Cornerback:
The Ravens love having a bunch of capable cornerbacks on the roster. Even with two Pro Bowl starters in Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters as well as Tavon Young on the inside, Baltimore has learned to not rest on their laurels when it comes to their secondary.
After declining the 2020 option for Brandon Carr and Jimmy Smith still a free agent, the Ravens don’t have any experienced depth and no obvious players close to stepping into a starting role. Iman Marshall and Anthony Averett could turn into those players for Baltimore but neither have shown much in that regard so far.
Marshall spent most of his rookie season on injured reserve and only got four defensive snaps in the three games he played in. Averett was given a chance to start last season but didn’t play well, allowing a 92.0 pass rating when targeted, which helped lead to the team trading for Peters.
Even the starters the Ravens do have are not guaranteed to stick around long.
Humphrey will have his fifth-year option picked up, which will keep him in town through the 2021 season. But given the rate for star cornerbacks skyrocketing this offseason and likely to go up even more next offseason, there’s no lock Humphrey will sign a long-term extension. While Baltimore gave Peters a three-year extension late last season, the Ravens can save $9.47 million by cutting him next offseason, according to Over The Cap.
Baltimore needs more capable depth at cornerback to begin with and getting some guys that could potentially start as early as next season surely shouldn’t be ruled out.