Getty Matt Judon celebrates a play with the Ravens defense.
This offseason, the Baltimore Ravens reached an agreement with Matt Judon, one of their most important in-house players. But it was the additions the team made from outside that caught the attention of Judon.
Recently, Judon caught up with reporters during the offseason program and was asked about the team’s newest additions to the roster and the front. The moves to add Calais Campbell and Derek Wolfe were celebrated by Judon, who admitted to liking what the team set out to do this offseason.
“I thought it was huge as a defense.”
@man_dammn loves the additions of @CalaisCampbell and @Derek_Wolfe95.
Judon said:
“I thought as a defense we kind of lost a couple guys in the middle. Then we went and traded for Calais (Campbell) and then we signed Derek Wolfe in free agency,” Judon said. “Both of those players’ resumes speak for themselves. They know how to get to the quarterback. They know how to make plays. And they also know how to make plays in big games. I think those are going to be huge additions to our team.”
The Ravens didn’t necessarily need to get tougher rushing the quarterback, but their entire defensive line should benefit from the additions just like Judon says.
Calais Campbell Cited as Ravens Newcomer to Watch
Interestingly enough, according to Adam Rank of NFL.com, one of the team’s veteran players now takes that mantle. Recently, Rank put together the team’s state of the franchise breakdown for 2020. When it came to the player fans must know for the new year, Calasis Campbell takes the mantle.
According to Rank, Campbell is going to come to town and make a major impact on the team due to his ability to fortify the defense and rush the passer up front.
Rank wrote:
“The rebuilding Jaguars gave the five-time Pro Bowler to the Ravens in the way that your neighbor who wants to throw away a mini-fridge insists on letting you have it for free, refusing payment and forcing you to leave a sixer of Stone IPAs on his front door as a thank you. In fact, a sixer of Stone IPAs is more than Jacksonville got for Campbell, with Baltimore sending over a fifth-round pick for one of the best dudes in football, both on and off the field. This was a confounding decision by a Jaguars team that extracted a king’s ransom for Jalen Ramsey and apparently wasn’t willing to part with Yannick Ngakoue for less than a high-end pick — and it had to steam the rest of the AFC North.
Campbell has been down this road before. Broncos fans were livid when he spurned his hometown team as a free agent to join the Jaguars in 2017. My friends down in Duval County went to the AFC Championship Game that season. The expectation should be heightened for the Ravens. With Campbell on board and Matthew Judon back to harangue quarterbacks, this Ravens defense could be even better than last season’s edition, which ranked first in the NFL from Week 7 to 17 in points allowed per game (14.2), total yards allowed per game (270.8) and opponent passer rating (71.8).
It’s worth noting, again, that Campbell seems like one of the best human beings on the planet, meaning his impact in the locker room should be immeasurable.”
More than being great on the field, Campbell is great off of it, meaning he is likely to become one of the best players on the Ravens top to bottom. It’s safe to say he is for sure the newcomer that is most interesting to fans given these variables.
Not only will Campbell help the defense, he will help the whole team. That makes him an addition worth remembering to be sure.
Calais Campbell Stats
Coming to Baltimore, Campbell enters as one of the team’s most productive defensive linemen. At 33, he has piled up 696 tackles and 88 sacks. He was a former second round pick of the Arizona Cardinals in 2008, and most recently played for the Jacksonville Jaguars until a trade sent him to the Ravens this offseason. That’s a deal in which many believe the Ravens scored in a big way considering these numbers.
Derek Wolfe Stats
In his career, the 30 year old Wolfe has collected 33 sacks, 299 tackles and 15 passes defended. He won Super Bowl 50 with Denver, and was a former second round pick of the Broncos out of Cincinnati in 2012. The last few seasons have been injury riddled for Wolfe, and he will try to get back to health next season.
With the Ravens, Wolfe will be counted on to add some depth and pass rushing punch up front. Safe to say Judon is ready to work with both him and Campbell.
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