Getty The Baltimore Ravens have been urged to keep an ageless playmaker off the free-agent market.
The Baltimore Ravens have never been shy about squeezing every last snap out of veteran defensive players, and the policy should continue in 2023. Justin Houston returned for another year last offseason and promptly proved he has plenty left in the tank by leading the Ravens with 9.5 sacks.
Now, NFL.com’s Next Gen Stats believes the Ravens must keep the 34-year-old off this year’s free-agent market: “The edge rusher showed few signs of his age in his 12th NFL season, leading the Ravens with 36 pressures. Houston maintains his twitchy burst off the ball — he averaged a pass-rush get-off of 0.75 seconds, the fourth-quickest in the NFL (minimum of 250 pass rushes). That translated into a sack rate of 3.7 percent, a number that trailed only three players: Brandon Graham, Nick Bosa and Haason Reddick.”
Giving Houston a third short-term deal makes sense because the edge-rusher plays a position where the Ravens are still waiting on young players to fulfil their potential. It’s also a rotation where other big-name veterans haven’t exactly delivered.
34-Year-Old Still Dominating Offensive Tackles
Houston registered a mere 4.5 sacks during his first season in Baltimore in 2021, but he got to quarterbacks more often last season. Specifically, Houston completed pass-rushes with more frequency, including when he took down Tom Brady twice against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 8.
It was the first of three consecutive games with multiple sacks for Houston. The run ended with 2.5 sacks against the New Orleans Saints, with one of those QB takedowns showcasing Houston’s enduring and impressive takeoff speed in his 12th season, per Next Gen Stats:
Justin Houston sacked Andy Dalton within 4.00 seconds of the snap, his second quickest sack this season.
Houston (2022, min. 100 pass rushes):
🔸 Get-Off: 0.77 seconds (6th-quickest)
🔸 Pressure Rate: 19.1% (1st)
🔸 Sack Rate: 6.1% (1st)
The play also highlighted Houston’s versatility, with No. 50 rushing from the inside to get to Andy Dalton. This kind of flexibility allows the Ravens to get creative with their pressure looks.
Although Houston’s numbers tailed off later in the season, he did get to Joe Burrow against the Cincinnati Bengals in the Wild Card Playoffs:
The veteran @JHouston50 just keeps getting it done 😤
📺: #BALvsCIN on NBC
📱: Stream on NFL+ t.co/hNJJJGqxGF
Once again, Houston took an inside move to wreck the pass pocket. What the Ravens need is a natural successor who can also win off the edge, as well as cause havoc inside.
There are a few candidates, but no obvious standouts.
4-Time Pro-Bowler a Necessary Mentor to Young Edge-Rushers
Those candidates include Odafe Oweh and David Ojabo. Oweh, the Ravens’ first-round pick in 2021, has just eight sacks in two seasons, making Ojabo the edge-rusher with more intriguing upside.
Last year’s second-round pick tore his ACL at Michigan’s pro day and appeared in only two games as a rookie. One of those games involved Ojabo logging his first sack in the NFL, against the Bengals in Week 18:
FIRST SACK FOR OJABO AND GETS THE STRIP 👑
Tune in on CBS!
The Ravens need Ojabo to make splash plays like this a happy habit in 2023, something Houston’s continued presence can help make happen. His experience and leadership will go a long way to getting Ojabo fully up to speed at this level.
If that happens, the Ravens won’t have to be as patient with Oweh. Nor will they have to rely on Tyus Bowser, who struggled after also dealing with a torn Achilles last offseason. Then there’s Houston’s fellow 34-year-old, Jason Pierre-Paul, who logged a mere three sacks.
Pierre-Paul and Houston are both free agents, but the latter deserves at least another season to thrive in this Ravens’ defense. Houston received a one-year deal paying a base salary of $1.12 million last offseason, but Spotrac.com believes he now warrants a two-year contract worth $10.7 million.
It’s a deal the Ravens should rubber stamp when Houston is still producing at such a high level.