The Baltimore Ravens are in a much better place in 2026. Saturday night’s preseason win made that blatantly obvious. And so did one other performance from a different team.
The New York Giants and former Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh lost in their preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings 13-10. The most liberating event from that game for Ravens fans? Daniel Faalele’s showing.
Faalele followed Harbaugh to the Giants this offseason, and it took him absolutely no time at all to submit an embarrassing lowlight. Late in the third quarter, the fifth-year pro whiffed on a block in classic Faalele fashion.
I still vote for Aaron Stinnie as backup Guard pic.twitter.com/gvUZhauT12
— Bobby Skinner (@BobbySkinner_) August 15, 2026
The sluggishness out of his stance, the poor footwork, and the inaccurate hand placement…yeah, Ravens fans are all too familiar with that. After seeing that, they’re probably breathing a sigh of relief and telling Giants fans, “I told you so.”
Baltimore Ravens are lucky they don’t have to deal with Daniel Faalele anymore
Luckily, Daniel Faalele isn’t Baltimore’s problem anymore; as the saying goes, out of sight, out of mind.
While Faalele tries to get things to work in a new city, the Ravens are eager to watch their 2026 first-round pick Vega Ioane take off. And as a little extra vindication, Ioane impressed in his NFL debut against the Philadelphia Eagles.
For the Giants, though, the early signs might have them regretting the Faalele signing. That’s another small victory for the Ravens.
This move always felt like an ego signing from Harbaugh. He neglected to take possibly the league’s worst guard out of the lineup in 2025, and decided it’d be a great idea to bring him to the Big Apple. He constantly went to bat for Faalele over the last two seasons, but with the way it’s looking, it looks like strike three is coming right his way.
Of course, New York can easily get out of this Faalele situation. The team signed him to a one-year, $1.4 million contract in free agency, and just $675,500 is guaranteed. If they opt to cut him ahead of the regular season, they’d see $1.075 million in cap savings.
Faalele is also a very reasonable cut. He’s fighting for a backup spot in the Giants’ guard rotation, and veteran Aaron Stinnie and former first-round pick Evan Neal have a fairly decent case for beating him out for that job. Performances like these aren’t going to help.
However, will Harbaugh move on from a player he’s coached for going on five seasons? That’s honestly a fair question. Faalele remained a Harbaugh guy even after Harbaugh departed to coach a new team, so there’s reason to think that the Giants head coach could try to get the desperate experiment to finally work out.
Regardless, the Ravens should be happy they don’t have to deal with Daniel Faalele anymore. The weekly miscues are gone, and there’s a ton to look forward to with Vega Ioane taking his place up front this year.
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