The Baltimore Ravens may have had the most chaotic offseason of any team. From the highest of highs to the lowest of lows, it’s been an exhilarating roller coaster ride over the past few months. Through it all, they’ve fielded a better roster than what they had in 2025.
The defense has to be excited for the talent that is coming through that door. With the marquee signing of Trey Hendrickson, as well as other contributors like Jaylinn Hawkins and Calais Campbell, they have much more high-end talent and depth. The offensive side has been a bit more hit-and-miss, but more than anything, the Tyler Linderbaum loss is an absolute gut-punch. Still, there’s were some major improvements.
However, not everyone is sold on Baltimore’s moves. In a recent article grading each team’s offseason, FanSided’s Cody Williams gave the Ravens a ‘C’...a bit lackluster. Williams wrote:
“The Maxx Crosby trade rebuff was unlike anything we've seen, and then they followed that up by handing the bag to Trey Hendrickson. There were clearly good moves made by the Ravens this offseason. Vega Ioane should be a home-run draft pick, and Hendrickson bolsters the defense. At the same time, I'm not sure I feel much different about a Ravens team that still is aiming to get over the hump.”
Baltimore Ravens given lackluster offseason grade that might surprise some
A 'C' grade feels a bit harsh. The Ravens certainly had their fair share of losses. It was very annoying to see so many free agents leave, but that was bound to happen, and I feel general manager Eric DeCosta did a good job of working around their losses. They’ve added a good mix of star-power and depth pieces to round out a strong roster.
In Williams’ breakdown, he ranked the Vega Ioane selection as Baltimore’s best move and the Maxx Crosby debacle as the worst move. Both of those are fair takes.
This team needed a sturdy guard, and Ioane is a player who looks to have All-Pro potential. That was likely the top order of business after seeing what Lamar Jackson went through last year. It’s a home-run pick like Williams said, placing a (hopefully) reliable guard in front of Jackson for what should be the rest of his NFL career.
On the flip side, having Crosby in their laps just to end up backing out of the trade hurts. However, it’s tough to look back on it and say that it wasn’t the right decision. Sure, it was polarizing, but instead, the Ravens still got themselves a Pro Bowl-level pass rusher in Trey Hendrickson and kept their two first-rounders (one of which obviously became their “best move” in Ioane).
Even beyond those moves, though, DeCosta pulled all the right strings. Jaylinn Hawkins and Calais Campbell have the makings to be unsung heroes of Baltimore’s defense in 2026; the Chidobe Awuzie re-signing was a sneaky good move, and the best move of all? Hiring Jesse Minter. He could be the catalyst to finally get the Ravens over the hump.
Obviously, there are an overwhelming number of losses. No one’s ignoring that. And in all honesty, the fact that the team didn’t really address the void left by Tyler Linderbaum deserves to take some points off Baltimore’s offseason. But a ‘C’? I think they deserve better than that. Maybe more in the ‘B’ range would feel more fair.
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