Ranking which offensive positions are the most and least pressing to address in the coming months.
The Baltimore Ravens are heading into the 2025 offseason without nearly as many question marks or glaring needs to address as they will have in 2026. A year from now, several starters and key players will be up for new deals if they aren’t extended before then. Nevertheless, in order to put themselves in the best position to get over the proverbial hump and make it to the Super Bowl, they’ll have to address some of their top needs on both sides of the ball.
Here is a ranking of the Ravens top offensive offseason needs from most to least pressing:
1. Left Tackle
Securing the future of who will protect Lamar Jackson’s blindside is the Ravens’ top priority this offseason especially now that they have become more balanced on offense since Todd Monken became the offensive coordinator. Whether two-time Pro Bowl veteran Ronnie Stanley will continue serving in that role with the team moving forward remains to be seen at this time. He is coming off a resurgent season where he appeared in every game for the first time in his career and returned to his former glory following years of being plagued with injuries.
Stanley isn’t just the Ravens’ top pending free agent but he is slated to be one of the top unrestricted free agents regardless of position if he is not retained via franchise tag or extension. According to spotrac, he is expected to command a market value of $20.7 million which is just north of the $19.75 million average he garnered on his first mega-extension. Given that he would be the top offensive lineman available if he were to make it to the open market, that projected price could and most likely would be driven up.
Retaining the stalwart veteran leader of their offensive line, who was one of their top performers in 2024, would ensure a greater level of continuity and all but guarantee he retires a Raven. However, in the event that moving on from him is part of the next stage of the rebuild they began last offseason when they let three starters walk in free agency, finding his replacement would remain of the utmost importance.
The Ravens’ next franchise left tackle could already be on the roster in 2024 second-rounder Roger Rosengarten who shined at right tackle as a rookie but was a blindside protector in college at Washington. They’ve been linked to several of the top offensive tackle prospects in numerous mock draft projections as pundits anticipate them finding Stanley’s successor in the first round.
2. Wide Receiver
Both of the Ravens starting wideouts broke out in 2024 and combined for 1,815 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. Zay Flowers reached the 1,000-yard receiving mark for the first time in his career and became the franchise’s first homegrown Pro Bowler at the position. Rashod Bateman finally stayed healthy and set career highs across the board including finishing second on the team in receiving touchdowns with nine.
All of the Ravens’ other receivers combined to record just 467 receiving yards and four touchdowns. The absence of Flowers in the postseason after he suffered a knee sprain in the regular season finale wasn’t devastating given that Jackson can elevate the game of all those around him no matter who is lined up at receiver. However, there was a noticeable drop-off in production and impact from the position without him.
Upgrading at No. 3 receiver might not seem like a pressing need to some but the postseason showed they are just one injury away from having to alter their offensive approach as the depth chart at the position is currently constructed. If they opt to let Stanley walk, they could use the cap space they would’ve spent trying to retain him to acquire a veteran who provides experience and playmaking ability via trade or free agency. The draft will also present appealing cost-controlled options to choose from at the position in the early-to-mid rounds.
3. Offensive Guard
The Ravens moved on from both of their starting guards last offseason and while the blocking unit as a whole experienced some growing pains early on, they rounded into shape and became a strength down the stretch. Veteran Patrick Mekari played and started the bulk of the season at left guard and is the only one slated to become an unrestricted free agent. After spending the first five years of his career as an emergency backup at all five spots, he might seize the opportunity to seek starting-level compensation which could lead to the Ravens’ most versatile lineman departing for greener pastures come March.
Baltimore experimented at right guard following the departure of Pro Bowl veteran Kevin Zeitler by letting converted tackle Danie Faalele get the vast majority of reps in the summer and training camp and he eventually developed into a Pro Bowl alternate. After spending his rookie season rehabbing from a torn ACL suffered at the NFL combine two years ago, 2023 seventh-rounder Andrew Vorhees opened the 2024 season as the starting left guard until an ankle injury paved the way for Mekari to seize a full-time starting role. Both players will enter the offseason program as the projected starters to open the 2025 season unless the Ravens select a natural guard or tackle with positional versatility high in the draft.
4. Tight End
The Ravens have arguably the best tight end depth chart in the league with three-time Pro Bowler Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar. While they are all set at the position for the 2025 season, all three players are heading into the final year of their respective contracts and are eligible for extensions this offseason. The only player who is slated to be a free agent this offseason is five-time Pro Bowl fullback Patrick Ricard but general manager Eric DeCosta all but confirmed in the end-of-season press conference that they would get a deal done to keep him in Baltimore.
GM Eric DeCosta on FB Pat Ricard: pic.twitter.com/qmvDUqWkTo
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) January 22, 2025
The odds of the Ravens being able or even willing to keep all three of their returning true tight ends in 2026 and beyond aren’t high given some of the other notable contracts they have coming up. With 11 projected picks in this year’s draft and a wealth of talent at tight end, in particular, to select from, the Ravens could find their next primary blocking or complementary receiving talent at the position of the future a year early before it becomes a glaring need. That player would essentially redshirt on offense barring injury and be a primary special teams contributor as a rookie before assuming a larger role in 2026 when one or more of Andrews, Likely or Kolar could be gone.
5. Running Back
The only position group on the roster more secure than the Ravens’ offensive backfield is the one that lines up under center. If it weren’t for Saquon Barkley being the driving force for the Philadelphia Eagles’ Super Bowl run, Derrick Henry coming to Baltimore would’ve gone down as the most seismically impactful addition of any team in the league last offseason. He nearly rushed for 2,000 yards, broke several franchise records and elevated the offense to an even more elite level.
While Henry is only under contract through the 2025 season, he has expressed the desire for the Ravens to be the team he finishes his career with and his 2024 campaign proved he has plenty left in the tank. A short-term extension would make both sides happy and free up some immediate cap space to retain or obtain other talent at more press positions of need.
Behind Henry, the Ravens have veteran Justice Hill who was among the Ravens’ unsung heroes in 2024, a perfect change-of-pace runner and one of the best third-down and obvious passing situation backs in the league. After him, is 2023 undrafted gem Keaton Mitchell who spent most of last season working his way back from a major knee injury and 2024 fifth-round pick Rasheen Ali who mostly saw time on special teams as a kick returner. They also have Owen Wright who was in line to be the No. 3 behind Henry and Hill before suffering a broken foot during the preseason. This year’s draft class at running back is viewed as very deep which could mean that even if they don’t use a pick on one, there’s a strong chance they land a prospect at the position who would normally get drafted in undrafted free agency.
6. Quarterback
The Ravens are blessed with one of the best franchise quarterbacks in the league who is a three-time First Team All Pro and two-time MVP. Since he has proven the fluke injury bug that ended his 2021 and 2022 seasons prematurely is behind having played every meaningful game over the past two years, there’s no reason for the Ravens to invest in a high-end backup. They don’t have the resources to do so even if they wanted to given their more pressing needs.
This leaves them with a handful of inexpensive options that include bringing back journeyman Josh Johnson who Jackson loved working. He could be a quarterback coach in waiting given his acumen and deep knowledge of the game coupled with his relatability to players more than a decade younger than him. The Ravens selected Devin Leary in the sixth round of last year’s NFL Draft as a developmental project for current quarterbacks Tee Martin but he spent his entire rookie season on the practice squad after getting beat out for a roster spot by Johnson.
The team could also look at this year’s draft or the veteran free-agent market to find their an ideal backup for Jackson with a similar dynamic playing style. A rookie to keep an eye on is Alabama’s Jalen Milroe if he’s still on the board on Day 3. A reunion with Tyler Huntley would make sense at the right price. He admirably stepped up whenever his friend and former teammate missed time in the past and even made the Pro Bowl as an alternate.