The Baltimore Ravens placed 13 players in the Pro Bowl and had a franchise-best 14-2 record. A team doesn’t do that without nearly everyone stepping up and playing great football. However, every team ends up having some players that slide backwards instead of improving and the Ravens are no exception to the rule.
In spite of so many players stepping up last season, these three players regressed in 2019 for Baltimore and leave them with some questions.
LB Patrick Onwuasor:
Onwuasor entered the 2019 season as Baltimore’s answer for the departure of C.J. Mosley. It only took a few weeks for the Ravens to realize they were in trouble and replace him with mid-season free agents. That’s a pretty huge regression that now makes it difficult to see Baltimore re-signing him as a pending free agent.
The Ravens’ defense was often out of position and suffered blown coverages in the few games Onwuasor was given the green-dot helmet (the helmet for communicating with the coaching staff). When it cycled elsewhere, Baltimore’s defense began to tighten up.
After coming off a 2018 season that saw Onwuasor start 12 games, notch 59 combined tackles, 5.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, three passes defended and an interception, last season was a disaster. Onwuasor only started six games, posting 64 combined tackles and three sacks and seeing his defensive snap counts plummet after Week 5 while getting more snaps on special teams in the final eight games he played.