Preseason Preview: Baltimore Ravens

Written By Oliver William, of Swish Tribune

Est Read: 5 mins

The NFL offseason is filled with a neverending swirl of rumors and news. Arguably no team has been at the forefront more than the Baltimore Ravens The Ravens' offseason moves have drawn a lot of praise from pundits. In fact, USA Today named Baltimore among the five teams who have taken a major step forward this offseason.

The Baltimore Ravens’ offseason started with a whimper. For over a week, after free agency began, the  Ravens didn’t make an outside acquisition. Instead, their roster moves consisted of re-signing their own, keeping players like running back Justice Hill and safety Geno Stone, who made their most significant impact in Baltimore on special teams. 

However, there was a bigger focus than the singing. the biggest story of the offseason was the contract drama between the Ravens and QB Lamar Jackson. However, The Lamar Jackson contract saga is finally over. The Ravens quarterback has signed a contract, which was agreed to shortly before the start of the NFL Draft on April 27, making him the league's highest-paid player. Jackson signed a long-awaited, five-year, $260 million deal. The contract has $185 million of overall guarantees, and $135 million is fully guaranteed. The $135 million fully guaranteed at signing includes a $72.5 million signing bonus. Jackson got a no-trade clause. There's also a provision preventing the Ravens from designating Jackson as a franchise or transition player when the deal expires after the 2027 season.

Let's put these numbers into some context

Jackson becomes the league's new financial standard bearer at $52 million per year. The deal is a 1.96% increase over the five-year contract extension, averaging $51 million per year, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts just signed to replace Aaron Rodgers as the NFL's highest-paid player. Hurts got 1.45% more than Rodgers, who signed a three-year, $150.815 million deal with the Packers, averaging $50,271,667 per year, in March 2022. By contrast, Rodgers' deal raised the NFL salary bar by 11.71% as Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes' $45 million was the benchmark for him to top.

Not only did the Ravens get their star quarterback for the foreseeable future, they massively improved their wide receiver core. Aside from retaining Jackson, the Ravens considerably beefed up a receiving corps that has long been a weakness. Baltimore added Odell Beckham Jr. and Nelson Agholor in free agency. With receiver Rashod Bateman and tight end Mark Andrews returning, this offense can be very explosive.

Here is who the Ravens selected in this year's draft

2023 Draft class

R1 (22): WR Zay Flowers, Boston College
R3 (86): LB Trenton Simpson, Clemson
R4 (124): EDGE Tavius Robinson, Ole Miss
R5 (157): CB Kyu Blu Kelly, Stanford
R6 (199): G Sala Aumavae-Laulu, Oregon
R7 (229): G Andrew Vorhees, USC

After using free agency to add veteran experience to the receiving corps, the Ravens opted for youth and explosiveness to further bolster the unit via the draft.  Zay Flowers racked up 503 yards after the catch for Boston College last season, a feat made possible in part by his 15 forced missed tackles.

The highlight of Day 3 for Baltimore was its final pick, offensive guard  Andrew Vorhees, who earned back-to-back 80.0-plus PFF grades at USC and would have been drafted significantly sooner if not for the ACL tear he suffered during combine drills.

The Baltimore Ravens have had a very successful offseason and are seeking revenge after an unfortunate exit to the Bengals in the Wild Card weekend. I believe this team can be a serious playoff contender with some key additions to their squad.