Early in the second week of free agency, the Ravens have shored up a key spot in their secondary.
Baltimore announced a two-year agreement with veteran nickel Arthur Maulet, who was a quality contributor for the league’s top-ranked scoring defense last season. The 30-year-old ranked second on the team behind Pro Bowl safety Kyle Hamilton in snaps at slot cornerback (388) in 2023, but the free-agent departure of safety Geno Stone could prompt new defensive coordinator Zach Orr to use Hamilton as a deep safety more frequently. Maulet is likely to compete with Ar’Darius Washington — who re-signed with Baltimore last week — for the primary nickel job this summer. The Ravens are still in need of more outside cornerback depth behind starters Marlon Humphrey and Brandon Stephens after Ronald Darby signed with Jacksonville last week.
In 14 games last season, the 5-foot-9, 190-pound Maulet registered 37 tackles, two sacks, one interception, two fumble recoveries, and five pass breakups as he overcame a summer hamstring injury to eventually emerge as a dependable part of the secondary. Pro Football Focus graded him 45th out of 127 qualified cornerbacks last season, which marked the best PFF grade of his seven-year career. Maulet also played a career-high 188 snaps on special teams, finishing with three tackles in that phase of the game.
Maulet is the seventh Baltimore player who was scheduled to become a free agent at the start of the offseason to ultimately re-sign, a list that also includes Pro Bowl defensive tackle Justin Madubuike, wide receiver Nelson Agholor, defensive end Brent Urban, linebacker Malik Harrison, and quarterback Josh Johnson.
