Mink: It's a big bummer to lose Ar'Darius Washington, who was coming off a career year and in line for another prominent role. It won't be the same without him, but, yes, I do think Sanoussi Kane or Beau Brade could fill the third safety role. I liked what I saw from both players in their rookie season last year. They were strong on special teams and both flashed in defensive preseason action.
Kane played in 15 games last season and made nine tackles. He had 22 defensive snaps and 325 on special teams. He's a tackling machine whose 71.2 Pro Football Focus grade ranked 40th in the NFL among all safeties.
After making the initial 53-man roster as an undrafted free agent, Brade played in 11 games and made three tackles. He played 11 defensive snaps and 207 on special teams. Brade showed a penchant for making plays in the preseason. He's looking to be next in the long line of former undrafted free agents to go from special teams maven to defensive Raven.
I don't think either Kane or Brade offer as much versatility, especially to play nickel cornerback, as Washington. Thus, the Ravens could look to add a veteran nickel/safety if there's the right player, right price, and my guess is they will do so before training camp starts. That player would compete for snaps with Kane and Brade behind Kyle Hamilton and Malaki Starks.
Brown: An injury-free training camp and preseason is hard to expect, but the Ravens were relatively fortunate in 2024.
They had just four players who spent the entire 2024 season on injured reserve – Owen Wright, Malik Hamm, Christian Matthew, and Trayvon Mullen. Wright (foot) and Mullen (shoulder) were injured in the preseason finale against Green Bay, while Hamm and Matthew were injured in training camp.
The most recent nightmare scenario for the Ravens occurred in 2021, when J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards, and Marcus Peters all suffered season-ending injuries prior to Week 1. However, many Ravens who will return in 2025 played in every game last season – Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, Kyle Hamilton, Tyler Linderbaum, Nnamdi Madubuike, Ronnie Stanley, Travis Jones, Rashod Bateman, Mark Andrews, Patrick Ricard, Tylan Wallace, Trenton Simpson, Odafe Oweh, and Tavius Robinson. The Ravens were without Zay Flowers (knee) in the playoffs, but he played every game during the 2024 regular season.
The players, coaches, medical staff, and strength and conditioning staff all deserve credit for working hard to keep the Ravens relatively healthy. They will continue to do their due diligence, but there's always an element of luck involved.
Mink: As a big Orioles fan, it's been tough to watch their struggles early this season. You hate seeing managers lose their jobs. It makes me think about how hard it is to stay on top. The Orioles were one of the best teams in baseball the past two years, with a young and talented nucleus and 2023 Manager of the Year. However, that doesn't guarantee success in the years to follow.
Staying at the top of any professional sport is tough. Injuries can derail you, as they have with the Orioles, and superstars can have tough stretches. That's why, even though the Ravens haven't reached their ultimate Super Bowl goals, the sustained run of success they've had, especially during the Lamar Jackson era, is so impressive.
It also makes me think about how critical shrewd free agency moves can be. The Orioles' payroll increased this offseason, but they still aren't huge free agency spenders (kind of like the Ravens). The Ravens' free agent additions have hit big in recent years with Derrick Henry, Kyle Van Noy, Jadeveon Clowney, and more. The Orioles' moves this past offseason mostly haven't panned out yet. Ultimately, I think (and hope) the Orioles will bounce back so long as they reach long-term extensions with some of their young stars, as the Ravens have prioritized.
Brown: They are extremely busy! Some of the people in the draft room are Ravens scouts who have studied these prospects extensively for many months leading up the draft. Their opinions are highly valued by the coaches and the front office staff led by General Manager Eric DeCosta.
I thought it was interesting that right before the Ravens selected Starks, DeCosta wanted some final intel from Director of College Scouting Andrew Raphael and Assistant Director of College Scouting Joey Cleary. Both scouts told DeCosta that Starks was their guy. Not long after that, DeCosta was on the phone, welcoming Starks to the Ravens.
The Ravens also have people running real-time analytics and predictive models in the draft room, such as Vice President of Research & Development David McDonald and Director of Data & Decision Science Derrick Yam.
Coordinators are also in the room, and position coaches are present from time to time as well, especially when considering a player they have studied.
DeCosta often talks about the Ravens' draft being a collaborative effort. It truly is. Those faces you saw in the draft room are intimately involved in the process, and DeCosta believes he has the best scouting staff in the NFL that sets them up for success.
