The Ravens have re-signed defensive end Brent Urban to a one-year contract.
The 2014 fourth-round pick was set to become an unrestricted free agent next week, but Baltimore will instead retain its only defensive starter from last season who had been scheduled to hit the open market. After missing 26 games due to injuries over his first three seasons, the 6-foot-7, 300-pound Urban had finally moved into a starting role in 2017 before suffering a season-ending Lisfranc foot injury in Week 3.
The Ravens struggled to replace Urban at the 5-technique defensive end spot, eventually deciding on Carl Davis midway through the season. However, with Davis undergoing offseason shoulder surgery and recent third-round picks Bronson Kaufusi and Chris Wormley not developing as rapidly as the organization had hoped, retaining Urban became a distinct possibility with general manager Ozzie Newsome mentioning it in Indianapolis last week.
“Beyond thankful to be given the opportunity to do what I love with the organization that gave me my start,” Urban posted on his Twitter account shortly after the deal was announced. “2018 is going to be so real.”
Beyond thankful to be given the opportunity to do what I love with the organization that gave me my start. 2018 is going to be so real #unrulyyear https://t.co/dzr7vxYIDt
— Brent Urban (@urbanlegend96) March 6, 2018
After also dealing with injuries at the University of Virginia that hurt his draft stock, Urban missed his entire rookie season after tearing his ACL early in training camp and then missed 10 games in 2015 with a torn biceps sustained that summer. The organization has always been high on his size and ability and were excited about his potential as an interior pass rusher last year before he went down in the blowout loss to Jacksonville.
In 25 career games with Baltimore, Urban has collected 25 tackles, three sacks, and three batted passes.
