Baltimore Ravens

When defensive lineman Calais Campbell heard from Ravens General Manager Eric DeCosta this offseason, it didn’t come as a great surprise to the veteran.

Campbell played for the Ravens from 2020-2022 and said in an interview for the team’s podcast that he has heard from DeCosta several times over the years about a second stint in Baltimore. He said a return to Arizona was possible and that other teams also reached out, but that he thought the Ravens offered him his best chance of fulfilling his goals for the coming season.

“This year there was a lot more pressure than years past,” Campbell said. “Eric DeCosta called pretty much every year, but this year was more like ‘I gotta have you. This could make a big difference.’ I felt that. I believe that this team has all the tools to win. . . . Where can I go where I can make plays and win games? Baltimore made the most sense when it came down to that.”

Campbell played in three playoff games during his first run with the Ravens. If he and his teammates can make enough plays, they’ll have a shot at playing in at least that many again this year.

The biggest story in the opening days of the 2026 league year was the Ravens’ decision to pull out of a trade for Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby and the fallout from that move went beyond Baltimore and Las Vegas.

During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday, Buccaneers General Manager Jason Licht shed some light on how Tampa was impacted by the deal. The Bucs took edge rusher Rueben Bain with the 15th overall pick, but Licht thinks things would have played out differently had the trade gone through.

The Raiders would have landed the 14th pick and pass rusher would have been an obvious need for General Manager John Spytek in a post-Crosby world, but the pick remained in Baltimore. Spytek had also agreed to sign former Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum during the period when the trade was set to go through, which meant that the Ravens had an acute need on their offensive line at No. 14. They didn’t have as big a need for an edge rusher after signing Trey Hendrickson, so guard Vega Ioane became the choice.

“Then I think going back to free agency when, you know, the Raiders-Ravens trade didn’t work out, I think that in some way I’d like to think helped us a little bit. I was a little afraid if the Raiders made that trade, Spytek, he and I are very close, he was taunting me a little bit, hey, we’re sitting right in front of you, I know what you need,” Licht said “And then, you know, Crosby goes back to the Raiders, then the Ravens are sitting there again with their pick, and I know they love their edge rushers, too, so that had me nervous. They took Vega, which is an awesome pick, you know, they need offensive linemen. Maybe the fact that the Raiders signed Linderbaum helped us get Rueben. We’re all trying to help each other out here, especially the people that are good friends, so thanks, Spytek.”

Licht said the Bucs were in on Hendrickson “a little bit” before he agreed to terms with Baltimore, but the way everything came together left them with a “shiny new toy” at the top of the draft.

Free agent linebacker Kyle Van Noy wouldn’t mind making a move to California for the 2026 season.

Van Noy made an appearance on Up & Adams on Tuesday and brought up the 49ers when the conversation turned to where he would like to continue his career.

“I’d really like to play with my little brother, Fred Warner, with the Niners,” Van Noy said. “I think they got something cooking over there. I know they love Joey Bosa because of Nick and all that. I get that, but I would love to play with my little brother. That’s my guy, and I think they got something cooking over there.”

Van Noy declined to share how much communication he’s had with the 49ers. He said he had some contact with the Seahawks before they agreed to a deal with Dante Fowler and that he remains open to a possible return for a fourth season in Baltimore, so it doesn’t appear that all of his eggs are in one basket at this point in the job search.

Van Noy had 20 tackles, two sacks and an interception for the Ravens last year. He had 21.5 sacks in his first two seasons with the AFC North team.

The Ravens are set to make another addition to their quarterback room.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that they are expected to sign Skylar Thompson to their 90-man roster.

Head coach Jesse Minter said during the team’s rookie minicamp that “there’s a place for anywhere from three to five” quarterbacks on the team’s offseason roster and Thompson would make five in Baltimore. Lamar Jackson and Snoop Huntley return from last season while the team signed Joe Fagnano and Diego Pavia as undrafted free agents last week.

Thompson spent most of last season on the Steelers’ injured reserve list. The 2022 seventh-round pick spent his first three seasons with the Dolphins and made four starts over that time. He was 99-of-183 for 941 yards, two touchdowns and five interceptions in 11 total appearances for Miami.

Ravens first-round pick Vega Ioane isn’t overly concerned about a possible position change to kick off his NFL career.

Ioane started at left guard at Penn State and that’s the same position that his new teammate John Simpson has played throughout his NFL career. Ioane said during the team’s rookie minicamp that his college coaches “made sure every day that we were rotating” between spots to be comfortable in the event they had to play there and he thinks he’ll be able to handle a change in sides for Baltimore.

“It’s definitely a little bit of work to get used to again, but there isn’t much to it,” Ioane said, via a transcript from the team.

Ioane has the rest of the offseason and all of training camp to settle into any spot the Ravens have in mind for him and it’s a good bet he’ll be starting at one guard spot come Week 1.

The Ravens have given Diego Pavia a chance. Now it’s up to the former Vanderbilt quarterback to make the most of it, coach Jesse Minter said.

“So now he’s in the door, and it’s like, ‘Show us what you can do,’” Minter said Saturday, via Jamison Hensley of ESPN. “And just like all the undrafted rookies, that’s what I would say.”

Pavia became the first Heisman Trophy finalist to go undrafted in 12 years. He signed with Baltimore as a rookie free agent and is competing with Connecticut’s Joe Fagnano for the No. 3 quarterback job for now.

“For us, we see it as an opportunity to bring a player in that could potentially be something, and that’s really what this is for us,” Minter said of Pavia.

The Ravens still could bring in more quarterbacks this offseason, Minter said.

Pavia was not available for interviews despite the NFL’s media access policy stating that the team “must make rookies available to the media for interviews.” And the media would have had plenty of questions for Pavia, whose age, height and decision-making off the field were the big questions the NFL had for him.

Minter was the defensive coordinator at Vanderbilt in 2021, and head coach Clark Lea is one of his closest friends.

"[Pavia has] had some experiences that are learning experiences that he could learn from and be better from. I don’t think anybody would dispute that,” Minter said. “But when you talk to the people inside that building [at Vanderbilt] and what he’s about as a player, he is showing up early every day and working really hard.”

After going undrafted and not immediately signed as an undrafted free agent last weekend, former Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia has gotten an opportunity.

And that’s exactly what it is. An opportunity.

After initially being invited to participate in Baltimore’s rookie minicamp on a tryout basis, the Ravens signed Pavia to the 90-man offseason roster. It was hyped by some as a “three-year deal.” But that’s the standard deal, required by the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for undrafted players.

The key is the guarantees. Pavia, per multiple sources, received none. No signing bonus. No guaranteed salaries.

It’s not a low-risk proposition for Baltimore. It’s no risk. It’s a tryout with only the sliver of financial security that comes from the possibility of a serious injury during the rookie minicamp that would land Pavia on injured reserve.

If the Ravens like what they see from Pavia during the rookie minicamp, they’ll keep him. If they don’t, he’ll be gone.

Regardless, Pavia has gotten an opportunity. It’s now up to him to make the most of it.

Quarterbacks Diego Pavia and Joe Fagnano are officially on the roster in Baltimore.

Reports surfaced this week that both players would be signing with the Ravens after going undrafted and the deals were formalized on Friday. Pavia was the Heisman runner-up at Vanderbilt last season and Fagnano started 45 games at UConn.

They join Lamar Jackson and Snoop Huntley on the 90-man roster and will get a chance to show their on-field skills at this weekend’s rookie minicamp.

Pavia and Fagnano are part of a 19-player group of undrafted rookie additions. The Ravens also signed Wake Forest defensive back Ladarius Webb Jr., Memphis wide receiver Cortez Braham, Iowa defensive tackle Aaron Graves, Cincinnati cornerback Matthew McDoom, Eastern Michigan running back Dontae McMillan, Browns tight end Ty Pezza, Ole Miss tackle Diego Pounds, Auburn defensive back Jahquez Robinson, Maryland wide receiver Octavian Smith, Louisville tackle Trevonte Sylvester, Michigan State running back Elijah Tau-Tolliver, Miami (Ohio) safety Silas Walters, Charlotte linebacker Reid Williford, Syracuse defensive tackle Dion Wilson, Texas linebacker Ethan Burke, Penn State center Nick Dawkins, and Penn State linebacker Dominic DeLuca.

The Ravens are nearly done with signing their 2026 draft class.

Baltimore announced on Friday that seventh-round defensive tackle Rayshaun Benny has put pen to paper on his four-year rookie deal.

Benny, selected at No. at No. 250 overall, played his college ball at Michigan.

He appeared in 54 games with 16 starts over the course of his collegiate career, registering 12.0 tackles for loss with 4.0 sacks and one forced fumble.

Second-round edge rusher Zion Young is the remaining unsigned member of Baltimore’s 2026 draft class.

The Ravens have signed almost all of their draft picks ahead of Friday’s start to their rookie minicamp.

A flurry of signings on Thursday left them with nine of their 11 picks under contract, including third-round pick Ja’Kobi Lane. The wideout had 49 catches for 745 yards and four touchdowns during his final season at USC.

The Ravens also signed fifth-round cornerback Chandler Rivers and sixth-round punter Ryan Eckley in their final wave of agreements. First-round guard Vega Ioane, fourth-round wide receiver Elijah Sarratt, fourth-round tight end Matt Hibner, fifth-round tight end Josh Cuevas, fifth-round running back Adam Randall, and seventh-round offensive lineman Evan Beerntsen are the other picks who have signed their four-year deals.

Second-round edge rusher Zion Young and seventh-round defensive tackle Rayshaun Benny are the only unsigned members of the class.