Every year, the Baltimore Ravens are tirelessly praised for their work in the front office. Since its inception in 1996, the organization has reigned supreme in that area. It started with Ozzie Newsome and has continued under Eric DeCosta.
As a result, the Ravens have seen front office members venture off into general manager roles over the years. Phil Savage (2005-2008) and George Kokinis (2009) once took that position with the Cleveland Browns, and more well-known examples are Joe Douglas (2019-2024) and Joe Hortiz (2024-present), who saw promotions to the New York Jets and Los Angeles Chargers.
Pretty soon, it sounds like another valued name could be on a collision course with that dream job: Nick Matteo.
Matteo was recently promoted to Vice President of Football Operations. It’s an expanded role for him, and could be a final step in his rise to becoming an NFL GM.
Baltimore Ravens may be nearing end of partnership with Nick Matteo if rise continues
Nick Matteo has worked in the league since 2010, starting with the NFL’s Labor Operations, and eventually landing as the Senior Director of Labor Operations from 2018 to 2019. Soon after, in early 2019, he joined the Ravens. He began as the Director of Football Operations for two years, took over as the Vice President of Football Administration for five years, and now, he’ll add Vice President of Football Operations to his resume.
It’s a fairly quick rise for the 42-year-old, but evidently, he’s passed every test along the way with flying colors. As he continues to work his way up the ladder, it’s becoming very obvious that a much bigger role could be in his future. Now, being an NFL general manager isn’t for everybody, but he could certainly become one if he wants to.
Matteo was mentioned as a GM candidate during last offseason. Of course, he ultimately stuck around in Charm City, but another year in a bigger role will likely only strengthen his case. If the Ravens return to success in 2026, that buzz should continue to build for Matteo, and at this point, he’s headed down a path for a departure to find that promotion to GM elsewhere.
It wouldn’t be shocking at all if he departed either. The experience working with a Hall of Fame-caliber front office staffer Ozzie Newsome and another uber-successful one in Eric DeCosta is invaluable. And with Matteo being the mastermind behind Baltimore’s consistently strong cap management and contract negotiations, it just feels like he’d make a great GM. That just obviously wouldn’t be the Ravens.
Add us as a preferred source on Google