The Beatdown gang react to the news of outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy re-signing with the Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens announce they’ve agreed to terms with outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy on a two-year, $9 million deal. Below are the reactions from the Baltimore Beatdown staff.
Pass rusher was, in my opinion, their greatest need entering the 2024 NFL Draft. Bringing back Van Noy dulls the immediate urgency. With Van Noy, Odafe Oweh and David Ojabo, the Ravens have a solid trio of pass-rushing outside linebackers for the pending season.
Van Noy proved he’s worth the pay raise and earned it after coming off the couch and erupting for nine sacks in 14 games. Now, he can continue to lead the Ravens’ young edge rusher room under a balanced contract and wreak havoc once more with the likes of Justin Madubuike and the many vets along the interior defensive line. — Kyle Phoenix
Following the departures of Jadeveon Clowney, Ronald Darby and Geno Stone, the Ravens needed to reinforce what was the league’s top rated pass defense last season.
Van Noy, 33, remains a versatile veteran with the ability to drop into coverage as a SAM linebacker or apply pressure on the quarterback in high leverage situations. He finished with the NFL’s 18th best pass-rush win-rate last season (19% ) while being double-teamed on 20% of his reps, which was second best on the 2023 team behind Clowney’s 25% pass-rush win-rate while facing 25% double teams.
Along with the ascending Odafe Oweh, talented David Ojabo and developmental Tavius Robinson, Baltimore has the makings of a solid outside linebacker group.
Considering the aforementioned losses, in addition to defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald’s departure, the defense should be expected to take a step back. But that possible regression can be overcome with a more potent offense. And the re-signing of Van Noy should allow General Manager Eric DeCosta to concentrate his early round efforts on upgrading the offensive line, wide receiver and cornerback positions in the upcoming draft. — Vasilis Lericos
Following the departure of Clowney, re-signing Van Noy felt like a pressing need.
There are other veteran edge rushers still available, but Van Noy thrived with the Ravens last season. He’s a valuable locker room presence and has Super Bowl pedigree. Whether he can replicate the near double-digit sack production from 2023 is questionable but Van Noy’s ability to set the edge and defend the pass make him a versatile player. This lessens the need for the Ravens to draft an edge rusher with one of their first two picks in a few weeks. — Frank Platko
I absolutely love this move for the Ravens from several major standpoints. Van Noy was the top remaining veteran edge on the open market and re-signing him knocks adding another early in the 2024 NFL Draft down a notch on their top remaining pre-draft needs list. He is coming off a career year in which he was able to hit the ground running and quickly ingratiate himself to the franchise, locker room and fan base. Van Noy also possesses the versatile skill set to play SAM linebacker, which the Ravens are in need of since they officially moved on from Tyus Bowser this offseason. This signing also takes some pressure off of 2022 second-rounder David Ojabo, who is heading into a pivotal third season after his first two have been hampered by injuries. — Joshua Reed
Grabbing value in free agency is simply what DeCosta does. Re-signing the veteran Van Noy is a substantial retention for a defense that has lost their fair share of playmakers from last year. Although getting older, Van Noy had arguably his best season last year and should continue to be a rock at the edge position for Baltimore in 2024.
The signing allows for the patiently awaited development of players like Ojabo, Oweh and Robinson while also giving DeCosta the flexibility to attack the priority positions of offensive tackle and wide receiver in the draft.
While Van Noy might not have been quite as good as Clowney last year, he was an integral part of the defense that DeCosta gets at half the price of the latter. — Stephen Bopst