Not even 24 hours after the start of the legal tampering period in the 2024 NFL offseason, six Baltimore Ravens from the loaded 2023 squad have signed elsewhere. The defense was hit particularly hard, leaving Marlon Humphrey without many of the players he suited up alongside last year.
Not only did Geno Stone and Ronald Darby leave the Baltimore secondary for the Cincinnati Bengals and Jacksonville Jaguars, respectively, but the only move they made to counter these losses was bringing back linebacker Malik Harrison on a one-year contract. On the offensive side, big names like Saquon Barkley and Tony Pollard chose not to come to Baltimore.
The verbose Humphrey, who is always willing to tell you what he’s feeling at any given moment, was upset when he saw the Philadelphia Eagles lure Barkley away, saying that he was “hoping he came to the other birds.” Baltimore will need to look for RB replacements somewhere else.
Humphrey was also distraught at the loss at of Gus Edwards, who signed a two-year contract with the Los Angeles Chargers to reunite with offensive coordinator Greg Roman. Humphrey said that playing in 2024 “won’t be the same” without Edwards on the team.
The biggest loss of the day for Humphrey had to be Stone, who joined one of Baltimore’s hated rivals in the Bengals. While Humphrey was a bit ticked off by Stone joining “the opps,” he was also happy that he was rewarded with a nice payday after joining Cincinnati.
Marlon Humphrey speaks on Baltimore Ravens losing six free agents
While the Ravens are still one of the best teams in the league, they have seemingly made their peace with the fact that they will not have the same level of depth in key areas as they did last season. Baltimore has let multiple impressive starters hit the road for less than elite money.
The Ravens will subtract even more from the equation before the start of the new league season, as they need to become salary cap compliant. This could lead to the end of the road for veteran players like Ronnie Stanley and Tyus Bowser, who have been riddled with injuries.
Humphrey and the Ravens will still be in line for another tremendous season if all goes according to plan, but their margin for error is as thin as ever following the loss of multiple key starters on both sides without viable alternatives coming in to replace them yet.