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The original was posted on /r/nfl by /u/issue9mm on 2025-08-08 13:46:45+00:00.
Baltimore Ravens Division: AFC North
Coaching Changes
If there was a coaching narrative during the 2024-2025 season, it was around what in the hell was going on with the pass defense. For the early half of the year, despite some stellar individual performances, Ravens were the 32nd ranked pass defense in the league. It was bad, and it was directly responsible for a couple of Baltimore’s most embarrassing losses.
So it was probably unsurprising when, at the bitter conclusion of the 2024-2025 season we brought in coach Chuck Pagano to shore up the secondary. On the other hand, it was a little bit surprising seeing long-time Harbaugh assistant Chris Hewitt walk out the door on the heels of that news.
Hewitt had been with Harbaugh back in his University of Cincinatti days, and had been with the Ravens in various positions since 2012. In the coaching world, 13 seasons is many lifetimes.
Outgoing coaches
| Coach | Position | Destination |
|---|---|---|
| Chris Hewitt | Pass Defense Coordinator | Indianapolis Colts |
| Doug Mallory | Defensive Backs Coach | Nowhere |
| Mark DeLeone | Inside Linebackers Coach | Nowhere |
It’s hard to grade these, honestly. I certainly understand the likely reasons for Hewitt and Mallory’s exits, but given that we were able to turn things around midway through last season after some on-field personnel changes, I wouldn’t have thought it strictly necessary.
Either way, Hewitt got a promotion in the exchange, and the other two are currently unemployed, so my grades would probably be inversely commensurate to those facts.
Incoming coaches
| Coach | Position |
|---|---|
| Chuck Pagano | Sr. Defensive Assistant/Secondary Coach |
| Donald D’Alesio | Defensive Backs Coach |
| Matt Pees | Assistant Linebackers Coach |
| Tyler Santucci | Inside Linebackers Coach |
Chuck Pagano – A
As soon as Chuck was announced, it felt like a stellar hire. Chuck is a seasoned and experienced leader of men who has achieved at high levels in the NFL, and brings a level of experience that may be the only thing missing from Zach Orr.
Donald D’Alesio – A+
In the two seasons that D’Alesio coached for the Kansas City Chiefs, they won two Superbowls, and he got one promotion from defensive assistant to safeties coach. Now he replaces Doug Mallory as DB’s coach.
Matt Pees – B+
Reflexively, this felt like nepotism, but Matt has done a fair job of establishing himself by bolstering two dramatically improved defenses under his command, including the league’s largest year-over-year defensive improvement since 1982 with the Atlanta Falcons.
[Tyler Santucci] --(www.baltimoreravens.com/team/…/tyler-santucci) – B-
Frankly, I don’t know this guy all that well, so he’s earned the low grade based predominantly on the fact that the Lions previous LBs coach (Kelvin Sheppard) got promoted to head coach instead of taking this position. This could turn out either way, and Santucci turned a last-place D-line to sixth-ranked in the span of a single year, so there’s plenty of cause for optimism.
Free Agency
Players lost/cut
| Player | Position | New Team |
|---|---|---|
| Eddie Jackson | S | Free Agent |
| Michael Pierce | NT | Retired |
| Marcus Williams | S | Free Agent |
| Arthur Maulet | CB | Free Agent |
| Josh Jones | OL | Seahawks |
| Chris Board | LB | Giants |
| Josh Tupou | NT | Free Agent |
| Kristian Welch | LB | Packers |
| Malik Harrison | LB | Steelers |
| Josh Johnson | QB | Commanders |
| Brandon Stephens | CB | Jets |
| Qadir Ismail | TE | Raiders |
| Tre’Davious White | CB | Bills |
| Desmond King | CB | Free Agent |
| Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu | OL | Seahawks |
| Christian Matthew | CB | Free Agent |
| Trayvon Mullen | CB | Free Agent |
| Patrick Mekari | OT | Jaguars |
| Justin Tucker | K | Free Agent |
| Owen Wright | RB | Free Agent |
| Nelson Agholor | WR | Free Agent |
| Diontae Johnson | WR | Browns |
| Steven Sims | WR | Seahawks |
| Deonte Harty | WR | Free Agent |
| Chris Wormley | DE | Free Agent |
Don’t let that look like as long a list as it is. Most of the players departing weren’t wanted back, or were depth components. Secondary to that, probably the next-most important fact is that most of the team’s starters stuck around, and that no particular position group was largely impacted by a major loss.
Patrick Mekari’s loss could prove painful, but it honestly always felt like a matter of time before he picked up a bag somewhere. Mekari was too valuable in too many ways to keep taking team-friendly deals, but having shown that he is a competent starter at multiple positions was finally recognized by outsiders, so Jacksonville picked him up for RG and paid him handsomely for the pleasure.
Michael Pierce’s retirement was perhaps a bit of a surprise, but going out with a positive highlight is probably all anyone can ask for, and his spot will be filled (at least in part) by John Jenkins, so I’m prepared to call that a ‘push’ until we see otherwise.
Relatedly, while it’s definitely not a given that Brent Urban makes the 53-man roster, he originally left the team and then came back (I had to delete his name from the “Players lost” table,) and is now adorably wearing the number of his long-time friend, Michael Pierce.
Beyond that, the most notable departures were the maligned Brandon Stephens, whom I think most were happy to see go – I personally think he has a chance to turn it around, and suspect that his failures were at least partially attributable to the coaching changes we’ve corrected for but again, only time will tell – oh, and Kicker Justin Tucker, but more on that later.
| Player | Position | Old Team | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cooper Rush | QB | Cowboys | 2yr / $6.2m |
| Jake Hummel | LB | UDFA (Iowa State) | 1yr / $1.2m |
| Chidobe Awuzie | CB | Titans | 1yr / $1.25m |
| DeAndre Hopkins | WR | Chiefs | 1yr / $5m |
| John Jenkins | NT | Raiders | ??? |
| Jaire Alexander | CB | Packers | 1yr / $6m |
- Players Extended *
| Player | Position | Extension |
|---|---|---|
| Derrick Henry | RB | 2yr / $30m |
| Rashod Bateman | WR | 3yr / $36.75m |
Josh Johnson was upgraded with Cooper Rush, and John Jenkins replaced the retiring Michael Pierce, but the big additions here are DeAndre Hopkins and Chidobe Awuzie.
Chidobe likely replaces Brandon Stephens’ vacancy, and if he’s healthy, he’ll likely be acceptable there. I think at his age he’s unlikely to replicate Stephens’ athleticism, but Stephens was getting beat largely by mental errors that Awuzie is much less likely to make.
The day after Lamar challenged Eric DeCosta to go get Jaire Alexander, DeCosta delivered, and Jaire was publicly signed. Clearly this move had quietly been in motion for awhile, but it was kind of shocking how no announcements or rumors or leaks had implied anything before this, but when healthy, this move likely makes Baltimore one of the preeminent secondaries in the league, and all that under the helm of new secondaries coach Chuck Pagano.
On the offensive side, DeAndre Hopkins comes aboard ostensibly as the #3 WR, but I think he’s got more in the tank than his 1 year, $5 million contract represents, and while I would be surprised to see him lead the team in yards or targets, I would not be shocked if he led in receiving TDs or contested catches.
Barring injury, this will easily be the most accomplished receiving corps that Baltimore will have had in the Lamar Jackson era, and that could signal even more excitement.
Draft
| Round | Number | Player | Position | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 | Malaki Starks | S | Georgia |
| 2 | 54 | Mike Green | EDGE | Marshall |
| 3 | 91 | Emery Jones, Jr | OT | LSU |
| 4 | 129 | Teddye Buchanan | LB | Cal Berkeley |
| 5 | 141 | Carson Vinson | OT | Alabama A & M |
| 6 | 178 | Bilal Khone | CB | Western Michigan |
| 6 | 186 | Tyler Loop | K | Arizona |
| 6 | 203 | LaJohntay Wester | WR | Colorado |
| 6 | 210 | Aeneas Peebles | DT | VA Tech |
| 6 | 212 | Robert Longerbeam | CB | Rutgers |
| 7 | 243 | Garrett Dellinger | G | LSU |
Other Offseason News
Justin Tucker – By basically any way you look at it, Justin had a pretty down season. Kicking-wise, he was arguably the weakest link on the team during certain games, and you wouldn’t be alone if you wanted to hold the opinion that he was the primary reason for at least a few of last season’s losses. While he seemed to largely straighten out his kicking performances for the season’s third act, he had been so bad for a stretch that fans were loudly wondering just what in the hell was going on.
By the end of the season, it seemed almost expected that some revealing news would drop about him, and well, it did.
Investigative Reporter Justin Fenton dropped some pretty massive allegations that Tucker had been engaged in extremely inappropriate sexual behavior during physical therapy sessions with a number of masseuses and physical therapists. As I am writing this, there are [16 known allegations](w…
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