**BALTIMORE RAVENS**
(Sunday, Dec. 20, 1 p.m. at Acrisure Stadium; and Week 18 TBD at M&T Bank Stadium)
**Coaching:** HC: Jesse Minter; OC: Declan Doyle; DC: Anthony Weaver; STC: Anthony Levine
**2025:** 8-9, second in AFC North Division (16th total offense; 24th total defense)
The Ravens matched three other teams with an NFL-high six Pro Bowlers last season, but were the only team of those four not to have made the playoffs. Off to a shaky 1-5 start, thanks in part to a myriad of injuries to QB Lamar Jackson, the Ravens righted the ship after a bye week by winning five in a row. The streak ended with division losses to the Bengals and then the Steelers, but the Ravens had a chance for redemption the last week of the season. At home against the Steelers, the Ravens needed a win for the division crown, but instead missed a 44-yard field goal on the final play of the game. The loss not only cost the Ravens the division title, but also the playoffs, a winning record, and their coach of 18 years, John Harbaugh. He was fired and replaced by Jesse Minter, the defensive coordinator for the Chargers the last two seasons.
**Key returnees**
\* SS Kyle Hamilton was named to the Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro after finishing second on the team with 105 tackles. It was the fourth-year pro's third Pro Bowl and All-Pro selection.
\* MLB Roquan Smith led the Ravens with 130 tackles and was named to his third consecutive Pro Bowl. It was the eighth-year pro's fourth Pro Bowl selection.
\* WR Zay Flowers led the Ravens with career-high 86 receptions and 1,211 receiving yards, and tied for the team lead with 5 receiving TDs. He was named to the Pro Bowl for the second time in his three NFL seasons.
\* WLB Teddye Buchanan started 13 games and finished third on the team with 93 tackles in being named to the All-Rookie Team. The fourth-round draft pick out of Cal tore an ACL last December and missed the final three games.
**Key losses**
\* C Tyler Linderbaum signed a blockbuster deal with the Raiders in free agency after the fourth-year veteran was named to his third consecutive Pro Bowl. Massive blow to the Ravens' interior.
\* TE Isaiah Likely signed a three-year deal with the Giants in free agency. Likely was the first of four starters (along with one reserve) to follow Harbaugh to the Giants.
\* FB Patrick Ricard signed a two-year deal with the Giants in free agency. The 300-pound back ranks among the very best at his position in the NFL, so it's another critical blow to the Ravens' running game. Last season ended with Ricard's sixth Pro Bowl.
\* P Jordan Stout signed a three-year deal with the Giants in free agency. Stout led the NFL in net punting average (44.9) and was named to the Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro.
**Offseason additions**
\* OLB Trey Hendrickson was signed away from the Bengals in free agency. Hendrickson, who'll turn 32 in December, signed a four-year contract after the Ravens had failed to pass Maxx Crosby's physical following a trade with the Raiders. Hendrickson struggled with a hip/pelvis injury last season after back-to-back 17.5-sack seasons.
\* G John Simpson was signed away from the Jets in free agency with a three-year contract. Simpson will replace Daniel Faalele at right guard as the Ravens reconfigure the interior of their offensive line. Faalele signed a one-year contract with the Giants on April 8. Simpson led all NFL offensive linemen last season with 106 penalty yards.
\* FS Jaylinn Hawkins signed a two-year contract after intercepting four passes for the Patriots last season. The Ravens prefer playing three safeties and Hawkins allows them to move Hamilton closer to the line of scrimmage.
\* TE Durham Smythe was signed away from the Bears on the second day of free agency. The blocking tight end follows new Ravens offensive coordinator Doyle from Chicago.
**Days 1 & 2 draft picks**
Round 1: G Vega Ioane, Penn State, will probably take over for Andrew Vorhees at left guard to complete the overhaul along the interior. The powerful, 320-pound Ioane was called a "prototypical guard for physical run schemes" by NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein.
Round 2: OLB Zion Young, Missouri, was first-team All-SEC with 6.5 sacks and 16.5 tackles-for-loss last season. Young gives the Ravens another young pass-rusher – along with last year's second-round pick Mike Green – to develop behind Hendrickson and Tavius Robinson. The Ravens' 30 sacks last season were the third-fewest in the league.
Round 3: WR Ja'Kobi Lane, USC, is a 6-4 1/2 red-zone specialist who'll compete with fourth-round pick Elijah Sarratt of Indiana for work behind Flowers and Rashod Bateman.
**Familiar face**
Skylar Thompson is the Ravens' No. 3 quarterback behind Jackson and Tyler Huntley. Thompson was the Steelers' proverbial "fourth arm" at training camp last season, but played so well in the preseason (41 of 50 for 498 yards, 4-1 TD-INT, 126.5 passer rating) that he was one of four QBs to make the roster. Thompson, though, suffered a hamstring injury in a September practice and was placed on Injured Reserve for the season. The free agent was signed by the Ravens on May 26.
**Matching up with the Steelers**
The team with the best average yards per carry in the league last season (5.3) is in danger of having its offensive identity wiped away with the loss of its interior line, All-Pro lead-blocking fullback, and the aging of Derrick Henry (32). The Ravens even have a new coaching staff, so perhaps they won't be the same Ravens. They did, though, draft a block of granite in the first round in Ioane. He'll play one guard spot, free agent Simpson will play the other, and a pair of free agents who were reserves with their respective teams last season will compete at center. The Ravens' once-proud special teams are also in question with the loss of Harbaugh, who came up the coaching ranks as a special teams coach/coordinator. He took his prize punter with him to Gotham, while the placekicker remains the infamous Tyler Loop, he of the missed 44-yarder to win the division. The defense is reliant on a 31-year-old pass-rusher coming off an injury who's had his run defense perpetually questioned by those who study analytics. Aside from Hendrickson, the question on defense is the health of former Pro Bowl tackle Nnamdi Madubuike, who suffered a neck injury in the second game and missed the remainder of last season. Similar to Broderick Jones of the Steelers, Madubuike is "trending in the right direction," according to his coach this spring.
Tyler Loop after missing a 44-yard field goal that would've won the division for the Ravens