OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Baltimore Ravens’ season had ended roughly 60 hours earlier, and general manager Eric DeCosta indicated that he had already moved on. He started watching tape of draft-eligible prospects this week. He began conversations with the personnel staff about some of the key decisions the team faces this offseason.
The NFL schedule doesn’t stop for anyone, and as difficult as Sunday night’s 27-25 loss to the Buffalo Bills in the AFC divisional round was for the Ravens, there’s no time to wallow.
“We’re all disappointed. Our team is disappointed,” DeCosta said in Wednesday’s end-of-season news conference at the Under Armour Performance Center. “We had higher aspirations, and we didn’t achieve those aspirations and goals, but I think it was a successful season. I’m very proud of the team, the players, coaches, support staff, everybody, and I’ve already moved on. I love being a part of the solution, and that’s what we’ll be.”
GO DEEPER
Ravens pack their bags, say goodbye to another season that ends prematurely
The Ravens’ decision-makers haven’t had their annual summit at the South Florida home of owner Steve Bisciotti. They haven’t yet engaged in conversations with the representatives of their myriad pending free agents. Draft prep is in its preliminary stages.
And even if they had definitive answers to the offseason’s biggest questions, DeCosta plays things close to the vest anyway. He’s not going to tip the organization’s hand on the third day of the offseason.
Yet, a common theme still emerged from Wednesday morning’s news conference. The team expects some changes. They are inevitable in the NFL, particularly with organizations like the Ravens, who are perennially up against the salary cap. Baltimore could have as many as 17 unrestricted free agents, so there will obviously be a wave of departures.
However, in terms of many of the Ravens’ most notable decisions, DeCosta and coach John Harbaugh sure made it sound like Baltimore plans to run it back with as many of its coaches and players from the 2024 team as possible. The disappointing ending, which marked the fifth time in seven years that the Ravens were knocked out of the playoffs in either the divisional- or wild-card round, wouldn’t spur knee-jerk reactions and/or massive changes.
“They did everything they could do in terms of every single day. Now our job is to do everything we can do in the offseason, like Eric said, to improve our football team in every way — coaching staff, scheme, players, how we operate, everything we can do,” Harbaugh said. “Every single thing we can do to try to be better next year and what we present to our guys, and then them taking another step forward, individually, all of our players.”
Harbaugh is heading into the final year of his contract, so his status figures to be one of the decisions Bisciotti has to make this offseason. The Ravens owner’ has made clear in the past that he doesn’t think it’s fair to have a “head coach” get to lame-duck status. So, at some point this offseason, the Ravens and Harbaugh figure to talk about a contract extension. Wednesday wasn’t that day.
“I talk to Eric every day. I talk to Steve every day — not every day. Steve wouldn’t talk to me every day. I talk to (Ravens president) Sashi (Brown) about every other day, but I’m happy, man,” Harbaugh said. “I’m happy, and however that goes, I trust God. I trust the people I work with every day who I love, who are my friends, but more importantly, we’re on a mission together. And as long as that goes, as long as God permits that to go, I’m all about it. I’m fired up for it, and I’m not worried about those kinds of things. They take care of themselves.”
The team’s group of pending unrestricted free agents includes starting left tackle Ronnie Stanley, starting left guard Patrick Mekari, Pro Bowl fullback Patrick Ricard and starting cornerback Brandon Stephens. Stanley is the team’s biggest free agent, but he also turns 31 in March and his injury history is well-documented. Otherwise, the Ravens don’t have as blockbuster of a free-agent class as they’ve had in recent seasons.
“Not as many tough decisions this year, which I’m thankful for, but obviously, as we look out, we’ll have some tough decisions after next season,” DeCosta said. “A year from now, we’ll have some tough choices and decisions to make regarding players.”
DeCosta said the team would have talks with both Stanley and Mekari about retaining them and acknowledged that solidifying the offensive line would again be an offseason priority. He said the goal would be to re-sign Ricard, but it sounds less likely that the Ravens will keep Stephens, who struggled in 2024. DeCosta said he expects Stephens to gauge his value on the free-agent market.
Beyond that, Baltimore will spend considerable time on keeping its own players. That applies to potential extensions with standout center Tyler Linderbaum and safety Kyle Hamilton, who are eligible for new deals this offseason. Getting Linderbaum and Hamilton extended would be a coup for the organization in the coming weeks.
DeCosta also said he’ll look at a potential extension for running back Derrick Henry, who has one year left on the deal he signed with the Ravens last offseason. Extending Henry, while lowering his nearly $13 million salary-cap number for 2025, could help create some financial flexibility for Baltimore.
“Derrick proved he had a lot left in the tank. We’ll look at that… I’m so grateful Derrick chose us last year.”
GM Eric DeCosta on RB Derrick Henry: pic.twitter.com/kOb9Fb1SB4
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) January 22, 2025
“I’m just so grateful that Derrick chose us last year,” DeCosta said. “I can honestly just say his attitude and the way that he played was amazing to watch. His relationship with his teammates, his humility as a player, his work ethic — I can’t wait to see him next year. I know it was tough on him to end the way it did, tough on all of us. But I think we have a chip on our shoulders to come back next year with a vengeance, to start faster than we started this year, to not start 0-2 next year, to get out of the gates faster. I think Derrick will be a big part of that.”
DeCosta left little ambiguity about the status of kicker Justin Tucker, whose struggles were a prominent talking point for a chunk of the season. Tucker set a career high with eight missed field goals this season and tied a career high with two missed extra points. Tucker, though, didn’t miss a kick for the last six weeks of the season.
The 35-year-old kicker is still under contract for three more years and DeCosta said he fully expects the seven-time Pro Bowler to be with the team going forward.
“I think Justin’s going to go down as, if not the best kicker of all time, one of the best, and I think he finished the season strong,” DeCosta said. “We’ll have those discussions, but I have every expectation that Justin’s going to be a great kicker for us next year and moving forward.”
The first question DeCosta and Harbaugh received in an approximate 45-minute news conference concerned tight end Mark Andrews, whose mindset and future with the team are suddenly in question. Andrews hasn’t made himself available to reporters after he lost a fumble in the fourth quarter and then dropped the potential game-tying two-point conversion later in the game in the loss to the Bills.
Beyond his response to that, there’s also the matter of whether the Ravens address the contract of Andrews this offseason. The 29-year-old has one year left at a cap hit of $16.9 million. His situation is complicated by the fact that the Ravens’ other two tight ends, Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar, are eligible for free agency next season, just like Andrews.
Paying two tight ends big bucks could be prohibitive for a cash-strapped Ravens team. But moving on from Andrews would also cost Baltimore its all-time leader in receiving touchdowns and Lamar Jackson’s favorite target and one of his closest friends.
“Mark Andrews is a great football player, and he’s also a very tough-minded individual. So, yes, he takes it hard because he cares so much,” Harbaugh said. “I love Mark Andrews. Eric loves Mark. All of our players love Mark. Mark is a huge part of our future. And we love him, and we’re there for him. But if anybody can take a tough circumstance like that and handle it with class and grace and dignity and mental toughness, it’s most definitely Mark Andrews.”
GO DEEPER
Appreciate Lamar Jackson’s brilliance, even if football cruelty dealt Ravens a loss
Other end-of-season notes
• Harbaugh said veteran Dean Pees, who was hired in October as a senior adviser, will stay with the organization as a consultant but won’t have the everyday role he had this season.
• Harbaugh said wide receiver Zay Flowers, who missed the team’s two playoff games because of a knee sprain, was trending in the right direction to play in the AFC Championship if the team had advanced. Harbaugh, however, didn’t dismiss the possibility that Flowers could need an offseason procedure on the knee.
• DeCosta weighed in on some of the playoff criticism of Jackson: “I can say there’s no player I’d rather have on my team than Lamar Jackson. I think he’s the best quarterback in the league.”
• DeCosta said he knew there was some risk in trading for disgruntled wide receiver Diontae Johnson, but he felt it was a risk worth taking given the modest price to acquire him. DeCosta did blame himself for the ill-fated Eddie Jackson addition, saying he didn’t put enough weight on the possibility that the safety wouldn’t accept a backup and special teams role.
(Photo: Julia Nikhinson / Associated Press)
