3 high-priority free agents the Ravens must bring back in 2024

The Baltimore Ravens will enter an offseason in which more than one-third of their roster could hit the open market. With so many names possibly leaving town in the next few months, Eric DeCosta needs to figure out which players are absolutely indispensable to the team's cause.

The Ravens have one of the best in the game in Lamar Jackson in his prime, and Baltimore shouldn't try to build with too many young draft picks. They have as good a chance as anyone to unseat the mighty Kansas City Chiefs atop the very competitive AFC in the next few years.

The Ravens may have had the most talented roster in the league from top to bottom last year, and it would be doing many of the remaining players a disservice. If there was ever a season for the Ravens to pay at or above market value to keep some of their own, this is the year.

Baltimore needs to identify this trio of standouts as the clear best players available on the market and work towards new contracts that keep them in Ravens purple. These players will get paid no matter what Baltimore does, so being proactive might be a way to make sure they don't end up leaving for a different contender.

3 free agents the Baltimore Ravens must bring back in 2024

3. OG Kevin Zeitler

After a bit of a nomadic career in which he bounced from underperforming team to underperforming team, Zeitler was one of the main cogs in a Ravens offense that led the league in rushing and helped Jackson win an MVP. Baltimore seems willing to let their experienced guard test the open market.

The offensive line is on shaky ground outside of tremendous center Tyler Linderbaum. The oft-injured Ronnie Stanley could be a cap casualty at left tackle, Morgan Moses isn't safe at right tackle, and left guard John Simpson is a free agent. Zeitler coming back, even on a multi-year contract, is worth its weight in gold due to the stability he brings.

The Baltimore Ravens need to sign Kevin Zeitler

Given his age, it will be very unlikely that a one-year deal for Zeitler would cross into eight-figure territory. Still, the fact that Baltimore was unable to get a deal hammered out with him at the same time when they inked Nelson Agholor to a one-year contract shows the state of negotiations between the two parties right now.

In a league where good offensive line play is getting thinner with each passing season, a team that hinges its entire offensive identity on beating the stuffing out of teams with a vicious running game needs to get one of the best road graders in the league back in Baltimore as soon as possible.