The Baltimore Ravens are entering 2026 with a very bitter taste in their mouth. They are coming off one of the most disappointing seasons in recent memory. Despite being in playoff contention until the final day, it felt like a complete disaster from start to finish.
This offseason, the Ravens did almost everything in their power to make sure that doesn’t happen again. Sure, moves like the hiring of Jesse Minter are still major unknowns, but they look like a much more complete team. Well, I guess not to everyone.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger isn’t bought into Baltimore. He believes that the Steelers will win the AFC North again (shocker), and that the Ravens are actually a bit of a mess. His remarks on his podcast, Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger, felt pretty tone-deaf.
“I think [the Ravens] are falling apart…feel like their window closed,” Roethlisberger said. “Losing Harbaugh, King Henry’s a year older…What was going on with Lamar last year? He just didn’t see like the Lamar that we’ve been used to seeing. Maybe he was injured. I think he took some shots last year that we didn’t think about, so maybe he’ll have a bounce-back year and be great again.”
Baltimore Ravens given ultimate bulletin-board material by old friend Ben Roethlisberger
Listen, I’m not going to say that the Ravens are going to win the division, and there’s no way that the Steelers repeat. Pittsburgh could certainly win it again. They had themselves an excellent offseason. However, it just feels a bit odd hearing Ben Roethlisberger say the Ravens are falling apart while he has the Steelers winning 12 games.
Baltimore had a very similar offseason to Pittsburgh. They both have a new head coach running the show for the first time in a long time, improved some of their biggest weaknesses in free agency, and made a ton of selections in the 2026 NFL Draft. But for some reason, he thinks the Steelers will impress in 2026, while the Ravens could fall off. There might be a hint of bias in those predictions.
For starters, almost everyone wanted Harbaugh gone. It was clear he was losing the locker room, and after coming up short in heartbreaking fashion year after year, it was time for him to go. There are definitely some concerns about how Baltimore will perform without his leadership, but they replaced him with possibly the most sought-after head coach of the cycle, Jesse Minter. That’s not really falling apart. There's a glimmer of hope there.
Then there’s his Derrick Henry take. Do people ever get tired of questioning if Henry will slow down? I mean, seriously. It feels like every offseason, people ask if Father Time will catch up to the five-time Pro Bowler, and then he goes and puts up one of the best rushing seasons in the NFL.
In 2025, Henry had an unbelievably bad offensive line in front of him, but still put up 1,595 yards on the ground and 16 touchdowns. And now, he could produce even better numbers with an improved offensive front.
Finally, it’s known that Lamar Jackson was dealing with injuries on a weekly basis last season. The two-time MVP has gone on record saying that the hamstring issues actually started in Week 3 against the Detroit Lions, not Week 4 against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Regardless, Jackson was far from 100 percent for the vast majority of 2025. And still, he did his part in keeping the Ravens in playoff contention until the very end. In a fully healthy campaign, he could put Baltimore on a collision course for a big-time rebound. Not a year where they crumble.
Also, look in the mirror. The Steelers re-signed a 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers and hired a polarizing head coach in Mike McCarthy. Your team has its own problems, Ben. Possibly more concerning ones, too.
Of course, it’s all talk from Roethlisberger, but it wouldn’t hurt if the Ravens used this as fuel for a revenge tour in 2026.
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