Three weeks ago I wrote a column on this here web space suggesting that the Ravens should be aggressive at the deadline because they were going to play more close games and needed to improve in the margins.
You might have noticed that the Ravens played another close game against the Browns in Week 8. It didn’t go well. They didn’t get their butts kicked. They lost in the margins. They had lots of small things go the wrong way.
The biggest storyline of Week 8 is that too many opportunities to catch the football — both offensively and more importantly defensively — didn’t end with the football being caught. It was reminiscent of the Ravens’ 2023 loss in Pittsburgh. It’s probably not predictive. While dropped interceptions had been a lesser storyline so far this season, the sheer number of combined drops against the Browns is more of an anomaly.
The struggles of the pass defense (334 yards allowed to Jameis Winston and six pass-catchers with a combined one Pro Bowl experience) are far from an aberration, however. This pass defense has surrendered the most yards in the NFL this season and we can’t be dismissive of the sample size or the circumstances any longer.
The answer isn’t firing defensive coordinator Zach Orr, no matter how badly everyone in town always wants the answer to be firing someone. It’s not sensible after eight games. And while I haven’t asked for confirmation, I find it hard to believe Orr called plays where Eddie Jackson and Kyle Hamilton are supposed to drop the ball.
I don’t know that the trade deadline will provide the answer, either. The common belief is that the biggest need is edge rush and certain numbers seem to back that up.
With the biggest need being edge rusher, it’s fun to throw around names like Maxx Crosby, Myles Garrett or Micah Parsons and imagine them as Ravens. There are reasons to be skeptical that any will be dealt at all. Reports have indicated the Raiders don’t want to trade Crosby. The chances of the Browns trading Garrett in division are between “slim” and “none. Trying to figure out what the Cowboys might do is more difficult than figuring out exactly how and why an 8-year-old would be wearing a “Ghostface” from Screamcostume exactly.
But there are even more significant reasons to assume that even if that caliber of player is actually available at the deadline, the Ravens won’t be the team to acquire them. We start by acknowledging that the salary cap is real and the Ravens have minimal space this season and players who are coming up on contracts in the coming years. But there’s more to it than that.
It’s not that the Ravens have never been aggressive. The Roquan Smith trade was aggressive. They attempted to trade for Derrick Henry last year. But they typically avoid paying extraordinary prices for players. It’s not their style. Since the post-2001 salary cap purge, the philosophy of the organization has been to not go “all in” for any one season. Trading a first-round pick is essentially a non-starter. Draft picks are valued for the combination of player quality and cap flexibility they provide. Trading high draft capital for a veteran could prove disastrous should a serious injury occur. It all makes sense.
And the philosophy has been beneficial. Every year the Ravens have had a healthy quarterback, they’ve been in the mix. They’ve at least played meaningful December games and more often than not, January games as well. They’ve lifted spirits throughout the region. We’ve been fortunate that they’ve emphasized consistency and provided it.
That’s why we typically pivot from big names to more realistic considerations like reunions with players like Jadaveon Clowney or Za’Darius Smith.
But if there’s even been a year to consider deviating from the thought process, this is the year. Postseason shortcomings have become as much a part of the organization’s identity as its philosophy to stay relevant every year and not go “all in.” The backfield combination of Lamar Jackson and Henry has proved lethal (at least when utilized correctly) but Henry was only signed for two years and, as much of an alien as he is, there’s no guarantee he can continue to perform at such an insanely high level moving forward.
And then there’s the matter of John Harbaugh’s contract, which is up after 2025. Perhaps the Ravens aren’t remotely considering a future without Harbaugh at the helm, but it feels like at some point their playoff results have to provide a referendum on their longtime head coach, provided he wants to keep coaching. Keeping Harbaugh in limbo and asking him to coach as a lame duck next year in order to take another season before making a long-term decision would be extraordinary.
If this season is supposed to represent a referendum, the team would be well-served to stack the deck as much as possible, either to give Harbaugh the best possible chance of breaking through for a Super Bowl run or to feel more confident that he’d deserve to take the heat should the team come up short in the postseason.
I might be yelling into the void. It might well be that the only real trades available at the deadline are reasonable players at reasonable prices. But the struggles of the pass defense leave serious doubt that this group can win the Super Bowl as is. If a major trade — a serious price (a first-round pick or more) for a significant contributor — could be made, this is the year for the Ravens to make it.
Photo Credit: Colin Murphy/PressBox