Monday was not a day highlighted in our schedules as one in which we should expect big news, but that was the unexpected case following a season-ending injury turning into a signing and the arrival of a former Steelers player to bolster the cornerback unit.
The day started with the news of former Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marcus Peters signing with the Las Vegas Raiders as a free agent.
The news kept coming when he first heard of the season-ending injury suffered by Nick Moore, who snapped his Achilles and will be out for the year. The Ravens reacted quickly and signed former Seattle Seahawks long-snapper Tyler Ott to fill the hole.
Then, it was reported that Baltimore had reached an agreement with former Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback and free agent Arthur Maulet. Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network first reported the news.
Former Steelers CB Arthur Maulet is nearing an agreement to sign with the Baltimore Ravens, per source.
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) July 24, 2023
Maulet played a lot of slot CB and special teams snaps for Pittsburgh last 2 years. And now he could play against Steelers twice a year.
"Former Steelers CB Arthur Maulet is nearing an agreement to sign with the Baltimore Ravens, per source," read Wolfe's tweet published on Monday, July 24, and announcing the latest signing of the Ravens ahead of training camp.
The Steelers decided to part ways with Maulet this offseason instead of re-signing not entirely because of his lack of talent but rather because of other players arriving in Pittsburgh (Patrick Peterson and Chandon Sullivan via free agency, Joey Porter Jr. and Cory Trice Jr. via draft).
While not an elite-level cornerback, the Ravens might have found a gem available in the open market with Pittsburgh releasing him mostly because of a lack of room in their secondary.
Maulet is entering his age-30 season and will arrive in Baltimore with vast experience, having played for four different franchises since he entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2017. Maulet has played for New Orleans, Indianapolis, the New York Jets, and Pittsburgh through six pro seasons.
The veteran cornerback has yet to start more than half of the games he's appeared in any single season, topping at 17 total games played (last year) and six starts (in 2019 and then in 2022 again). Maulet has logged a combined 1,704 defensive snaps and 720 special-team snaps through his six-year career.
Most importantly, Maulet is considered a through-and-through slot corner, where he's been used by Pittsburgh for the last two seasons. That is, obviously, the last gap to fill in Baltimore's secondary and one that, barring another surprising signing, is now filled and sealed.
Maulet joins the cornerback duo of Marlon Humphrey and Rock Ya-Sin and is expected to man the slot for the Ravens next season with do-it-all sophomore Kyle Hamilton reportedly moving to a full-time use in one of the two safety positions.
The former Steeler and 5-foot-10 corner came out of Memphis in 2017, went undrafted, signed with the Saints ahead of that year's regular season, and already played six games and 107 snaps (all of them on special-team plays) as a rookie.
Last year, Maulet racked up 54 tackles, two sacks, one interception, and one forced fumble. Through his career to date, Maulet has accrued 183 tackles to go with 12 tackles for a loss, three sacks, and a couple of forced fumbles.