The Baltimore Ravens have always been an organization that has been a place for veteran free agents to sign with and thrive with. While not every addition works out for the player or the team, Baltimore has had a consistent track record of getting the best out of free agents that come to the organization.
Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta made successful move after successful move during the 2023 offseason, with many of the veterans he brought in making a significant impact. He talked about his confidence in the team’s free-agent culture. He mentioned players such as outside linebackers Jadeveon Clowney, Kyle Van Noy, and cornerback Arthur Maulet.
“That’s partly their own ability as players and their desire at this stage in their careers, but I also think it’s this place. Players come in here, and they’re part of our strength and conditioning program and the way that we practice and the way that we coach. Other players and the vibe that this place has – you guys see it at practice every day – we’ve become a place where veteran players can come and succeed and really play well. There are a lot of reasons for that – the performance stuff that we do upstairs and the wellness stuff that we do and nutrition with [director of sports nutrition] Sarah [Snyder] and [football performance coordinator] Sam [Rosengarten] and the trainers and [head coach] John [Harbaugh] and his program. Guys come in here and flourish, and so it speaks to that, but also to the type of guys that they are – [Kyle] Van Noy, [Jadeveon] Clowney, [Arthur] Maulet, [Ronald] Darby, all those guys. Those guys are wired the right way, and they really, really wanted to win this year. They saw a potential to win this year, and they hit the ground running, and they played very well.”
Clowney and Van Noy eclipsed nine sacks in Baltimore that year, with Clowney having 9.5 and Van Noy contributing nine of his own. Maulet also had a solid year, as did many more of DeCosta’s additions. Most of them were brought in on cost-effective deals, which reasonably gives the organizations confidence that with their reputation and on-field success, they’ll be able to bring in more of the same kinds of free agents in 2024.