The Ravens have traded edge rusher Odafe Oweh to the Los Angeles Chargers in the first major shakeup for the underperforming team.
According to terms spelled out by the Chargers, the Ravens will send Oweh and a 2027 seventh-round pick to the Chargers in exchange for safety Alohi Gilman and a 2026 fifth-round pick.
The deal comes with the injury-ravaged Ravens, viewed as a Super Bowl contender in August, reeling after a 1-4 start that has included back-to-back blowout losses. This past week, the Ravens were without seven former Pro Bowl players, including two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson, and lost to the Houston Texans, 44-10, in a defeat that tied for the most lopsided home loss in franchise history.
The Ravens started five rookies on defense in that game and Houston scored on its first eight possessions.
A day after the game, head coach John Harbaugh said, “We have a lot of decisions to make,” noting that both personnel and scheme changes could be forthcoming.
Going into their game against the Los Angeles Rams (3-2) at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 12, the Ravens rank 31st in the league in total defense, 31st against the pass and have allowed the most points in the league.
They also rank last in the league in sack rate, and Harbaugh said that the pass rush “has to be better. It has to be better on all three downs.”
To some extent, then, it’s a surprise to see the Ravens ship off Oweh, one of the most accomplished edge rushers on the team. But he has been a major disappointment this season and is set to become a free agent in 2026.
Oweh, 26, logged a career-high 10 sacks last season and is playing this season on his fifth-year option as a 2021 first-round pick. He carries a cap hit of roughly $13.2 million, but in five games, he has recorded zero sacks and 10 total tackles. He has played 45 percent of the Ravens’ defensive snaps this year, the lowest percentage of his career.
With Oweh’s departure, the pressure rises on David Ojabo, Tavius Robinson and second-round rookie Mike Green to step up alongside veteran Kyle Van Noy.
Gilman comes to the Ravens as they desperately look for answers in a secondary that was expected to be one of the best in the league, with five former first-round picks on the roster. But injuries to Marlon Humphrey and Kyle Hamilton, as well as a season-ending Achilles injury suffered by safety Ar’Darius Washington the spring, have compromised the group.
Against the Texans, undrafted rookies Keyon Martin and Reuben Lowery both started, and Lowery, a safety, played every snap.
Gilman, 28, is a former sixth-round draft pick who has started all five games this year for the Chargers, with 22 tackles and three passes defensed. In 2023, he set career highs with 73 tackles and two interceptions, and he has started every game when healthy over the past three years.
Like Oweh, Gilman is set to become a free agent in 2026, but his base salary was just $3.5 million and the Ravens are expected to gain about $7 million in cap space with the deal.
Gilman began his college career at Navy, where he played for one year before transferring to Notre Dame. In 2019, Gilman played alongside then-freshman Kyle Hamilton for the Fighting Irish.
Adding Gilman might allow the Ravens to return to the three-safety looks they have utilized in the past, with Hamilton floating closer to the line of scrimmage. Hamilton is one of the team’s strongest fundamental tacklers and can be disruptive against the run and against bubble screens and other short passes.
Hamilton was one of the seven Pro Bowl players who missed the Houston game, as he is dealing with a groin injury. His status for the Rams game will not be known until later in the week, though Harbaugh said he expected at least some of the injured players to be back.
“We should be in a little better shape than we were,” he said.
NOTEBOOK
RAVENS SIGN GARDNER-JOHNSON: Earlier in the day, the Ravens made another move to bolster the secondary, signing free agent safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to the practice squad. Gardner-Johnson had played three games with the Houston Texans this year but was released after reported friction with his team and a request for a trade.
Gardner-Johnson started 16 games and had six interceptions for the Philadelphia Eagles last season but was dealt after the season to Houston for guard Kenyon Green — who was later cut and has since also resurfaced on the Ravens practice squad.
Gardner-Johnson was a fourth-round pick by the New Orleans Saints in 2019. He was with the Saints for three seasons and has since spent time with the Eagles, Texans and Detroit Lions.
To make room on the practice squad, the Ravens released veteran defensive lineman Josh Tupou.
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