Ravens Eliminated From Playoffs: Pending Free Agents Include Plenty Of Defensive Talent

The Cleveland Browns watched from home as two of their AFC North foes squared off in a playoff matchup over the weekend. The Baltimore Ravens ultimately fell to the Cincinnati Bengals and officially ended their 2022-2023 season.

All eyes will be on the Ravens this offseason as they address the future of QB Lamar Jackson who is set to hit free agency after they failed to sign him to an extension this year. Fortunately for the Browns, they are locked in at QB and Jackson could find his way outside of the division.

The Ravens will have plenty of other talent set to hit free agency as well, most notably on the defensive side of the ball. The Browns will surely be looking to add to their defense in the offseason as they have many players set to hit free agency. Additionally, the defense was disappointing in 2022 to the extent that defensive coordinator Joe Woods lost his job and they brought in Jim Schwartz to replace him. Could the Browns be interested in any of the players set to leave Baltimore?

Here are the Ravens current pending free agents along with their age and free agency status (Age/Status*):

Baltimore Ravens 2023 Offensive Free Agents

QB: Lamar Jackson (26/UFA), Tyler Huntley (24/RFA)
RB: Kenyan Drake (28/UFA), Justice Hill (25/UFA)
WR: Sammy Watkins (29/UFA), Demarcus Robinson (28/UFA)
TE: Josh Oliver (25/UFA)
OL: RT Ja’Waun James (30/UFA), C Trystan Colon-Castillo (24/RFA), G Ben Powers (26/UFA)

Baltimore Ravens 2023 Defensive Free Agents

DT: None
DE: Justin Houston (34/UFA), Jason Pierre-Paul (34/UFA), Brent Urban (31/UFA), Steven Means (32/UFA)
OLB: Vince Biegel (29/UFA)
LB: Kristian Welch (26/RFA), Del’Shawn Phillips (26/RFA)
S: Geno Stone (23(RFA)
CB: Marcus Peters (30/UFA), Kyle Fuller (30/UFA), Kevon Seymour (29/UFA)

Baltimore Ravens 2023 Special Teams Free Agents

LS: Nick Moore (30/ERFA)

*UFA - Unrestricted Free Agent, RFA - Restricted Free Agent, ERFA - Exclusive Rights Free Agent

The Browns are unlikely to have much interest in any of the offensive players set to hit free agency in Baltimore. The Browns are set at QB and likely won’t have any interest in the TE or offensive linemen. Most likely to garner any interest (if any) would be RB Justice Hill who is a youthful unrestricted free agent and WR Demarcus Robinson.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Ravens face decisions on aging talent. Their highest profile free agent is CB Marcus Peters, former DROY, Pro Bowler, and All-Pro. Peters should be able to demand $9-11M annually on a 2 or 3-year deal when he hits the market. Browns GM Andrew Berry is unlikely to splurge on aging talent at CB despite his affinity for prioritizing talent in the defensive backfield.

The Browns biggest need on defense is at DT but they likely need a DE opposite Myles Garrett with Jadeveon Clowney unlikely to return. Justin Houston and Jason Pierre-Paul are both 34 years old and likely don’t fit the Browns plans.

Overall, it’s unlikely to see the Browns add any Ravens in free agency. With that being said, it’ll be interesting to see how Baltimore’s offseason plays out with Jackson and the impact it will have on the division. If the Ravens need to find a QB and get younger on defense, they could be going into a rebuild mode which would be an excellent scenario for Cleveland.

Free Agency Data sourced from Spotrac.