The Baltimore Ravens had a nightmare 2025 season, by their standards, finishing the year 8-9 and missing the playoffs. That resulted in the team moving on from John Harbaugh and hiring Jesse Minter, and now the Ravens are facing pressure to immediately get back on the right track.
While Lamar Jackson will take the brunt of that pressure, nationally, since he’s a star quarterback, the group in Baltimore facing the most pressure internally is the defense. Not only is the Ravens defense coming off an underwhelming season, the team now has a defensive-minded head coach and one of the most expensive defensive units in the league.
If Baltimore’s defense is once again holding the team back, that would be a serious issue.
most expensive defenses in 2026
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) June 5, 2026
$193.0M - Steelers
$187.4M - Ravens
$177.7M - Bears
$174.7M - Giants
$169.0M - Patriots
$165.8M - Commanders
$159.6M - Seahawks
$148.3M - Titans
$147.3M - Colts
$147.0M - Raiders
$145.5M - Panthers
$142.1M - Broncos
$141.6M - Chiefs
$140.2M -…
Ravens defense will have no excuses in the 2026 season
Warren Sharp took to social media to highlight how much each defense will cost in 2026. Based on the numbers, Baltimore will have the second-most expensive defense this season, worth $187.4 million. That only trails the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are worth $193 million on the defensive side of the ball.
The problem is that Baltimore didn’t play like a defense worth that much last season. Of course, the 2026 defense will look different — namely with the addition of Trey Hendrickson — but the Ravens still had their fair share of defensive stars last season.
Despite names like Kyle Hamilton, Roquan Smith, and Marlon Humphrey, Baltimore’s defense gave up 354.5 yards per game; that ranked 24th in the NFL. The group also surrendered 23.4 points a game, which was 18th in the league. Simply put, the defense let the team down a lot, and the unit was a big reason why 2025 was rough for Baltimore.
In 2026, the group has to bounce back. The hope is that Jesse Minter will help the Ravens do that. Minter most recently served as the defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers, and his work with their defense is what made him such a coveted head coach candidate.
He’s now the person running the show in Baltimore, and because of the talent in the roster, there won’t be much patience for him to have growing pains. That will especially be the case for a Ravens defense that needs to be significantly better.
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