Two Former Ravens Baltimore Could Pursue Before Trade Deadline
With the trade deadline a week away, The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec looked at which players could be on the Ravens' radar.
Former Ravens defensive end Calais Campbell of the Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans guard Kevin Zeitler are two potential targets who fit the Ravens' "right player, right price" mantra – if they are available, that is.
Zrebiec noted that the Ravens nearly acquired Campbell from the Dolphins before last year's trade deadline and also were interested in signing him this offseason.
"With three sacks and nine quarterback hits, the 39-year-old is having another solid season," Zrebiec wrote. "He'd help the Ravens in several areas. The Cardinals, though, have not indicated that they intend to be sellers, and it's not certain that Campbell wants to be anywhere else in what could be his last NFL season."
Regarding Zeitler, Zrebiec wrote: "Even struggling teams don't traditionally trade quality offensive linemen, because they still want to protect their quarterback and have a functional offense. In other words, there's no guarantee the 35-year-old Zeitler is even available. But it would be a cool story for the Ravens to bring back a popular and productive player from their recent past. Zeitler would represent a significant upgrade, too."
Ravens Are Favored to Win AFC North, but Should They Be?
Despite the Ravens (2-5) trailing the first-place Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3) by two games, they are the betting favorites to win the AFC North. Some pundits agree with the oddsmakers, some don't.
The Ringer's Sheil Kapadia and Diante Lee are believers in Baltimore.
"I saw enough [Sunday] to go, 'All right, even it's one-hamstring Lamar Jackson on Thursday night [against the Miami Dolphins] or for the rest of this stretch here, that's going to be good enough for them to get back on top of the division," Kapadia said on “The Ringer NFL Show.” "I've still got the Ravens in the AFC North. There was such a sense of relief on the sidelines with [Head Coach John] Harbaugh, Kyle Hamilton, Roquan Smith. It really felt like they were playing for their season in this game, and I'm buying it. I don't think it's a one-game thing. I think a month from now, we're going to be talking about them as the definitive AFC North favorites."
Lee said: "We could very easily be looking up and saying for all the consternation over the first five or six weeks of the season, this team ends up being like 10-7 and winning the AFC North going away once their offense is back humming."
Kapadia and Lee both noted that the Ravens' schedule gets easier while the Steelers' gets tougher based on their opponents' records.
While the Ravens found their mojo on Sunday, the Steelers lost their second game in a row. Pittsburgh has allowed 68 points over its past two games and has the 30th-ranked defense and 25th-ranked offense based on total yards.
However, Hall of Fame defensive end Jared Allen strongly disagreed with the Ravens being the division favorites over the Steelers.
"That's ridiculous," Allen said on FanDuel TV's "Up & Adams" show." "[The Ravens] are a fantastic team with all the potential to rip off 10 straight, but the reality of that is slim. If I'm the Steelers, I'm talking about, 'Hey, we didn't play our best complementary football and we're still two games up on our toughest rival in the division.'"
ESPN's Dan Orlovsky also doesn't think the Ravens should be favored.
"I still say that Pittsburgh is the favorite," Orlovsky said on "The Pat McAfee Show," but he added that he was encouraged by what he saw from the Ravens defense against the Bears.
Nate Wiggins' Interception Against Bears Is 'Maybe the Biggest Play of AFC North This Year'
Nate Wiggins' interception in the fourth quarter of the Ravens' win over the Chicago Bears Sunday was the turning point in the game, but if the Ravens go on to win the AFC North, we might look back on Wiggins' game-changing play as a season-altering one.
"There's Nate Wiggins making maybe the biggest play of the Ravens' season, and I don't want to go into hyperbole mode here, maybe the biggest play of the AFC North season this year," ESPN's Peter Schrager said on "First Take."
The Ravens were clinging to a three-point lead with nine minutes remaining when Wiggins picked off Caleb Williams at the Bears' 18-yard-line. Two plays later, Tyler Huntley connected with tight end Charlie Kolar on a 10-yard touchdown pass to put the Ravens up by 10.
A loss to the Bears would've dealt a major blow to the Ravens' playoff hopes. Wiggins' interception kept hope alive.
Schrager said the improved play of the defense, which held the explosive Los Angeles Rams to 17 points in Week 6 and the Bears to 16, has Baltimore's chances trending up.
"For as much maligned as they've been, you come out there [against the Bears], they're in man to man; Roquan Smith is back, he's all over the field against his former team; Alohi Gilman, who they got in a trade from the Chargers, is suddenly playing safety, meaning Kyle Hamilton can move up and play the line of scrimmage and be that chess piece we're used to; and the Ravens defense has suddenly come alive. And guess what? That's all they needed to hang in there."
Speaking of Smith, he was named to Pro Football Focus’ Team of the Week after posting a 90.7 grade.
