Three years, $30 million. That’s the contract the Baltimore Ravens signed John Simpson to back in March. Six weeks into the 2026 campaign, and it looks like a disastrous misfire on Eric DeCosta’s part.
Initially, the thought process didn’t seem too bad. The Ravens started Daniel Faalele and Andrew Vorhees at guard in 2025 — literally anyone in those two spots would’ve been better, and a veteran with 72 career starts made at least some sense.
Simpson is better, but how much better are we really talking? He’s coming off an abysmal performance in Baltimore’s Week 6 loss, where he posted a 47.9 overall grade, per Pro Football Focus. And that’s been the story of his season.
$30 million for a marginally better guard is a blunder. The Ravens have to deal with this for at least the next two years, too.
Baltimore Ravens are already paying the price for John Simpson signing
From the moment he signed, the John Simpson contract seemed a bit too lucrative. You have to understand the aggressiveness to improve the guard room, and adding a guy familiar with Lamar Jackson was a plus. However, he’s never been worth $30 million.
At the time, Simpson was coming off a troubling 2025 season. He finished with a 56.9 PFF grade, giving up 29 pressures (20th-worst among guards) and 5 sacks (3rd-worst). Obviously, free agency always drives up the price; however, doing that business to the tune of a three-year contract may eventually come back to bite the Ravens.
It honestly already is. Simpson really hasn’t gotten any better. And actually, he’s been debatably worse.
According to PFF, his overall grade sits at 53.4 (53rd), his pass-blocking grade at 51.1 (57th), and his run-blocking grade at 56.8 (53rd). Ranking outside the top 50 in each department is simply catastrophic.
So far, Simpson has provided more bad than good. When he loses up front, he whiffs badly and loses quickly. He’s allowed 10 pressures and 1 sack, and while the penalty issues haven’t been awful, they’ve lingered.
The 29-year-old has been flagged three times in 2026. Over his seven-year career, he’s drawn 45 penalties, tying for the most among guards since he entered the league in 2020. If history’s any indication, those problems will probably resurface across his second stint in Charm City.
While there weren’t many better options than Simpson in free agency last spring, a player like Isaac Seumalo could’ve been more reliable, and he signed with the 2-4 Arizona Cardinals for just slightly more at $31.5 million.
Simpson could always turn it around — he’s shown he can be a devastating run blocker; he’s just always lacked consistency big-time. Unfortunately, he’s looked worse and worse by the week. It’s early, but that contract is looking downright terrible.
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