As part of their push to make the playoffs, the Ravens want to ramp up their interior pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
Pro Bowl defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike suffered a season-ending neck injury in September, taking away Baltimore's best interior pass rusher. Defensive tackle Broderick Washington Jr. is also on injured reserve.
Acquiring Dre’Mont Jones before the trade deadline gives the Ravens a rusher who can line up on the edge or at defensive tackle, adding versatility to the front seven.
The Ravens believe Jones' presence will create mismatches that work in their favor.
"The good thing about versatility is we can hunt matchups," Defensive Coordinator Zach Orr said. "I anticipate he'll line up more in the interior for us than he did in Tennessee."
Jones played 284 snaps at defensive tackle for the Seahawks in 2023. He played just eight snaps there in nine games for the Titans this season.
Jones is also a physical rusher and had 4.5 sacks in his last four games with Tennessee. While Jones was primarily an edge rusher for the Titans, he described himself as “physical as hell” on Wednesday. Orr wants to utilize Jones' ability to bring pressure from inside.
"I definitely believe that interior pressure is everything when it comes to pressuring the quarterback," Orr said. "You can win clean on the edge, but if the quarterback is able to step up, the rush on the edge means nothing. You ask any quarterback in the league, they don't like when the pocket's getting pushed in their face and they can't step up and move around.
"Interior pressure is key, and that was a key that Madubuike was able to do for us. He wreaked so much havoc pushing the pocket, causing disruption. Dre'Mont's going to be able to add to that for us."
Veteran outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy said Jones will be "very valuable."
"He can literally play every spot," Van Noy said. "I think that's huge being a piece in this defense that is getting to the point where it's positionless and you can put guys wherever and get the job done."
Orr Explains Why Aeneas Peebles Isn't Seeing Game Action
After playing in the Ravens' first five games, rookie defensive tackle Aeneas "Fub" Peebles has been a healthy scratch the past three weeks.
The Ravens envision the sixth-round pick out of Virginia Tech being part of their internal pressure package, but with Madubuike and Washington on injured reserve, Orr explained that they've had to look elsewhere to fill the gaps.
Baltimore's defensive line in recent weeks has been Travis Jones, John Jenkins, C.J. Okoye, Brent Urban, and Taven Bryan. Peebles had three tackles and one quarterback hit in his first five games, in which he played 18% of the defensive snaps.
"Right now, for where we're at as a defense, he's just behind some other guys right now. We need some bigger bodies in there," Orr said of Peebles.
"'Fub' will get his opportunity, and he'll make the most of it. You ask any of our offensive guys and guys in practice who's one of the toughest guys that they go against in practice, who brings it every day with their work ethic and their mindset? It's 'Fub.' So, right now, just that's what we have to do from a defensive standpoint; he's just behind a couple guys. I don't think it's a knock on him; it's just what we have to do right now."
Rookie Keondre Jackson Has Energized Ravens' Special Teams
Undrafted rookie safety Keondre Jackson was moved up to the 53-man roster this week from the practice squad. There's no word on whether he did a flip when he got the news, but he was no doubt excited.
Jackson has made five tackles on special teams in three games. He's added some juice to the special teams unit. After one of his tackles in Miami, Jackson sprung into a flip as he ran to the Ravens sideline.
"This guy is very athletic [and a] very talented player," Special Teams Coordinator Chris Horton said. "He gets so excited by going out there and making plays, and he should be. That energy feeds, and it goes across our team. So, when you do those things, you just keep encouraging them and tell them if you're going to flip, make sure you stick the landing."
Jackson was penalized twice in Miami, so that's something he and coaches are working to buff out.
"This dude loves playing football. I think if you guys turn on that tape, and you watch him play, he's an impactful player in our phase of the game," Horton said. "As a coach, you don't want to take that away from him. But as we continue to move forward, it's my job, as his coach, to help him understand [that] you play to a certain level, and there's a certain edge that you can play to."
Ravens Who Knew Marshawn Kneeland Are Stunned by His Passing
Thursday was a sad day in the NFL community after the passing of Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland.
Ravens cornerback Bilhal Kone, on injured reserve recovering from a knee injury, was teammates with Kneeland during their 2023 season at Western Michigan. Kone posted on social media about how much he was inspired by Kneeland.
Ravens backup quarterback Cooper Rush was teammates with Kneeland with the Cowboys in 2024. Rush was stunned when he heard the news.
"I remember him coming in as a rookie, a focused guy, a really hard worker," Rush said. "You saw that in how he played, always extremely hard. He had a mature way about him. Really sad, just a tragedy."
