The Ravens closed out their offseason by making a big addition to their secondary.
Cornerback Jaire Alexander signed with the team on Wednesday in a move that adds to a spot where the team was already pretty well stocked. They drafted Nate Wiggins in the first round to go with Marlon Humphrey last year and signed Chidobe Awuzie as a free agent this offseason, so the team is now four-deep at the top of their depth chart.
Some might wonder how they’ll get all of those players on the field at the same time, but Humphrey doesn’t think that’s actually something worth worrying about.
“A quote that’s never been said and probably will never be said in NFL history is, ‘We got too many corners that can cover,’” Humphrey said, via the team’s website. “I think that’s a great problem to have. Really excited for that addition. The options are endless. It’s going to be a fun secondary.”
When all four players are available, the Ravens might have some tough decisions to make about who is on the field. History says that all of them won’t always be healthy, however, and adding Alexander gives the Ravens flexibility to manage moments when injuries crop up over the course of the season without sacrificing much in terms of ability.
Lamar Jackson asked for Jaire Alexander and he got him on Wednesday.
The Ravens announced Alexander’s signing a day after Jackson said that he’d spoken to his college teammate about the possibility of coming to Baltimore. At a press conference Wednesday, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said that work had been going on “behind the scenes” since Alexander was released by the Packers and that the team saw the move as a chance to build up their defense.
“I know he wanted to be here,” Harbaugh said. “We wanted him here. For it to work out the way it did, it made Lamar happy. I think it made everybody happy. An opportunity to be a better team in that sense today, so we’re really excited about it.”
Alexander will have to be healthier than he’s been over the last two seasons in order for the Ravens to reap the full benefits of the move and they’ll begin the process of integrating him into their defense at training camp this summer.
Wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins is wrapping up his first offseason program with the Ravens and he’s made a strong impression on at least one of his new teammates.
It’s an important one. Hopkins made a sliding, one-handed grab of a pass that quarterback Lamar Jackson threw behind him in Tuesday’s minicamp practice and Jackson raved about what will come from Hopkins’s ability to make plays like that when he spoke to reporters after the session.
“That guy is dope. He is different,” Jackson said, via the team’s website. “That’s some super vet type of stuff. It’s just dope to have him, and I am looking forward to throwing a lot of touchdowns to him this year.”
Hopkins had similar praise for Jackson’s competitiveness and said that he’s learned over the years that “communication is key” for a successful partnership with quarterbacks. Hopkins and Jackson will continue working on theirs at training camp before hitting the field against the Bills on the first Sunday night of the regular season.
Lamar Jackson might have spoken a deal into existence.
After Jackson told reporters he’d like the Ravens to add Jaire Alexander on Tuesday, Baltimore announced the club has signed the cornerback to a one-year deal on Wednesday.
Via Adam Schefter of ESPN, Alexander is set to earn $4 million with another $2 million available in incentives.
Alexander, 28, is a two-time Pro Bowler and two-time second-team All-Pro. But he’s been limited to just 14 games over the last two seasons due to injury.
The Packers officially released Alexander on June 9, ending his seven-year tenure with the club. The No. 18 overall pick of the 2018 draft, Alexander has registered 70 passes defensed with 12 interceptions since entering the league in 2018.
The Ravens were not hurting at corner, but bringing in Alexander as an added depth piece could pay significant dividends given his experience and skill.
In 2024, Alexander picked off two passes, registered seven passes defended, and had a fumble recovery.
Alexander and Jackson were college teammates at Louisville.
Ravens tight end Mark Andrews was in the spotlight after the end of the team’s season because he wasn’t able to hang on to a pass from Lamar Jackson on a two-point conversion attempt that would have tied their playoff loss to the Bills late in the fourth quarter and he stayed there through the early portion of the offseason.
Andrews, who also fumbled in that game, remained a focus because the team was coy about whether they were looking to trade him ahead of the final year of his contract. Speculation about a possible move finally ended during the draft and Andrews remains on hand as the Ravens try to improve on last season’s finish.
During a Tuesday press conference, quarterback Lamar Jackson noted his two turnovers in the Bills loss while saying that he thought Andrews took too much blame for the loss and caught too much flak in general this offseason.
“My guy be getting talked about and I really don’t like that,” Jackson said. “He’s done so much for us, and how people did him, I don’t like that. Mark’s still Mark.”
Andrews has been a frequent target for Jackson since they entered the league together in 2018 and Jackson said on Tuesday that Andrews is still his guy, so he should get plenty of chances to show that he’s over the drop come the fall.
