Ravens connected to free-agent safety Malik Hooker in rumor
By Justin Fried
The Baltimore Ravens have been connected to a few free agents over the last few months, and one player whose name has come up a couple of times is safety Malik Hooker.
A former first-round pick, Hooker is one of the most talented free agents remaining on the open market. And it’s quite frankly surprising to see him still available in early July.
The Ravens were recently connected to the former Indianapolis Colts defensive back with Todd Karpovich of Sports Illustrated saying that Hooker “makes sense” for Baltimore.
And on the surface, it’s easy to agree with that sentiment.
Malik Hooker does make plenty of sense for the Ravens.
The Ravens aren’t exactly in desperate need of safety help. The likes of DeShon Elliott and Chuck Clark will return in 2021 and they represent a more-than-competent starting duo.
Behind them, third-round rookie Brandon Stephens is expected to make the transition to safety. There are also veteran special teamers Anthony Levine Sr. and Jordan Richards as well as young players like Geno Stone and Ar’Darius Washington.
The Ravens have plenty of safety depth to get by, but that doesn’t mean Hooker is any less intriguing.
The 15th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Hooker has been one of the most exciting, talented young safeties in football when on the field. Unfortunately, staying on the field has proven to be a challenge throughout his NFL career.
Hooker tore his ACL just seven games into his rookie season and later tore his Achilles in Week 2 of 2020 forcing him to miss essentially the entire season.
Again, when healthy, Hooker has been an excellent player. But he’s coming off one of the most severe injuries a football player can suffer and it’s not his first experience with a major injury.
Still, signing Hooker could be just the low-risk, high-reward move the team is looking for. And there’s no telling what he could do in defensive coordinator Wink Martindale’s defense.
Hooker would give the Ravens a true rangy, center field free safety — a role that neither Elliott nor Clark can fill.
With limited cap space, you could certainly make the argument that the team’s remaining money would be better spent on a veteran edge rusher — someone like Justin Houston makes a ton of sense.
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But if the Ravens opt to go in a different direction, they could do much worse than Malik Hooker.