John Simpson
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Former New York Jets offensive lineman John Simpson.
The Baltimore Ravens left little to the imagination with their intentions for free-agent offensive guard John Simpson when they signed him to a 3-year, $30 million free-agent contract on March 9.
Simpson, 6-foot-4 and 330 pounds, is being counted on to not only start but be a high-impact player for the Ravens, who watched their offensive line struggle mightily to protect 2-time NFL MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson in 2025.
The only problem? Simpson might not be up to the task and could represent a massive overpay by the Ravens. Pro Football Focus called Simpson one of its “Least Favorite” free-agent signings in the 2026 cycle.
It’s Simpson’s 2nd stint with the Ravens after playing for them in 2022 and 2023.
“Simpson returns to Baltimore after two seasons with the New York Jets, but this time, he will not have center Tyler Linderbaum by his side,” PFF’s Zolton Buday wrote. “Simpson has earned a PFF overall grade above 60.0 just once in his career: in 2024, when he ranked 11th among guards with a 77.3 mark. Unless Simpson can get back to that level in 2026, this seems like an overpay by the Ravens.”
In 2025, Simpson was pretty bad, actually, and his 56.9 overall grade from PFF ranked him 54th out of 81 eligible players at his position.
Ravens Overpaid for John Simpson By How Much?
There was a massive difference between the projected market value for Simpson and the money he actually ended up with.
Spotrac projected Simpson in line for a 1-year, $6.3 million contract — the Ravens went way, way past that for some reason.
The Jets actually received some rare (very rare) praise for letting Simpson go in free agency.
“Simpson’s departure leaves New York with an immediate hole at left guard, which they will need to address in free agency, the draft, or both,” Jets X-Factor’s Connor Long wrote. ” … While retaining Simpson would have made sense, the Jets ultimately made the right decision to let him walk. Simpson thrived in his first season as a Jet, earning a stellar 77.3 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, which was the fourth highest among all left guards. However, in 2025, he took a significant step back.”
Ravens Saw Success With John Simpson in Lineup
Simpson did nothing short of bringing his career back to life in his 2 seasons in Baltimore.
Drafted in the 4th round (No. 109 overall) of the 2020 NFL draft after winning 2 College Football Playoff national championships and earning All-American honors at Clemson, Simpson played his 1st 3 seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders before he was released in December 2022.
Signed to the Ravens’ practice squad just 10 days later, Simpson didn’t play a regular-season game for the Ravens in 2022 but signed a reserve/futures contract in January 2023 and started all 17 games for Baltimore that season as they went 13-4, earned the No. 1 seed in the AFC and lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.
That 1 season has led to a financial windfall for Simpson. Through his first 4 seasons in the NFL with the Raiders and Ravens, Simpson had roughly $3 million in career earnings.
Over his next 5 seasons with the Jets and Ravens, he will have made approximately $50 million.