While the Baltimore Ravens lost more talent than they would’ve liked this past offseason, they were at least able to retain one player who brings starting value. Chidobe Awuzie chose to stick in Charm City, signing a one-year, $5 million deal back in March.
Awuzie was one of the Ravens’ only consistent contributors on defense in 2025. While most of the unit struggled, Awuzie brought everything he had to the table week after week. He had a really good season, and it’s easy to understand why Eric DeCosta brought him back.
However, while it seems to be a safe move based on contract value and recent production, it may be riskier than some fans realize. At 31 years old, can Awuzie do enough to remain starting-caliber, or will the regression curve start to set in?
Baltimore Ravens are risking a Chidobe Awuzie regression in 2026
While he only logged five starts in 2025, Chidobe Awuzie saw starting-level snaps. He was a mainstay in Baltimore’s cornerback room, and he will continue to be so in 2026. The trio of him, Nate Wiggins, and Marlon Humphrey will once again be trotted out onto the field, and under Jesse Minter’s defensive expertise, the group will hopefully be miles better.
The risks are there with Awuzie, though. He just turned 31 years old, and that 30-year age mark usually takes a toll on corners. He defied the odds last year, but he may not be able to do it again. That’s an especially fair question given all the injuries he’s endured throughout his NFL career.
From a hamstring injury to an ACL tear to a groin injury, Awuzie has been through a lot. It’d be the worst-case scenario for him and the Ravens if those injuries start to catch up to him.
Speaking of those injuries, here’s the most alarming stat with Awuzie: he hasn’t had back-to-back seasons where he’s played in 14 or more games since 2018 and 2019. That should be a major concern. And even during his healthy campaigns, it seems he always gets nicked up by the injury bug at some point along the way. Last year, in the midst of a great showing, he suffered a foot injury in Week 15, which undoubtedly played a role in an awful Week 18 showing in a season-deciding game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
For the Ravens, they’ve kind of put themselves in a situation where they cannot afford an Awuzie injury. It hurts whenever one of your starters goes down, but given the state of the current cornerback room, it could get really bad. It’s a deep group, but it’s a rather unproven one.
If Awuzie were to go down, or really any of the top trio, for that matter, who would replace them? T.J. Tampa is probably the top guy, but while he’s shown flashes, he’s been very inconsistent. Then, really, the only pure outside corner option is Bilhal Kone, who is basically entering a redshirt freshman season after a knee injury took away his rookie year. Simply put, there’s uncertainty there.
Ultimately, it was a great decision to bring Chidobe Awuzie back. He undoubtedly deserved a new contract. However, maybe it would’ve been wiser if the Ravens strengthened their depth at boundary corner, looking over Awuzie’s medical history. They might be playing with some fire.
Add us as a preferred source on Google