The Baltimore Ravens are entering a new era on the coaching staff under new head coach Jesse Minter, and that trend has followed onto the roster. Baltimore lost a ton of talent in free agency, including key contributors like Tyler Linderbaum, Isaiah Likely, and Jordan Stout. There's going to be a lot of new faces in the building.
As the 2026 NFL Draft approaches, the free agency market will die down, but the trade market could heat up. Teams will look to manage their salary caps, cut bait with players who don’t have much of a future with their respective organizations, and add draft capital. The Ravens could take part in that.
According to John Kosko of Pro Football Focus, Marlon Humphrey might be Baltimore’s most valuable trade asset. A departure could be on the horizon. Kosko wrote:
“The Ravens have a roster capable of competing for a Super Bowl in 2026, and with recent investments in the secondary, Humphrey could emerge as a valuable trade asset. His experience and playmaking ability still carry weight despite a step back in 2025.”
“Humphrey’s coverage versatility and physicality have produced 80.0-plus PFF grades in his peak seasons. With him entering the final year of his contract and set to turn 30 this summer, Baltimore could look to move on and recoup multiple assets to strengthen its overall depth.”
Baltimore Ravens could opt to enter new era without Marlon Humphrey
The writing may be on the wall for the end of Humphrey’s tenure in Charm City. His nine-year career has been nothing short of incredible. Four Pro Bowls and two All-Pros is amazing production from the 2017 first-round pick. However, 2025 was the complete opposite: horrendous.
To be fair to him, Humphrey was dealing with various injuries last year, along with some questionable playcalling from former defensive coordinator Zach Orr. However, many NFL players tend to start their regression curve once they hit 30 years old, especially corners. If the front office doesn’t foresee Humphrey bouncing back, it could make sense to move him and let the new corner generation led by Nate Wiggins fully take over.
If a trade is made, it may not actually make sense to finalize one around the time of the 2026 NFL Draft. The dead cap with a pre-June 1 trade would be nearly $23 million. That wouldn’t be cost-effective. However, the door could be open for a post-June 1 trade, which would see $15.25 million in cap savings. The $11-plus million dead cap in both 2026 and 2027 in that scenario could be very daunting, though, and push Baltimore away from striking a deal.
The Ravens don't necessarily have many investments at corner either. Wiggins is excellent, but outside of him, the team re-signed an aging Chidobe Awuzie and has a slew of unproven depth players. Cornerback is already a need heading into the draft; however, a potential Humphrey trade could make it priority number one.
Regardless, if the Ravens get an intriguing enough package of picks in return, they could entertain the idea. It’s clear Wiggins is becoming the lead corner in that room now, and although a Humphrey bounce-back is completely plausible, it’s also fair to wonder if his time is up. And the draft could be the perfect way to bring in his replacement to pair with Wiggins and Awuzie in 2026.