The Ravens retained one player and lost another on March 19 in the latest free-agency churn. The team announced that it had reached agreement on a new two-year deal with cornerback Arthur Maulet, but that news came a few hours after the Detroit Lions announced they had signed former Ravens right guard Kevin Zeitler.
Maulet, who turns 31 in July, joined the Ravens as a free agent last summer after two seasons with the archrival Pittsburgh Steelers, and he developed into one of the more underrated players in the team’s secondary. He often rotated as a slot defender with safety Kyle Hamilton and had an impact in coverage and as a pass rusher.
Maulet played in 14 games and finished with 34 tackles, one interception, two sacks and five passes defensed. He also played nearly half of the team’s special teams snaps and had three tackles with that unit.
With injuries to Jalyn Armour-Davis, Pepe Williams and Ar’Darius Washington, both Maulet and Ronald Darby were valuable role players behind Marlon Humphrey and Brandon Stephens. Last week, Darby signed a free-agent deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Rock Ya-Sin, another veteran acquisition last season, remains a free agent.
The Ravens’ defense figures to have a significant makeover this season on the field and sideline. The Ravens lost key coaches at all three levels, with coordinator Mike Macdonald moving on to the head coaching job with the Seattle Seahawks, defensive line coach Anthony Weaver taking the defensive coordinator job in Miami, and defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson taking the coordinator job with the Tennessee Titans.
Linebackers coach and former Ravens player Zach Orr succeeds Macdonald as the defensive coordinator, so the Ravens’ scheme will probably remain similar.
Maulet will have a new position coach in Doug Mallory, who succeeds Wilson as the Ravens new defensive backs coach. He spent the past three seasons at the University of Michigan on Jim Harbaugh’s staff.
Zeitler signs with Lions
While Maulet will be returning to Baltimore, Pro Bowl guard Kevin Zeitler will not. The team’s offensive line makeover continued with Zeitler signing a one-year deal with the Detroit Lions.
Zeitler, 34, has been an anchor at right guard for the Ravens for the past three seasons and earned his first career Pro Bowl nod after the 2023 season. He had expressed interest in returning to the team, and general manager Eric DeCosta said the two sides had some discussions, but no deal got done.
The team had added void years to his contract last year to lessen the 2023 salary cap, and when a deadline passed in February with no deal, the Ravens were on the books for more than $4 million in dead money on the cap. At that point, it became a foregone conclusion that Zeitler would hit free agency.
Zeitler becomes the third starter on the offensive line to leave the team this offseason. Left guard John Simpson signed a free-agent deal with the New York Jets, and the Ravens traded right tackle Morgan Moses to the Jets. That leaves just center Tyler Linderbaum and left tackle Ronnie Stanley as returning starters up front.
In Zeitler’s place, the next man up might be fourth-year guard Ben Cleveland, who started two games in place of Zeitler late in the season when Zeitler was dealing with a knee/quad injury. The Ravens also could turn to Andrew Vorhees, the former USC star who spent all season on the Ravens Non-Football Injury list after tearing his ACL at the 2023 Scouting Combine, or second-year guard Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu, who was on the team all last season but did not see any action.
The Ravens are expected to target the offensive line in the draft as well.
“The offensive line is going to always be a preference,” general manager Eric DeCosta said at his season-ending news conference. “I know it’s not a sexy position for a lot of people — my sons included — but it’s a critical, important [position] for our team. We’ll spend a lot of resources and a lot of time talking [about] what that’s going to look like.”
FREE AGENCY TRACKER
Here is an updated list of Ravens player movement thus far in 2024 free agency:
Signed from outside organization:
RB Derrick Henry
Re-signed:
WR Nelson Agholor
LB Malik Harrison
QB Josh Johnson
DL Justin Madubuike
CB Arthur Maulet
DL Brent Urban
DB Ar’Darius Washington (exclusive rights free agent)
Signed by other teams:
DB Ronald Darby (Jaguars)
WR-KR Devin Duvernay (Jaguars)
RB Gus Edwards (Chargers)
QB Tyler Huntley (Browns)
LS Tyler Ott (Commanders)
LB Del’Shawn Phillips (Texans)
LB Patrick Queen (Steelers)
G John Simpson (Jets)
S Geno Stone (Bengals)
G Kevin Zeitler (Lions)
Released/traded:
WR Odell Beckham Jr.
LB Tyus Bowser
T Morgan Moses (traded)
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