head to roster cuts.

They are in Super Bowl-or-bust mode, but they have a very young coaching staff and a preponderance of their payroll and cap are tied to players who might have no future here.

They have a payroll approaching $400M this season – rare air for owner Steve Bisciotti, who is on record that he is closer to selling the team than not – but only one real year of MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson’s services remaining under contract and much of their campaign tied into Derrick Henry (32), Trey Hendrickson (31), Ronnie Stanley (career-threatening ankle problem), Roquan Smith (approaching 3000 snaps), Mark Andrews, Calais Campbell (40) and Nnamdi Madubuike (coming off career-threatening neck surgery).

They might be staring at a one-year window of sorts despite just hiring 40-something head coach Jesse Minter. They need to be thinking about ways to thread the needle of adding assets now where they need help, trying to find value in areas where they have a glut (like corner) and keeping an eye on how this roster projects for six months from now, where they are facing massive contractual questions and will inherently be moving on from at least some of the stalwarts listed above.

These are two trades I would be trying to execute if I was general manager Eric DeCosta:

Marlon Humphrey For Joe Milton

The Cowboys are as pot-committed as they have been in a long time, the only franchise with a higher payroll than Baltimore, per Spotrac.com . Moving Humphrey should be a major objective this weekend. Owner Jerry Jones has been talking about making trades since before training camp, trying to get his defense up to snuff.

He has major issues at corner. At this point he might be willing to take on much of Humphrey’s ridiculous $15M base, thinking he could try him outside, in the slot, maybe even as another safety in big nickel to help bring the hybrid DB they just took in the first round along (Caleb Downs) after Humphrey working with and around Kyle Hamilton.

Regardless, Humphrey is the first corner that DeCosta should move, rather than the young and cheap kids with upside he is going to need in 2027 and beyond,. Because 2026 is it for Marlon projected on DeCosta’s roster, anyway (no extension to lower his bloated cap number says as much). Too many smart execs in this league have been talking to me about Milton for years for me not to buy in. Phil Simms was gushing to me about him when he was stashed in New England.

Milton is way better than Snoop Huntley right now, like that’s not even close. He has a cheap rookie contract and even if the Ravens dealt Jackson for three draft picks, let’s just say, in the offseason because they don’t seem to want to give him what he wants to this point, Milton could buy time to develop the QB they draft. And Jackson has all the leverage in the world.

I’d far prefer to be in that idiotic situation (if that's where this is going, again) with someone like Milton on my roster than not.

Jones gave up basically a fifth for Milton, and he’s looked excellent in preseason for what it’s worth. If Jones really wants to keep Sam Howell instead and use Milton is a pawn to land something for his Week 1 roster, Baltimore should be blowing up his phone. It’s not out of the question Milton is on a Malik Willis (backup for Titans and Packers and now Miami's starter) projection arc and he has very real starting potential in this league.

How much of Marlon's salary do you have to eat? Could you get a pick back with Willis?

Maybe you get a projectable NFL depth tight end or receiver with upside, for Humphrey instead, but given how poorly this corner played last season (you can see for yourself here) and where he is in his contract, it would only be a contending team like Dallas or Green Bay you could get on the line (like if Luke Musrgave didn’t injury his neck in Packers mini camp, that's something I would have been all over).

Late Round Pick For Malik Harrison

The Ravens just added a depth inside linebacker with ties to Jesse Minter to bolster their depth into the final preseason game. But I’ve heard too much chatter about them being interested in a reunion with Harrison, a former third-round pick, to blow it off.

The Steelers are loaded with linebackers, the Ravens have Teddye Buchanan coming off an ACL tear and not that far removed from being taken off PUP as the projected starter next to Smith. I have a feeling Trenton Simpson’s role is changing to more of someone out in space and they can't love this depth chart. Having an undrafted free agent within an injury of being under discussion for having to direct this defense as Minter coaches his first games in the NFL seems a gamble I’d rather not take.

Steelers would probably be fine moving his salary (close to $5M) and wouldn’t take much to land him, and if you move Humphrey, even if you eat another $4M to do so, you are still saving $11M in projected payroll that was coming to him.

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