Ravens free agency tracker 2023: Former Bear Angelo Blackson signs, adding depth to defensive line
Defensive tackle Angelo Blackson: The Ravens added depth to their defensive line on May 24 with the signing of the 30- year-old Blackson, who spent the last two seasons with the Chicago Bears, where he played in 32 games, 12 of them starts. Blackson, a fourth-round pick by the Tennessee Titans in 2015, also had stints with the Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals.
Welcome to the Ravens’ free-agency tracker, which will be updated throughout the offseason.
As of the start of the NFL’s new league year on March 15 at 4 p.m., teams can officially announce signings and trades. Here’s a rundown of who the Ravens have agreed to sign, who they’ve lost and who’s still on the open market:
Free agent additions
Defensive tackle Angelo Blackson: The Ravens added depth to their defensive line on May 24 with the signing of the 30-year-old Blackson, who spent the last two seasons with the Chicago Bears, where he played in 32 games, 12 of them starts.
The 6-foot-4, 315-pound Blackson had 22 tackles in 15 games last season. He had a career-high 43 tackles and 2 1/2 sacks in 2021.
Blackson, a fourth-round pick by the Tennessee Titans in 2015, also had stints with the Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals. In coming to Baltimore, he reunites with Ravens defensive line coach Anthony Weaver, who coached him in Houston.
Quarterback Josh Johnson: The 37-year-old free agent quarterback has signed with the Ravens, the team announced May 22. Johnson has played for an NFL-record 14 teams and this marks his third time with the Ravens.
A fifth-round pick out of San Diego by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2008, he played for Baltimore in 2021 and was on the roster during the 2016 offseason before being released that September. He also gives Baltimore a veteran presence in its quarterback room and will compete with Tyler Huntley, Anthony Brown and undrafted free agent Nolan Henderson for a backup role behind Lamar Jackson, who earlier this month signed a five-year extension worth a reported $260 million.
Johnson has started nine games in his NFL career, though teams were just 1-8 with him at the helm.
Center Sam Mustipher: The Ravens have been without a backup center since Trystan Colon bolted for the New York Jets in free agency this offseason, but they’ve now filled that vacancy with Mustipher.
Mustipher, who spent his first three years with the Chicago Bears, signed a reported one-year deal with the team May 15. It’s also a homecoming for the 26-year-old, who grew up in Owings Mills and starred at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney before going to Notre Dame.
Undrafted out of Notre Dame in 2019, Mustipher surprisingly became the Bears’ center late in the 2020 season, starting the last six games of the year. The following season, he started all 17 but struggled, with a Pro Football Focus grade of just 51 for 2021. Though he improved last season, earning a 63.4 mark from PFF, Mustipher was at best inconsistent, particularly with his pass blocking. He was better with his run blocking, however, earning a 65.5 grade from PFF for a Bears offensive line that had the seventh-best run blocking grade in the league in 2022.
Wide receiver Tarik Black: The Ravens added to their receiving corps on April 19, signing Black after he joined their practice squad in January.
Undrafted out of Texas in 2021, the 25-year-old has appeared in one NFL game, with the Jets in 2022. He caught one pass for 10 yards in New York after spending his rookie season on the Colts’ practice squad.
The 6-foot-3, 217-pound receiver began his college career at Michigan before transferring in 2020 to Texas, where he had 10 catches for 240 yards and a touchdown in six games.
Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.: The Ravens made their biggest splash of the offseason to date on Easter Sunday with the signing of Beckham, a 30-year-old two-time All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowl selection.
The deal is for one year and $15 million, with $13.835 million of that coming in the form of a signing bonus and $1.165 million in base salary and Beckham could make up to $3 million more in incentives, according to multiple reports.
Beckham’s addition is a much-needed boost on multiple fronts. He joins a receiving corps that ranked last in the NFL in receiving yards in three of the last four years. He also has a good relationship with Jackson, something that could go a long way toward the organization smoothing things over with Jackson, who last month requested to be traded five days before the Ravens gave him a nonexclusive franchise tag that he has yet to sign.
There are questions about Beckham’s health, however. He missed all of last season while recovering from a torn ACL, the second of his career, and he hasn’t played in a game since Super Bowl 56 in February 2022. When healthy, though, he has proven to be one of the league’s better receivers. In 2021, he received a 76.5 grade from Pro Football Focus after catching 48 passes for 593 yards and seven touchdowns in 12 games. Over the course of eight years in the league, which included stints with the New York Giants and Cleveland Browns, Beckham has 531 career catches for 7,367 yards and 56 touchdowns.
Linebacker Kristian Welch: A 24-year-old linebacker who played almost entirely on special teams last season, Welch re-signed with Baltimore on April 8, according to ESPN’s Field Yates. He was an unrestricted free agent who wasn’t tendered by the Ravens.
Welch, who signed with Baltimore as an undrafted free agent out of Iowa in 2020, played in all 17 games last season and had three total tackles. The 6-foot-3, 242-pound linebacker played just four snaps on defense last season and will likely serve in a similar special teams role in 2023.
Last season, the Ravens ranked third in the NFL in special teams efficiency, according to Football Outsiders’ DVOA.
Wide receiver Nelson Agholor: The Ravens addressed one of their biggest areas of need March 24, agreeing to a deal with the free agent wide receiver. The one-year contract is worth up to $6.25 million, according to multiple reports.
Agholor, who will turn 30 in May, gives Baltimore and Jackson a much-needed deep threat after spending the past two seasons with the New England Patriots, where he started 20 games and caught 68 passes for 835 yards and five touchdowns. Last season, however, the 6-foot, 198-pound veteran was on the field for just 45% of the Patriots’ snaps and he caught 31 passes for 362 yards and two touchdowns, with most of those numbers being accumulated early in the year.
But Agholor was also an affordable option for the Ravens, who began the day with just over $7.5 million in salary cap space.
Linebacker Del’Shawn Phillips: The 26-year-old linebacker, who was a solid performer on special teams for the Ravens last season, is returning to Baltimore on a one-year deal.
A former undrafted free agent out of Illinois who also spent time with the Atlanta Falcons, Buffalo Bills and New York Jets, Phillips was an unrestricted free agent after the Ravens didn’t tender him.
Last season, Phillips, whom the Ravens claimed off waivers from the Jets last August, appeared in 16 games, tallying five tackles, including three solo. He played only one snap on defense last year.
Running back Justice Hill: The 25-year-old running back, whom the Ravens drafted out of Oklahoma State in the fourth round in 2019, is re-signing with Baltimore on a two-year, $4.5 million deal that could be worth as much as $5 million, his agent Andrew Kessler confirmed to The Baltimore Sun.
Hill, who missed all of 2021 with a torn Achilles tendon, had his most productive year last season, with 262 yards on 49 carries to go with 12 catches for 58 yards in a career-best 15 games. He was also a significant part of Baltimore’s special teams, which included kick return duties.
Cornerback Trayvon Mullen: The 25-year-old cornerback — who was claimed off waivers from the Dallas Cowboys in January and is a cousin of Jackson’s — has agreed to a one-year deal, his agent Kevin Conner confirmed to The Baltimore Sun. No other terms were disclosed.
Mullen, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound corner who was the Defensive Most Valuable Player of the 2019 College Football Playoff national championship game, had 134 tackles, four interceptions and 28 passes defended in 37 games for the Raiders.
Safety Geno Stone: The 23-year-old safety, whom Baltimore drafted out of Iowa in the seventh round in 2020 and was a restricted free agent, re-signed with the Ravens on a one-year deal March 16, his agent Jack Bechta confirmed to The Baltimore Sun.
Stone is coming off a solid year in which he played in all 17 games, including seven starts. He had 38 tackles and one forced fumble on the season and earned a 69.6 overall grade from Pro Football Focus in the games he started, allowing just eight catches as the primary defender in coverage during that span.
Free agent losses
Guard-center Trystan Colon: The New York Jets signed the 24-year-old former undrafted free agent to a one-year deal, Colon’s agent Andy Ross confirmed to The Baltimore Sun on March 17. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
The third-year player out of Missouri was a restricted free agent but wasn’t tendered by the Ravens, so he was free to sign with another team.
The 6-foot-3, 313-pound Colon spent the past three seasons in Baltimore, where he played in 20 games, including four starts. After playing in a dozen games in 2021, he was active for just six games last season and played 49 snaps, 47 of which came in his lone start against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 13.
Colon’s departure marks the second along the offensive line in recent days after guard Ben Powers signed a four-year, $52 million free-agent deal with the Denver Broncos.
Tight end Josh Oliver: The 25-year-old who spent the last two seasons in Baltimore and was one of team’s most improved players last season agreed to a three-year, $21 million deal with the Vikings on March 13, a source confirmed to The Baltimore Sun.
A third-round pick by the Jaguars in 2019 who was traded to the Ravens in March 2021, Oliver played in all 17 games last season, starting nine of them. In addition to being one of the league’s better blockers, he also caught 14 passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns.
In return, the Ravens are in line to get a compensatory sixth-round draft pick in 2024, per a formula that takes into account a player’s average salary per year, playing time and awards. Compensatory picks won’t become official until next March.
With three-time Pro Bowl tight end Mark Andrews and 2022 fourth-round picks Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar expected to feature more next season, Oliver became expendable for the Ravens given their lack of cap space.
Left guard Ben Powers: After surprisingly winning the starting job last season and grading out as one of the NFL’s best blocking guards, the 2019 fourth-round pick out of Oklahoma cashed in, agreeing to a four-year, $52 million deal with the Broncos, according to multiple reports.
The deal makes Powers one of the league’s highest-paid players at the position for a Broncos team that is looking to rebound from a dismal 5-12 campaign last season.
It also became evident that the Ravens would be unlikely to afford the 26-year-old, with general manager Eric DeCosta admitting as much in January.
Baltimore is set up to get a compensatory fourth-round draft pick in 2024 after losing Powers. It also means their starting left guard job could be up for grabs this summer, with 2021 third-third pick Ben Cleveland having struggled with injuries and conditioning and restricted free agent Trystan Colon more natural at center.
Defensive lineman Calais Campbell: The Ravens cut the veteran, creating $7 million in cap savings. Though the 36-year-old defensive lineman announced last month that he would return for a 16th season in the league, the move was not a surprising one. Campbell, who was under contract for one more season, had a $9.4 million cap hit in 2023 and was scheduled to earn a $2 million roster bonus and $4.5 million in salary. He was one of the league’s most consistent defensive linemen last season and has long been a respected voice in the locker room. Campbell signed with the Atlanta Falcons on March 29.
Notable moves
- The two-years-long standoff between Jackson and the Ravens officially ended on May 4, with Jackson signing a five-year extension with the team, worth a reported $260 million with $185 million guaranteed, including $112.5 million fully guaranteed at signing. “I’m not really worried about what happened in the past,” Jackson said at a news conference announcing the signing. “We’re going to keep it about these next five years and keep it about what’s going on today. It’s a great day. … That’s all I’m focused on right now.” The deal will keep Jackson in a Baltimore uniform through the 2027 season. The move comes after the Ravens had applied a $32.4 million nonexclusive franchise tag to Jackson, keeping the 26-year-old star quarterback off the free agent market but giving him an opportunity to pursue a contract with another team. Baltimore would have had five days to match any offer sheet Jackson signed, or they could’ve let him walk and received two first-round draft picks in exchange, but no other offers materialized. Jackson was the eighth player in Ravens history to be franchise-tagged, and several of his predecessors, most recently outside linebacker Matthew Judon in 2020, played full seasons under the tag, but Jackson and the Ravens avoided that and the saga dragging into the summer by coming to terms on the new agreement well before training camp opens in late July.
- Backup quarterback Tyler Huntley will be back in Baltimore for another season after signing his restricted free agent tender on April 24. The Ravens had placed a right-of-first-refusal tender on Huntley in March, which meant any team could have signed him to an offer sheet, and if Baltimore didn’t match, it wouldn’t get any compensation in return. The 25-year-old will earn $2.627 million for the 2023 season before becoming a free agent next year.
- The Ravens announced in February that they re-signed defensive end Brent Urban and cornerback Daryl Worley, both veterans who were headed for free agency.
Unrestricted free agents
Running back: Kenyan Drake
Wide receiver: Sammy Watkins, Demarcus Robinson
Offensive line: Ja’Wuan James
Outside linebacker: Justin Houston, Jason Pierre-Paul, Steven Means, Vince Biegel
Cornerback: Marcus Peters, Kyle Fuller, Kevon Seymour
Exclusive rights free agents
Safety: Ar’Darius Washington
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