The Baltimore Ravens traveled to the Meadowlands and defeated the New York Jets in Week 1 by the final score of 24-9 on Sunday. There were many playmakers that contributed to the win, from quarterback Lamar Jackson to wide receiver Devin Duvernay to defensive lineman Justin Madubuike and everyone else in between. However, one player who almost left Baltimore this offseason was one of those playmakers on the field on Sunday.
Safety Chuck Clark was all over the field against New York, contributing in a big way. When head coach John Harbaugh was asked about the safety, he had high praise for the veteran, saying he was all over the field.
“@ChuckC36 was all over the field.” pic.twitter.com/bvs1dLLVCH
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) September 12, 2022
“[He was] all over the field, all over the field. Chuck [Clark] was instrumental in everything we did. He was communicating the defenses out there – I think he was the ‘green dot’ this week. (laughter) The mystery was solved. We got it solved. Chuck played an excellent football game; pass defense, run game, organizing us. Excellent game.”
There were a lot of rumors surrounding Clark during the offseason, one of which was him asking to get out of Baltimore, which the safety later revealed to be the truth. The Ravens drafted safety Kyle Hamilton with their first pick in the 2022 NFL Draft and added safety Marcus Williams in free agency, but Clark said in August that “I’m going to work, and I’m going to show up and do what I’ve got to do.”
Clark played every defensive snap on Sunday and looked good in coverage. It was a bit unclear how Baltimore would use the veteran as he entered his sixth NFL season, but the Ravens are still more than content with making sure one of the team’s good defensive backs finds himself on the field. Through his first five seasons, Clark has 292 combined tackles, five interceptions, five forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, a fumble returned for a touchdown and an interception returned for a touchdown.