Ravens, Lamar Jackson Figure Prominently in Storylines That Will Define the Offseason

With the 2025 season in the books, The Ringer’s Diante Lee looked at storylines that will define the offseason.

The Ravens and Lamar Jackson figured prominently in his outlook. Specifically, Lee raised the question of whether the team and its star quarterback can bounce back from a season that began with Super Bowl expectations and ended with a losing record.

"Baltimore made the difficult choice to turn over its coaching regime this offseason, and hopes new Head Coach Jesse Minter is to the Ravens what Mike Macdonald is to the Seahawks," Lee wrote. "He'll be working with some star-level pieces in safety Kyle Hamilton, linebacker Roquan Smith, and defensive tackle [Nnamdi] Madubuike (assuming he's able to return from his neck injury). And he'll have what Macdonald doesn't, a quarterback in Jackson that can throw on the superhero cape and win games if the defense needs some support. The AFC North is theirs to win in 2026, so long as Jackson and the core pieces of this defense stay healthy.

"Jackson can't afford to have another up-and-down season like this past year's. Though he was battling through injuries, he also wasn't very sharp with ball placement or decision-making early in the season, and people are going to question whether the version of him we saw in 2025 is a look into his 30s—and whether his production will wane with his athleticism. These kinds of doubts have always unfairly hung over Jackson's career, but I do think it's time for him to deliver in the playoffs the way he has during most regular seasons. He's in the same place Peyton Manning was in the mid-2000s—nothing else in his career will matter until he's lifting the Lombardi Trophy."

Lee also looked at names to watch in free agency and star players who are rumored to be on the trade block.

Center Tyler Linderbaum is one of the top pending free agents, but Lee believes it's likely that the Ravens sign him to a market-setting deal, possibly by the NFL Combine, which begins later this month.

Five-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Maxx Crosby is expected to be highly sought-after if the Las Vegas Raiders are willing to trade him, and Lee said the Ravens "would be wise to swing for him."

Ravens Predicted to Reunite With Odafe Oweh in Free Agency

If the Ravens don't swing for Crosby, they could look to sign a veteran edge rusher in free agency.

Fox Sports’ Greg Auman ranked the top 100 players set to hit the open market and predicted where each will land. He had the Ravens reuniting with outside linebacker Odafe Oweh, who was No. 7 in the rankings.

"Oweh, 27, benefited from a change in scenery at the trade deadline, stepping up with 7.5 sacks in 12 games after getting dealt from the Ravens to the Chargers," Auman wrote. "Los Angeles has close to $100 million in cap space, so keeping him shouldn't be a problem — by coincidence, one potential suitor would be the Ravens, who now have Chargers Defensive Coordinator Jesse Minter. Nobody has more cap space than the Titans and landing an elite pass rusher should be high on their list, so bidding could get high if Oweh is deemed the best of the under-30 edge options."

Auman did not have the Ravens signing any other free agent on his list.

Here's a look at where the Ravens' pending free agents ranked and Auman's predictions for where they end up: No. 5 Linderbaum (New York Giants); No. 30. Tight end Isaiah Likely (Cleveland Browns); No. 56. Outside linebacker Dre'Mont Jones (Seattle Seahawks); No. 99. Safety Alohi Gilman (New Orleans Saints).

ESPN Experts Predict Jackson Wins His Third MVP Award Next Season

Only six players in NFL history have won the MVP award three or more times. Two of ESPN’s NFL experts predicted Jackson will join the exclusive club next season.

"Jackson has a full offseason to get healthy and a new offensive coordinator in Declan Doyle," Ben Solak wrote. "When Jackson has a full season to accrue counting stats, he's always in the conversation."

Field Yates wrote: "As a new chapter of the Ravens franchise begins, Jackson will be invigorated by Doyle, considered by many in the coaching ranks to be an NFL head coach soon. In my opinion, Jackson is still the most dynamic player in the game."

Manning has won the award the most times (five), followed by Aaron Rodgers (four). Tom Brady, Jim Brown, Brett Favre, and Johnny Unitas have won it three times.

Sports Illustrated Writer Wants to See Ravens Versus Bears in Next Year's Super Bowl

A Ravens-Bears matchup is becoming a popular early pick for Super Bowl LXI.

As noted in Tuesday's Late for Work, two Andscape writers predicted Baltimore and Chicago will square off for the Lombardi Trophy. Now, Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr is saying Ravens-Bears is the Super Bowl matchup he'd most like to see next year.

"With new coach Jesse Minter leading the way, Baltimore could provide the ultimate headlines for a few reasons," Orr wrote. "One, the Ravens would finally reach the Super Bowl after years of falling painfully short with Jackson, giving him a chance to complete what has been a Hall of Fame career. Then there's Derrick Henry, who like Jackson, has done everything but play in and win a Super Bowl.

"On the NFC side, who would be a better story than the Bears? Chicago hasn't won a championship since 1985. Before that, its last NFL title came in 1963 when George Halas was on the sideline in Wrigley Field, beating Y.A. Tittle and the Giants in frigid temperatures. In 2025, the Bears went from a perennial afterthought to a team showing its growth under first-time head coach Ben Johnson. Chicago won 11 games, the NFC North and then a heart-stopping wild card contest over the Packers, scoring 25 fourth-quarter points to stage a comeback victory. In the divisional round, the Bears took the Rams to the limit, ultimately losing 20–17 in overtime."

Orr said the Doyle factor would add even more intrigue.

"In a specific Baltimore-Chicago matchup, there's also Ravens first-year Offensive Coordinator Declan Doyle facing his old team after coming over from the Bears this offseason," Orr wrote. "Doyle would be facing Chicago Defensive Coordinator Dennis Allen, a man he spent ample time around not only with the Bears, but across four seasons with the Saints from 2019–22."

League Executive Says Minter 'Is Cleanest Fit' of 10 Head Coach Hires

The Athletic asked a panel of nine coaches and executives to rank their top-five head-coaching hires of the cycle. None of the voters are employed by any of the 10 teams that hired a new head coach.

The Ravens' hiring of Minter came in at No. 3.

"Jesse Minter is probably the cleanest fit out of all of them, the closeness to the scheme," said an executive who picked Minter as the best hire. "It feels like they went for a younger version of the coach they had, a mix of John Harbaugh and (former Ravens Defensive Coordinator and current Super Bowl champion) Mike Macdonald. Jesse is a stud. They were able to rewind it in a very seamless way. They're minimizing the transition. That's a really important thing to do when you're making a hire. That's an easy one."

A coach said the following: "The best thing about this hire is the continuity of the organization. It's one of the best, if not the best, overall organizations. Just need to keep defense strong, kicking game elite and figure out getting over the hump with offense."

Minter appeared on six of the nine ballots, receiving one first-place vote, four second-place votes, and a third-place vote.

The New York Giants' hiring of Harbaugh was the runaway winner. He received six first-place and three second-place votes. The Atlanta Falcons and Kevin Stefanski placed second.

Quick Hits

Yesterday's Most Read: Ravens Hire Anthony Weaver as Defensive Coordinator

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