Brian Burns and 5 Panthers stars the Ravens could trade for

4. Ravens trade target: Shaq Thompson, LB

The Ravens have been searching for linebacker help for what feels like forever at this point, and it’s clear that the team still has a major weakness at the position.

Despite an encouraging game from Patrick Queen and Josh Bynes in Week 5, the Ravens still need linebacker reinforcements. The team signed veteran A.J. Klein last week to provide additional depth, and while Klein is fine veteran depth, he’s not a solution.

Perhaps the solution to their linebacker problems could come in the form of Shaq Thompson.

Thompson has spent the last eight seasons in Carolina where he’s oftentimes been an overlooked piece in a talented defense. With over 100 career games under his belt, Thompson is exactly the type of talented, experienced linebacker the Ravens need.

And still at just 28 years old, Thompson is far from washed. The former Washington standout has graded out as one of the best run defenders in the NFL with an excellent 80.4 PFF run-defense grade.

That’s exactly the type of player the Ravens could use on their roster. Now, the biggest obstacle would be his contract with Thompson set to earn over $24 million in 2022.

The Ravens would likely need to do some cap finagling to make this work as the Panthers would need to retain some of his salary. But from a talent/roster fit standpoint, Thompson makes a ton of sense.