Getty Injuries should lead the Ravens to a Super Bowl-winning edge-rusher who is still a free agent.
The Baltimore Ravens need a rebound from their defense in 2022. Specifically, from a pass defense that ranked at the bottom of the NFL standings last season.
Injuries across the secondary were the main cause, but a lacklustre pass rush also didn’t help. The Ravens logged a mere 34 sacks, a number head coach John Harbaugh will expect to change this year, at least when his primary options on the edge are healthy.
Those options include veteran Tyus Bowser and rookie David Ojabo, both of whom are nursing knee injuries. Their absences have one beat writer speculating whether Ravens’ general manager Eric DeCosta will add a free agent before the season begins.
Fortunately, there are some exciting options, including a player who has won Super Bowls with two different teams and recorded double-digit sacks three times during his career.
Super Bowl-Tested Edge Makes Sense for Ravens
Jason Pierre-Paul is still on the market, a situation the Ravens should take advantage of sooner rather than later. Pierre-Paul is one of two names mentioned by Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic as potential reinforcements at a position decimated by injury concerns.
Zrebiec addressed those concerns while outlining his prediction for the Ravens final 53-man roster. He noted how Bowser, “the team’s returning sack leader, is still rehabbing his surgically repaired Achilles and hasn’t practiced yet, making him questionable for the start of the season.”
Any worries about Bowser were further compounded by the decision to put him on the PUP list, a move confirmed by the team on Friday, August 26:
T Ronnie Stanley has passed his physical. LB Tyus Bowser has been placed on the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform list.
We have also signed P Cameron Dicker.
Bowser had surgery back in January, while Ojabo, Baltimore’s second-round pick, tore his Achilles during Michigan’s pro day in March. Finding solutions while they recover is the challenge facing the Ravens, a process not helped when 2021 fifth-rounder Marquis Hayes “left practice early Tuesday and didn’t practice Wednesday,” according to Zrebiec.
There is a room to add another edge-rusher, and Zrebiec thinks the Ravens can play it one of two ways: “The Ravens are extremely thin at outside linebacker and, coupled with Hayes’ disappointing camp, it’s hard to imagine DeCosta isn’t trying to thrust another edge rusher into the mix. Whether that’s a free agent such as Jason Pierre-Paul or Trey Flowers, or a player currently on another team’s roster, the Ravens need help at this spot.”
Signing a proven commodity like Pierre-Paul is surely the safer option. He only tallied a mere 2.5 sacks with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season, but the 33-year-old still knows how to give offensive tackles problems and he remains a force against the run.
Ironically, injuries played a part in the drop in Pierre-Paul’s stat line, per The Athletic’s Greg Auman:
Bucs’ Jason Pierre-Paul, trying to play through a torn rotator cuff and broken finger, has gone seven straight games without a sack, with only one tackle for loss. Before that, hadn’t gone more than three straight games without a sack in first two seasons in Tampa.
While the Ravens will naturally be wary about possibly recruiting another brittle edge, they won’t find better available than Pierre-Paul if he’s at full strength. He’s a player with 91.5 sacks to his credit and somebody who has consistently played his best football in the biggest games.
Those big moments include helping the Bucs beat the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 in Super Bowl LV following the 2020 season. Pierre-Paul was part of a defense that kept Patrick Mahomes under constant pressure, per Pro Football Focus:
Total pressures in Super Bowl 55:
Shaq Barrett & Jason Pierre-Paul – 16
Frank Clark & Chris Jones – 2
His efforts landed him a second Lombardi Trophy to go alongside the Super Bowl Pierre-Paul won with the New York Giants to cap the 2011 season. That win came at the expense of the New England Patriots and Tom Brady.
Beating the game’s top quarterbacks when it matters most has been a happy, career-long habit for Pierre-Paul, who is 9-1 in the postseason, according to StatMuse. A perennial contender like the Ravens could use somebody with Pierre-Paul’s playoff touch.
More important, a rebuilding defense needs another credible pass-rusher to ease the burden on the few upright members of the rotation.
Heavy Burden on 2 Edge-Rushers
The Ravens have already courted Pierre-Paul this offseason, with the free agent even posting optimistic messages on Instagram, per Ravens Vault co-host Sarah Ellison:
Jason Pierre-Paul from the Ravens locker room: “Currently good vibes.”
It’s no wonder the Ravens have at least been exploring the idea of signing an experienced quarterback hunter. Without one, there’s going to be a lot of pressure on de facto starters Odafe Oweh and Justin Houston.
They are the only two established edge-rushers on the depth chart left standing, and while there’s optimism both will produce, Zrebiec wisely sounded a note of caution: “This could be a breakout year for Odafe Oweh, and Justin Houston is still a productive player. However, Houston is 33 years old. The team will need to monitor his snaps closely.”
There are too many questions marks at the key position of Baltimore’s 3-4 defense for the Ravens not to act before Week 1. Giving Pierre-Paul a one-year, incentive-laden deal would eke out some vital production from a pass-rusher who has done it all.