Entering Week 9 tied for the best record in the AFC, the Ravens ultimately stood pat as Tuesday’s trade deadline passed.
After making a significant October trade in three of his first four seasons as general manager, Eric DeCosta didn’t make a move despite plenty of speculation about Baltimore eyeing an upgrade at running back after the season-ending Achilles injury to J.K. Dobbins in Week 1. Edge rusher and cornerback were also perceived to be weaknesses entering the season, but the Ravens currently lead the NFL in sacks (31) — despite minimal contributions from Odafe Oweh and David Ojabo because of injuries — and now appear to have good cornerback depth with Brandon Stephens emerging as a rock-solid starter opposite three-time Pro Bowl selection Marlon Humphrey. A 2021 third-round pick out of SMU who was practicing at safety to begin training camp, the surprising Stephens has relegated veteran cornerbacks Rock-Ya Sin and Ronald Darby to serve as quality depth pieces.
After much speculation about the availability of Pro Bowl running backs such as Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley, and Josh Jacobs, none were ultimately traded at the deadline. That means Baltimore will continue to roll with Gus Edwards, Justice Hill, undrafted rookie Keaton Mitchell, and practice-squad running backs Melvin Gordon and Owen Wright. The Ravens rank third in the NFL in rushing yards per game, eighth in yards per carry, and second in rushing DVOA.
More important than any trade DeCosta could have made to enhance their championship odds, the Ravens have a healthy Lamar Jackson playing at a high level.
“Do we have a specific overarching ‘have to have’ guy? No,” head coach John Harbaugh said Monday. “We have an excellent roster [and] love our players. We have guys who are getting healthy that will be coming off [injured reserve] … I love our guys. I think we have everything we need to be successful.”
Despite high praise for deadline trades for Pro Bowl cornerback Marcus Peters in 2019 and Pro Bowl inside linebacker Roquan Smith last year, not every October acquisition has been a home run for DeCosta with edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue making little impact in 2020. Previous in-season trades for Baltimore also included left tackle Eugene Monroe in 2013 and running back Ty Montgomery in 2018, deadline moves made by Ozzie Newsome.
