It took longer than usual, but the Ravens have finally signed their entire 11-man 2025 draft class.
Two days after rookies reported to Owings Mills for the start of training camp, Baltimore signed second-round edge rusher Mike Green to a four-year deal for the slotted total of just over $7.4 million that includes a signing bonus of a little over $2 million. The holdup had been part of a larger push among 2025 second-round picks for more guaranteed money over the duration of their standard four-year contracts. The movement began in May with Houston signing 34th overall pick and wide receiver Jayden Higgins to a fully guaranteed deal, and he and 33rd pick Carson Schwesinger — who also received a fully guaranteed contract from Cleveland — had been the only second-round selections to sign at the start of this week.
It wasn’t immediately clear how much of Green’s contract is guaranteed.
Though the rookie holdouts that were once an annual occurrence largely disappeared with the signing of the 2011 collective bargaining agreement that introduced a rookie wage scale, this isn’t the first time the Ravens have had some difficulty signing a second-round pick in recent years. It was three summers ago that outside linebacker David Ojabo was the league’s final 2022 draft pick to sign his contract, and the sticking point for that signing was also guaranteed money. However, the urgency wasn’t as high since Ojabo was still recovering from a torn Achilles tendon that sidelined him until mid-December of his rookie season.
Despite a pair of past sexual assault allegations that prompted his fall down the draft board, the 21-year-old Green was widely regarded as a first-round talent after collecting 17 sacks at Marshall last season. The Ravens liked what they saw during spring workouts as Green will now try to earn extensive playing time in an outside linebacker rotation headlined by veterans Odafe Oweh and Kyle Van Noy, who are both entering the final year of their contracts. Coaches have praised the 6-foot-3, 248-pound Green’s on-field effort and football intelligence since his arrival in Owings Mills after the draft.
“As far as Mike doing everything we ask, he’s doing it,” pass rush coach Chuck Smith said last month. “From a pass-rush standpoint, Mike is skilled. I give him credit and give his school a lot of credit and his coach in college at Marshall and probably Virginia. Mike can cross-chop; Mike can spin; Mike can ghost. From that standpoint, Mike is the best example of this new generation that has learned from the pros, and he comes in already really highly skilled up. I give him a lot of credit. His get-off, I’m just amazed that he’s in his base two-point stance and has no false steps. He gets off on the ball fast.
“I can’t say enough about Mike so far. Now, we put the pads on.”
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In addition to announcing the signing of Green on Thursday, the Ravens officially placed safety Ar’Darius Washington on the active physically unable to perform list. The move was expected after Washington, 25, suffered a torn Achilles tendon just a couple weeks after the draft. Head coach John Harbaugh expressed optimism in late May that Washington would be able to return to action by November or December.
The Ravens also placed third-round rookie offensive tackle Emery Jones Jr. on the active non-football injury list on Wednesday. The 6-foot-5, 315-pound lineman missed the entire spring workout program while recovering from a shoulder injury, and it’s unclear when he’ll be able to start practicing, which doesn’t exactly bode well for his chances of contributing to a meaningful degree as a rookie. Being on the active version of the list means Jones is permitted to begin practicing at any point between now and the end of the preseason when Baltimore would need to decide whether to move him to the reserve version of the list.
“In training camp, I think [he’ll practice] at some point,” Harbaugh said last month. “I couldn’t promise to start training camp. The timeline of that, I wouldn’t say the start of training camp unless he does something miraculous. But I’m hopeful at some point in time in training camp that we’ll see him.”
Veteran players will report to Owings Mills on Tuesday with the first full-squad practice of the summer being scheduled for Wednesday.
