Few things in sports are more difficult than analyzing what a team did or didn’t do in advance of a trade deadline. Even fewer are more pointless.
That said, I find the totality of what the Ravens did at the NFL trade deadline to be disappointing. That analysis is complicated, of course. There weren’t “blockbuster” trades made across the league this year. Not a single midseason trade featured a draft pick better than a third-rounder. I had suggested for weeks that this was the year for the Ravens to “go big,” but we’ll never know if going big was even an option.
Edge rush seemed to be the most popular target among Ravens fans given the team’s overall pass defense issues. The Ravens are in the bottom third of the league in both quarterback pressures and opposing quarterbacks’ time to throw. The most desirable “big fish” (Maxx Crosby, Myles Garrett and Micah Parsons) weren’t dealt. Those particular targets were always unlikely. But Azeez Ojulari and Jadaveon Clowney, two popular names among Ravens fans, didn’t move either.
I wouldn’t have been opposed to a reunion with Za’Darius Smith. Given that he is under contract through 2025, I don’t know if trading within the division was ever something the Browns would have legitimately considered. Preston Smith hardly feels like he would have qualified as a difference-maker at this point in his career. That’s the list.
If the Ravens didn’t try to swing for something more significant than Preston Smith, I would have greater reason for criticism. Without that knowledge, it’s hard to look around and think they particularly missed at the position.
And while it’s easy to pass along criticism, it is important to recognize that they did make two legitimate moves. There is no way to view the acquisitions of Diontae Johnson and Tre’Davious White at all negatively. The prices were so minimal for these two players that even if they don’t prove to be helpful, they were moves worth making.
Johnson remains intriguing. He has an above-average skill-set and in a worst-case scenario can provide depth at a position where the team sees a steep drop-off after their first three. It was at least a trade worth making. There is genuine reason to believe it could prove to be impactful.
I can’t pretend to be quite as excited about the addition of White, even while acknowledging again that it is essentially a no-risk move. It appears White might never be the same player after a pair of significant injuries (a torn ACL in 2021 and a torn Achilles in 2023). There is always the possibility that a change of scenery can bring a better version out of a player. There is also a possibility that even if White can never be a Pro Bowl-caliber player again, he could be helpful just by improving the communication in the secondary.
But my expectations are that the acquisition of White won’t have a dramatic impact on a disappointing Ravens defense. That improvement will have to come internally. Things were better in their Week 9 win against the Broncos, albeit thanks in part to a rookie quarterback (Bo Nix) missing some wide-open throws despite having plenty of time to make them.
Maybe Tavious Robinson’s breakout game (and to a lesser extent, Trenton Simpson’s) will prove to be a sign of things to come. Maybe David Ojabo will get another opportunity before the season is over and be in position to take advantage of it. Nnamdi Madubuike is certainly capable of being more impactful than what we’ve seen so far.
Or maybe the Ravens will have to overcome an underperforming defense for the rest of the season. The real story of the trade deadline whimper is that they’ll likely have a smaller margin for error as they try to win the Super Bowl. Last year’s team was a more complete group. But this year’s group might well be more explosive and capable of making up for those deficiencies.
Part of the story of the Broncos game was that we saw their offense take on some of the responsibility of playing defense. By scoring touchdowns on four consecutive drives spanning the end of the first half and the start of the second half, the Ravens took the Broncos away from the ability to execute a complete game plan. They forced them to be one-dimensional. That’s how an offense can make up for the deficiencies of a defense. This Ravens offense appears to be good enough that it can keep doing that.
The defense has to be better than it has been. The offense has to be at least this good. But don’t confuse not picking up a significant edge rusher at the deadline with an inability to win the Super Bowl. The Ravens’ path to doing so is just a bit narrower than we’re used to around here.
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