The Baltimore Ravens have seen outside linebacker be a position of need ever since the start of the 2022 offseason. They have a few talented young players at the position in Odafe Oweh and Daelin Hayes, but with the uncertainty surrounding when Tyus Bowser and David Ojabo could return from their torn achilles injuries, adding a veteran seems like it could be a good move for the team.
When predicting where the top free agents left on the market will sign, Alex Kay of Bleacher Report named Baltimore as his landing spot for a familiar face in outside linebacker Justin Houston. Kay talks about how the team would be “best served” to use their cap space to bring back the veteran.
“The Ravens would benefit most from Houston’s presence early in the season. Tyus Bowser is still working his way back from a January surgery on his torn Achilles and rookie second-round pick David Ojabo—who suffered the same injury at his pro day—may not be ready for the start of the campaign…Baltimore is mulling its options—the club brought in veteran Jason Pierre-Paul for a look earlier in June—but would be best served using the $6 million it has in cap space to bring Houston back. He’s comfortable with this defense and should be ready to hit the ground running if he’s retained.”
Houston was a key part of the Ravens’ defense last season, even if the box score stats don’t show it. He totaled 34 tackles and 4.5 sacks in 2021, but just missed out on getting a few more sacks on the year. He was also a well respected leader off of the field, and his experience helped young players like Oweh and Hayes show flashes, whether it was during the preseason or regular season.
Bringing back Houston makes all of the sense in the world for Baltimore. He is still a productive player on the field, brings plenty of value off of it, and is familiar with the organization. For a potential summer signing, those are all things to like.