The Baltimore Ravens need help at edge rusher, where they’re desperate to the point you can throw out age, salary, accomplishments, etc.
Can you get to the quarterback? The Ravens will probably give you a shot at this point.
Pro Football Focus predicts the Ravens will go after 9-time Pro Bowler and 5-time NFL All-Pro edge rusher Khalil Mack in free agency.
Mack, who will turn 35 years old in February, played 2025 on a 1-year, $18 million free agent contract with the Los Angeles Chargers, where he had 32 tackles, 5.5 sacks and 6 TFL in 12 games.
“Although the former Defensive Player of the Year is mulling retirement, Khalil Mack is still playing at a high level,” PFF’s Mason Cameron wrote. “An injury early in the 2025 season restricted his snap volume, but upon his return in Week 7, he produced an 84.9 PFF overall grade, seventh best among qualifying edge defenders. Should Mack decide to play another year in pursuit of a championship, he will have no shortage of suitors … Baltimore finished in the bottom four of the NFL in PFF pass-rush grade (62.1), pressure rate (32.1%) and pass-rush win rate (36.9%) this season.”
Mack Headed for Hall of Fame Once Career Ends
Mack is likely headed for the Pro Football Hall of Fame once his career ends, but it might not be a first ballot sort of thing — almost solely due to his lack of team success.
Selected with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft by the Oakland Raiders, Mack has played in the postseason 6 times in 12 seasons and is 0-6 in that time.
It’s hard to call someone one of the greatest defensive players of their generation if they’re never won a single, solitary playoff game.
“It’s frustrating if you think about it in the sense of what you want to leave as your legacy,” Mack told ESPN’s Khris Rihm. “You want to have meaningful games on your résumé: playoff runs, Super Bowl and not having that, it bothers me.”
Don’t feel too bad for Mack. Through the end of the 2025 season, he has approximately $187.5 million in career earnings, so it’s hard to imagine him losing sleep over those playoff losses.
Minter, Mack Could Reunite in Baltimore
There’s a pretty direct connection between Mack and the Ravens in new Baltimore head coach Jesse Minter, who was the defensive coordinator for the Chargers the last 2 seasons.
“Khalil is one of the best ever to do it,” Minter said about Mack after the 2025 season. “For the young guys to have him around and be putting in the work that he’s putting in and the way that he’s doing it, it just makes everybody better.”
Minter, 42 years old, was a defensive assistant for the Ravens for 4 seasons from 2017 to 2020 and is considered one of the NFL’s top defensive minds. He also won a College Football Playoff National Championship as the defensive coordinator for the University of Michigan in 2023.
“The Ravens need to find their defensive identity again, and I think bringing Jesse Minter to Baltimore is a great first step to achieving that!” Ravens Flock’s Nic Mason wrote on X. “Forget this softer than 4ply toilet paper stuff, let’s get back to being monsters again!”
Prediction Brings Ravens $187 Million NFL All-Pro Defender