Getty Baltimore Ravens defensive end Brent Urban greets a fan after a November 2015 game.
The Baltimore Ravens have reunited with defensive lineman Brent Urban, a 2014 fourth-round pick who appeared in 41 games over his first four-year stint in Baltimore.
Urban hinted at the signing by posting a picture of himself when he was with the Ravens, with his wife, Kate Urban, confirming that he was returning to Baltimore.
Kate Urban even revealed that her husband would be signing a one-year deal with the Ravens after spending last season with the Dallas Cowboys.
Sources: Former #Cowboys DL Brent Urban has agreed to terms with the #Ravens on a 1-year deal. 😉 @AdamSchefter
Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic later confirmed that Urban would be signing a one-year contract for the veteran minimum, completing his reunion with the team that originally drafted him.
Urban is an interior defensive lineman who has played both defensive tackle and defensive end in his career. While Michael Pierce – another 2022 Ravens reunion – and third-round draft pick Travis Jones will likely lock down the nose tackle spot in Baltimore, Urban will likely figure into the rotation at defensive end while also getting some interior pass rush opportunities as well.
Urban hasn’t been an especially productive player in his career, with only 6.0 sacks in his 76 games and 31 starts over seven NFL seasons. He’s also coming off season-ending surgery in 2021, before which he earned a career-low 46.6 overall defensive grade from Pro Football Focus.
But with uncertainty around the future of Derek Wolfe, the Ravens opted to bring in a known quantity in Urban, a veteran who knows the organization and coaching staff already. That could give them the flexibility to cut Wolfe, which would save Baltimore $2 million against the 2022 salary cap with a post-June 1 designation, per OverTheCap, though it would incur a $1.8 million dead cap penalty as well.
Urban could also be extra insurance in case Wolfe struggles with his health again in 2022, which could land him on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list early in the season. Re-signed defensive end Calais Campbell will be 36 when the season starts, so Urban’s signing could also be part of an effort to reduce Campbell’s snap count this year.