2019 Free Agency: Who’s left for the Baltimore Ravens to sign?
Justin Houston:
If ever there was a time for the Baltimore Ravens to make tidal waves via Free Agency, it would be now. The rest of the NFL world is still recovering from Baltimore signing safety Earl Thomas and running back Mark Ingram within hours of each other. If the Ravens went and added Justin Houston as well, the media would be all over Charm city.
Baltimore had a good feeling that they would lose Za’Darius Smith in Free Agency this year; it’s a common theme for guys like Smith to have breakout seasons in contract years and then go cash out elsewhere. But when the team lost Terrell Suggs, reality hit them hard. Suddenly, a good Ravens pass rush became empty. Baltimore lost its two most productive pass rushers from a year ago.
While Matt Judon remains on the roster and is still incredibly talented, he can’t do it alone. Tyus Bowser and Tim Williams remain on the team, but neither has shown dependability or the traits to be anything more than backups. Some kind of help is needed, as today’s NFL has shown us time-and-time again how important it is to have a good pass rusher.
The 2019 NFL Draft has tons of pass rushing prospects, and it’s a safe bet that the Ravens will take a flier on one-or-more guys. But if Baltimore plans to compete this year, they need a proven commodity. Insert Justin Houston.
Houston has been banged up for the majority of his career, and the Kansas City Chiefs cut him because of his large cap-number that he hasn’t lived up to because of this. Still, at 30-years old Houston remains in his prime and has three-to-four more years of above-average production. Houston has missed five games over the last two years, but still has a respectable 18.5 sacks. That’s more than enough for the Ravens to at least give him a call.
Next. Justin Houston should be Ravens top priority with Terrell Suggs leaving. dark
Beggars can’t be choosers, and the Baltimore Ravens are in desperate need of help across the board. The front office is adept at drafting talent to replace former starters, but this off-season feels much more dramatic than years past. Baltimore has done a good job to bring in two Pro Bowl veterans thus far, but at least one more should be considered. Any of these four would be more than ideal for the Ravens to add to stop the bleeding.