With very little depth and experience behind four-time Pro Bowl selection Marlon Humphrey at cornerback, the Ravens are turning to a former AFC North rival for help in that department.
On Tuesday, Baltimore announced an agreement on a one-year deal with Chidobe Awuzie, who will turn 30 in May and was released by Tennessee just one year into a three-year, $36 million contract that included roughly $23 million guaranteed. Prior to that, Awuzie was a three-year starter for Cincinnati and a key defensive piece for the Bengals’ 2021 AFC championship team, but an array of injuries have taken their toll as he has missed 31 regular-season games over the last five seasons and played in more than eight games in just two of those campaigns.
An NFL Network report described the agreement as a “minimum” deal.
Last year, a groin injury cost Awuzie nine games with the Titans, who parted ways despite still owing him $7.5 million this coming season. In eight starts, the 6-foot, 202-pound defensive back collected an interception, a forced fumble, four pass breakups, and 26 tackles with Pro Football Focus grading him 61st out of 116 qualified corners. Awuzie has played almost exclusively as an outside cornerback throughout his NFL career, which would make it easier for the Ravens to continue to use Humphrey as a slot corner as extensively as they did last season.
Awuzie suffered a torn ACL midway through the 2022 campaign.
While Humphrey and 2024 first-round pick Nate Wiggins entered the offseason as slam-dunk projected starters, former starting cornerback Brandon Stephens departed in free agency earlier this month, leaving the Ravens without an established No. 3 cornerback. The only other outside cornerbacks on the roster were the oft-injured Jalyn Armour-Davis and 2024 fourth-round pick T.J. Tampa, who played only 18 defensive snaps as a rookie. Awuzie’s addition would hardly eliminate the need to add another talented cornerback or two in next month’s draft, but his arrival should serve as an upgrade from veteran Tre’Davious White at the very least and should keep general manager Eric DeCosta from feeling the need to reach for a cornerback with the 27th overall pick.
A 2017 second-round pick out of Colorado, Awuzie spent the first four years of his career with Dallas and has started 81 out of 94 games played over his eight-year career. He has seven career interceptions, five forced fumbles, 66 pass breakups, and 395 tackles.
