Ravens 2023 position review: Inside Linebackers

Breaking down how each of the team’s position groups performed this past season.

The 2023 season is in the books and the offseason is officially underway for all 32 teams around the league. Before completely turning the page toward free agency and the 2024 NFL Draft, taking time to assess the performances and production of each position group on the Baltimore Ravens is a useful exercise in determining what went right or wrong and where to go from here.

In this article series, I’ll break down how each player at every position in all three phases fared this past year and their 2024 outlook. Up next is the one that has long been associated with excellence and dominance throughout the history of the franchise, the inside linebackers.

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Roquan Smith

Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images

The Ravens made the sixth-year veteran the highest-paid player at his position before the 2022 season was over after having traded for him midway through the year. In his first full season with the team, Smith continued to prove that he is well worth every penny they’re paying him he was the tone-setter, heartbeat, and unquestioned leader of the top-ranked defense in the league. He earned Pro Bowl and First-Team All-Pro honors for the second year in a row after leading the Ravens and finishing sixth in the NFL with 158 total tackles that included five for a loss. In 16 games before sitting out the regular season finale, Smith also recorded eight pass breakups, 1.5 sacks, five quarterback hits, a forced fumble, and an interception.

At just 26 years old, Smith is arguably the best player at his position in the entire league and is still ascending. He elevates the play of everyone who lines up in front of, next to, and behind him in the Ravens’ defense. That presence will be key in the transition from having Mike Macdonald calling plays the past two seasons to Zach Orr who was promoted from inside linebackers coach to defensive coordinator.

Patrick Queen

Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images

The four-year veteran saved his best for last as he absolutely balled out in the final year of his rookie contract. After not having his fifth-year option picked up last offseason following the 2023 NFL Draft, the former first-round pick put his head down, went to work, and had the best season of his career that resulted in him earning Pro Bowl and Second-Team All-Pro honors. Queen appeared in and started all 17 games and set a high in total tackles with 133 including nine for a loss, tied a career-high with six pass breakups, and recorded 3.5 sacks, six quarterback hits, a fumble recovery, a forced fumble, and an interception.

As much as the Ravens would love to keep the best off-ball linebacker tandem in the league together for the long haul, Queen appears destined to depart for greener pastures after the break-out year he had in 2023. The explosive heat-seeking missile most likely priced himself out of town and will fetch a sizable payday on the open market when free agency opens up in March. With limited resources in terms of salary cap pending some restructures and cap casualties, and more pressing needs such as retaining fellow breakout star Justin Madubuike, the Ravens will almost certainly have a new running mate lining up next to Smith in 2024 and beyond.

Trenton Simpson

Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images

The second-year pro spent most of his rookie season playing predominantly on special teams after getting selected No. 86 overall in the third round of last year’s draft. His 258 snaps in the third phase of the game were 61 percent of the team’s total and far exceeded his measly 46 defensive snaps that were just five percent of the team’s total. Simpson missed two games with a concussion but appeared in 15 during which he recorded 13 total tackles including two for a loss, a sack, a fumble recovery, and a quarterback hit. His most extensive playing time of the year came in Week 18 when he played most of the second half on defense and made several splash plays behind the line of scrimmage in a season-high 26 defensive snaps, more than half of his total.

Simpson was billed as a potential immediate replacement for Queen as soon as he got drafted but the Ravens let him sit and learn behind their elite tandem while earning his stripes as a core special teams contributor. He will be the odds-on favorite to be the team’s next starting WILL linebacker heading into his second season. If the impressive flashes he showed against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the regular season finale were any indication of what he is capable of in an expanded role, he and Smith could very well maintain the status as the NFL’s top tandem if Queen is not retained.

Malik Harrison

Photo by Courtney Culbreath/Getty Images

The four-year veteran played a hybrid role this past season, splitting his time between being a reserve off-ball linebacker and a part-time starter on the edge at the SAM spot given that seven-year veteran Tyus Bowser was out of commission for the year with a knee injury. Harrison was a solid edge setter against the run on early downs and was a key fixture on special teams as well where played 110 more snaps than he did on defense (307-197). He missed three games with injury but appeared in 14 during which he made eight starts at outside linebacker and finished with 20 total tackles including 13 solos and a quarterback hit.

Harrison came into the league in the same draft class as Queen and even though he is also slated to become an unrestricted free agent next month, the odds of him being brought back are much higher. He could very well wind up being retained on a veteran minimum type of deal to continue being a core special teams contributor and playing an as-needed role on defense in a similar vein to Albert McClellan who played the first six and half years of his career with the Ravens playing the exact same role from 2011-2018.

Del’Shawn Phillips

Photo by Robin Alam/ISI Photos/Getty Images

The five-year veteran was the primary backup to Queen at the WILL spot in 2023, playing most prominently on special teams and sparingly on defense. His 375 snaps in the third phase of the game was 79 percent of the team’s total and he got to see 81 defensive snaps which was just seven percent of the team total. Phillips played exceptionally well during the preseason and looked good when called up to play a handful of games in cleanup duty for a snap or two when one of the starters had to come out. He appeared in all 17 games, started the season finale, and finished with 24 total tackles including one for a loss, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. He recorded over half of his total tackles for the season in Week 18 alone with 13, including eight solos and one for a loss.

Phillips is exactly the kind of player that the Ravens retain on a veteran minimum salary. He provides quality depth and competition during the offseason program and training camp. He will likely sit on the open market for a little while unless the General Manager Eric DeCosta wants to get a jump on filling out the ancillary parts of the roster with inexpensive depth signings.