Picking up the pieces after the abrupt end to Baltimore Ravens 2019

A few bright spots:

There were a few bright spots. I felt like rookie receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown had a terrific game (seven receptions, 126-yards), and Jackson did make some impressive throws and highlight-reel runs in a (for him) relatively-off game. Brandon Williams was active upfront on the defensive side, and it looked like Chuck Clark and Jimmy Smith had some nice moments (though I’ve been too nauseous to watch this thing again yet to know for sure).

And, also, the Tennessee Titans played like a very good football team. So let’s not pretend they weren’t worthy of winning this game. I’m disgusted by the performance of the Ravens, but I don’t want to minimize a fine performance by the Titans. They played well, and they coached well. They deserved it.

That being said, let’s move on to next season.

I felt going into this past offseason that the 2019 season would be one of mass transition for the Ravens. Jackson would be the day-one starter for the first time in his professional career, and they would be moving forward with young players at a ton of spots after a free agency period that saw the Ravens lose a lot of experience on defense. About halfway through this season, I got excited that they were playing so well, and by the end of the year I felt like the Ravens, Chiefs and 49ers were the class of the NFL.

They fell short of that at the end, but they were a year ahead of schedule the way I saw it. Going into the 2020 season, the Ravens have the vast majority of their offense returning, have locked up some key players with extensions and have more than $30 million in cap space for next year, according to Over the Cap. And their presumed MVP quarterback will be back for year three.

So, where does that money go for next season? What free agents should they go after? Who should they draft? A lot of these things will become more clear in the coming weeks and months, but let’s take a quick look at where they might go…