The Baltimore Ravens hired Jesse Minter on Thursday. After an extensive search, the team opted to bring the 42-year-old coach back to Charm City. He replaces recently fired head coach John Harbaugh and becomes the Ravens’ fourth head coach in franchise history.
Just as Harbaugh is expected to bring many staffers and players with him to the New York Giants, the same can be said about Minter and the Los Angeles Chargers. There are plenty of Chargers players set to hit free agency in March that could follow Minter to Baltimore. Many of those are on the defensive side of the football.
The most urgent order of business is to improve the team’s pass rush. The Ravens were pitiful in that area in 2025, and they could look to add players like Khalil Mack and Odafe Oweh in the coming months to improve that. However, another pending free agent from Los Angeles that general manager Eric DeCosta could acquire is safety Tony Jefferson.
Tony Jefferson could be an under-the-radar target for the Ravens
It would be a welcome return for the former Raven. Jefferson spent time in Baltimore across four seasons and was a standout starter in two of those. He was also a scouting intern there during his brief retirement in 2023.
On Friday, Jefferson cleared the air on those speculating that he may retire this offseason. The 33-year-old made it clear that he still has plenty left in the tank and plans to play at least two more seasons.
You can read his passion-fueled statement here (warning: explicit language).
There’s no doubt Jefferson can still be a steady contributor on defense. He just had one of his better seasons to date in his 11th-year in the NFL. He was a difference-maker on Minter’s defense, tallying a career-high four interceptions in 2025. With Minter just signing a five-year deal with the Ravens, the timing of Jefferson’s statement could hint at a potential reunion.
Jefferson has spent five years of career on a defense that has had Minter on staff. He was in Baltimore from 2017 to 2019, where Minter was a defensive assistant and the assistant defensive backs coach. Then, Jefferson joined Minter’s defense in Los Angeles for the past two years from 2024 to 2025.
While Baltimore already has safeties Kyle Hamilton and Malaki Starks, they thrived on three-safety looks last season. It allows Hamilton to be a Swiss Army Knife. With Alohi Gilman and Ar’Darius Washington set to hit free agency, the Ravens could find themselves in need of safety depth. Jefferson could help fix that.