Facing much unknown at the outside linebacker position entering free agency, the Ravens have secured a valued contributor to return for the 2021 season.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Baltimore has re-signed veteran Pernell McPhee, one of the five edge defenders scheduled to hit the open market next week. Having played for $1.1875 million in 2020, the 32-year-old always felt like the most likely of the Ravens’ free-agent outside linebackers to return based on the anticipated low cost and his consistent play in his 10th NFL season. Returning from a season-ending triceps injury sustained in Week 7 of the 2019 season, McPhee played in all but one game last year, registering three sacks and 34 tackles.
McPhee was arguably Baltimore’s best edge-setter and playing his best football late in the season when he registered a team-high five solo tackles on just 20 snaps to help smother 2,000-yard rusher Derrick Henry and Tennessee in the opening round of the playoffs.
“Boy, he set the edge. He was a physical force out there,” head coach John Harbaugh said the day after the 20-13 wild-card win over the Titans. “He was a dominating presence setting the edge and then coming off blocks and making tackles off the edge. I thought Pernell had his best game of the year.”
McPhee’s re-signing is just the first step in general manager Eric DeCosta addressing the position with Matthew Judon, Yannick Ngakoue, Tyus Bowser, and Jihad Ward all potentially departing this offseason. Prior to securing McPhee’s services, the Ravens had only one outside linebacker who played more than 15 snaps last season — 2019 third-round pick Jaylon Ferguson — under contract for 2021.
Though McPhee didn’t make a major statistical impact from a pass-rushing standpoint last season, his versatility to rush from the edge or the inside is useful for defensive coordinator Wink Martindale’s blitz-heavy schemes to create pressure. Pro Football Focus graded McPhee as Baltimore’s best outside linebacker and 26th among 109 qualified edge defenders in the NFL last season. The key to maximizing his production at this late stage of his career that’s included various injuries is managing his snap count as he played 459 defensive snaps in 15 regular-season games and more than 35 snaps in a contest just three times in 2020.
The 2011 fifth-round pick from Mississippi is in his second stint with the Ravens and is one of four players under contract for 2021 who were part of the Super Bowl XLVII championship team with the others being cornerback Jimmy Smith, kicker Justin Tucker, and punter Sam Koch. Having started his pro career playing with all-time greats such as Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, and Terrell Suggs on the Baltimore defense, McPhee took on a more visible leadership role last year by delivering some pre-game speeches to conclude full-team warmups.
“I just have some words to say, and a lot of guys say it helps them a lot when I speak,” McPhee said last October. “It’s really weird, but I’ve been kind of doing it my whole life — my whole career throughout high school, college, junior college. I’m just thankful for when I get the opportunity to stand in the middle of the huddle this year.”
In 131 career games for the Ravens, Chicago, and Washington, McPhee has compiled 37 sacks and 246 tackles.
