While the drama surrounding Maxx Crosby and Trey Hendrickson remained the center of attention on the first day of the new league year, the Ravens made a couple savvy moves for their secondary.
On Wednesday afternoon, Baltimore agreed to terms with former New England safety Jaylinn Hawkins on a two-year, $10 million contract and re-signed veteran cornerback Chidobe Awuzie to a one-year, $5 million deal. After Alohi Gilman and Ar’Darius Washington accepted deals with Kansas City and the New York Giants respectively, Hawkins will now fill the void as the No. 3 safety, which is expected to remain a prominent role for the defense under new head coach Jesse Minter and new defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver.
Of course, all agreements are pending the passing of a physical.
Though the Patriots elected to sign three-time All-Pro safety Kevin Byard in free agency, Hawkins is coming off the best season of his career after registering a career-high four interceptions — which matched his career total entering 2025 — and starting 15 games for the AFC champions. The 28-year-old has the ability to play in deep coverage, which should give the Ravens the confidence to continue using All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton closer to the line of scrimmage in more of a hybrid role. Pro Football Focus graded Hawkins 15th out of 91 qualified safeties overall and in the top 17 in both run defense and coverage.
Despite the addition of two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander receiving much more fanfare last summer, Awuzie easily proved to be the better addition on a one-year, $1.255 million deal as he played in 14 games and made five starts as an outside corner. The 30-year-old graded 11th out of 112 qualified cornerbacks last year, according to PFF.
Awuzie’s return serves as a much-needed insurance policy for the secondary with the status and usage of four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Marlon Humphrey remaining unclear. While general manager Eric DeCosta indicated last month that he expected Humphrey to remain a Raven, the $19.25 million he’s scheduled to make in the final year of his deal and his 2025 struggles are widely perceived as concerns.
