The Baltimore Ravens lack pending unrestricted free agents in the prime of their careers who are expected to demand top-of-the-market type of deals. There aren’t a bunch of obvious high-profile cap casualties on their roster, even though the Ravens will almost certainly have to make cost-cutting moves. An overhaul of John Harbaugh’s coaching staff isn’t viewed as likely, either.
That’s not to say this offseason won’t be busy for the Ravens. They all are. It just may lack sizzle and not create as many headlines as last offseason when Baltimore added standout running back Derrick Henry, lost a host of quality free agents, made Nnamdi Madubuike one of the highest-paid defensive linemen in football, and had to replace its defensive coordinator and several top assistants.
“Not as many tough decisions this year — looking at it — which I’m thankful for,” general manager Eric DeCosta said at last week’s end-of-season news conference.
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There, however, will be plenty of moves to come. The Ravens could have as many as 11 selections in April’s NFL Draft. They’re on track to have 17 unrestricted and a few restricted free agents, a group headed by breakout performer Ar’Darius Washington. They’ll likely need to move on from a few vets to create salary-cap flexibility.
As Baltimore’s offseason begins, these are the questions the team’s decision-makers will have to answer in the ensuing weeks.
What’s the plan for Mark Andrews?
This was in question even before Andrews’ miscues in the season-ending loss in Buffalo. Yet, that game and the fallout have only intensified the questions about Andrews’ future. The 29-year-old is entering the final year of his contract. His cap hit is just under $17 million for 2025, and moving on from him would create $11 million in cap room.
It seems highly unlikely that the Ravens would release one of the league’s best tight ends who is coming off an 11-touchdown regular season and who happens to be quarterback Lamar Jackson’s favorite target and one of his closest friends on the team. The Ravens also aren’t in the business of scapegoating a guy who has been one of the team’s model players on and off the field.
However, could they potentially trade him if they can get back quality draft capital in return? That would be one way of creating a chunk of much-needed cap space while getting back a young, controllable piece. Could they extend him in a move that would lower his 2025 salary-cap number, or are both sides comfortable with Andrews playing out the final year of his deal? DeCosta will surely look at all the scenarios.
The situation is complicated by the fact that Baltimore’s other two tight ends, Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar, will also enter the final years of their deals in 2025. Given their salary-cap limitations, it would be very hard to have both Andrews and Likely on big-money tight end deals. Either way, despite Andrews’ role in the loss to the Bills, it would be nearly impossible to say the Ravens would be better as a team by subtracting Andrews from the mix.
“We’re blessed to have — in my opinion — the best tight ends room in the league, and we’ll be blessed this year on the field as well,” DeCosta said.
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How will the Ravens create more cap space?
Brian McFarland, who analyzes the Ravens’ salary-cap situation for RussellStreetReport.com, projects that the team has less than $6 million of space. That’s a fluid number because there will be arrivals and departures over the next couple of months. Still, the Ravens will need to find a way to create much more cap flexibility.
The recent contract alteration involving benched safety Marcus Williams makes his departure a formality. Cornerback Arthur Maulet, who played just three games in 2024 due to injury issues, is also viewed as a potential salary-cap casualty. Otherwise, the Ravens lack obvious cut candidates.
They’ll likely explore several avenues to create space. Those avenues figure to include the cuts mentioned above, contract restructures and potential extensions. Ravens extension candidates include Andrews, Henry and cornerback Marlon Humphrey. DeCosta also didn’t rule out reentering contract talks with Jackson.
Baltimore almost certainly won’t be aggressive in free agency, but it needs more cap space regardless.
Can Ravens work ahead on Tyler Linderbaum and Kyle Hamilton?
The Ravens’ biggest offseason expenditures could involve two players who probably wouldn’t hit free agency until after the 2026 offseason. Linderbaum and Hamilton, first-round picks in 2022 who have already made multiple Pro Bowls and are considered among the best in the league at their respective positions, have one more guaranteed year left on their rookie contracts and then fifth-year option years for 2026.
Baltimore obviously will pick up their options if it comes to that. However, team officials have long preached about the importance of striking early with extensions to top players. The price will only go up the closer Linderbaum and Hamilton, eligible for extensions for the first time, get to the open market. Getting one or both of those deals done this offseason would be a coup for the Ravens.
“We’ll work on that,” DeCosta said. “I think I sat up here in 2019 and said we’re going to try to retain as many of our good young players as we can, and I think we’ve done that. I think you’ll see that continue this offseason.”
Will contract negotiations with Harbaugh go routinely?
They usually do, and there’s been no signs that either owner Steve Bisciotti or Harbaugh is looking for an escape hatch. Harbaugh, the second-longest-tenured coach in the NFL behind Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin, has one more year left on his contract, but Bisciotti is not a believer in having his head coach work under the final year of his deal. He’s said that on multiple occasions. Unless he’s changed his mind or Harbaugh wants to go year-to-year, an extension will have to be worked out before July.
“I’m not worried about those kinds of things,” Harbaugh said last week. “They take care of themselves.”
There is organization-wide frustration about the Ravens coming up short in the playoffs, but the team’s top decision-makers have been firmly behind Harbaugh and believe he’s one of the top coaches in football. Harbaugh has a strong relationship with Bisciotti, team president Sashi Brown and DeCosta, and they’re all in this together. As long as both sides are motivated to come to an agreement, this shouldn’t be an arduous process.
John Harbaugh has had a losing record just twice in his 17 seasons as head coach of the Ravens. (Patrick Smith / Getty Images)
What will the Ravens prioritize in the draft?
You’ll hear DeCosta and company use the expression “best player available” quite a bit leading into the draft, which gets underway on April 24. Typically, though, the Ravens draft the best player available at one of their primary positions of need.
They surely will have areas of their roster they’ll need to fortify, but they’re also returning a lot of depth at different spots and will be able to add to that with the 11 draft selections they’re expected to have.
This could be a wide-open draft for them, where they can focus on building up both their offensive and defensive lines and adding pieces to the secondary. But with the No. 27 pick of the first round, they can afford to be open-minded and stick to the best-player-available philosophy that has worked so well for them in the past. Expect the various mock drafts to be all over the map when it comes to projecting Baltimore’s first-round pick.
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Are Ravens headed for an O-line overhaul for a second straight offseason?
Starting left tackle Ronnie Stanley is an unrestricted free agent. So is starting left guard Patrick Mekari. Backups Josh Jones and Ben Cleveland are also in line to hit the open market in March. That’s four of the team’s nine linemen from this past season who are pending free agents.
Last year, the Ravens traded starting right tackle Morgan Moses and let starting guards Kevin Zeitler and John Simpson leave in free agency. With three new starters, their 2024 offensive line had some growing pains but generally played well for much of the year. Now, if they’re unable to re-sign Stanley and Mekari, they’ll have two more starting spots to fill this offseason.
The Ravens are excited about Roger Rosengarten, who played solid at right tackle as a rookie, and believe he could move over to Jackson’s blindside if Stanley departs. Andrew Vorhees, who started the team’s first three games, is an option to start at left guard. Still, the Ravens’ biggest priority from a roster standpoint this offseason is probably adding more talent and depth to the offensive line. They’ll likely need to lean on both free agency and the draft to do that.
Which 2025 free agents will the Ravens work hardest to keep?
The team’s 17 free agents include Stanley and Mekari, Pro Bowl fullback Patrick Ricard, starting cornerback Brandon Stephens and then a host of part-time starters and key special-teamers, including Malik Harrison, Chris Board and Tylan Wallace.
Stanley is the highest-profile free agent and plays a premium position that isn’t cheap to replace. Stanley, a late Pro Bowl addition, has said he’d love to finish his career with the Ravens, but it’s going to come down to just how much DeCosta is willing to pay for a soon-to-be 31-year-old with an extensive knee injury. Baltimore loves Mekari’s versatility and toughness. Yet, starting offensive linemen tend to do quite well on the open market.
DeCosta already foreshadowed Stephens’ departure, saying he expected the cornerback who had a tough 2024 season to test the market. Ricard’s return makes a ton of sense. Few teams around the league invest in the fullback position, so there should be a reasonable deal to be had. Assuming the price is right, the Ravens probably will look to re-sign a number of depth veterans, like Harrison, Board and Wallace.
How does the team evaluate some of its younger players?
Vorhees is a good example of why this question is important. If the Ravens believe Vorhees, with another offseason in the weight room and another year removed from knee surgery, will develop into a solid starter, then maybe they don’t view guard as that big of a need.
If the Ravens are still bullish on the potential of inside linebacker Trenton Simpson, who lost his starting job alongside Roquan Smith in December, then adding another inside linebacker doesn’t have to be as high on the list of needs. If they’re no longer sold on him, then inside linebacker suddenly becomes a major need, particularly with Harrison and Board hitting free agency, too
You could go further down the line to guys such as wide receiver Devontez Walker, outside linebacker Adisa Isaac, cornerback T.J. Tampa and safety Sanoussi Kane. None of the players will be ticketed for Week 1 starting roles in 2025. However, any of them becoming weekly contributors at their respective positions would take some pressure off the decision-makers to add to those spots.
(Top photo: Patrick Smith / Getty Images)
