The Baltimore Ravens had one of the best seasons in franchise history in 2023; the only thing missing was a Super Bowl ring. For the first time in their existence, they hosted the AFC Championship Game, where they were narrowly defeated by the Kansas City Chiefs.
Heading into the 2024 offseason, they will be looking to make the necessary upgrades to get over the hump next season. There are several difficult decisions on the horizon, as the Ravens have multiple key players hitting free agency.
In attendance at the NFL Combine, general manager Eric DeCosta made mention of two of those free agents specifically; running backs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards. DeCosta is hoping that the team can retain both players to help reinforce the depth chart at the position.
“We’re still talking to Gus. We’ll talk to J.K. — a couple of free agents that we had,” DeCosta said Tuesday at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, via the team website. “We’re hopeful that we can get something done with those guys.”
NFL News & Rumors: Eric DeCosta, J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards 2024 NFL Free Agency, Baltimore Ravens Updates
Edwards has spent his entire six-year career with the Ravens to this point after going undrafted out of Rutgers in 2018. He is coming off the best season of his career with 198 carries for 810 yards and 13 touchdowns, all being career-highs.
That increased workload came in part because of Dobbins suffering another significant injury. The Ohio State product tore his Achilles in Week 1, leading to him being sidelined for an entire season for the second time in his career.
Dobbins also missed the entire 2021 campaign with a knee injury. Edwards suffered the same fate as the Ravens paced an epidemic of season-ending injuries that season.
As things currently stand, Baltimore has only two running backs on its roster; Keaton Mitchell, who is recovering from a knee injury of his own, as Justice Hill. Adding to that group is one of DeCosta’s top goals this offseason.
“We need more than two running backs, so certainly I think you’ll see us make a couple acquisitions along the way,” DeCosta said. “We think Keaton Mitchell’s going to come back from his knee injury. Justice is a player last year that was probably one of the unsung heroes of our whole team, I would say.
NFL News & Rumors: Eric DeCosta, J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards 2024 NFL Free Agency, Baltimore Ravens Updates
“We’ve looked at the draft class. It’s probably not as deep as some other positions that we’ll see in this year’s draft class. There’s some talented [free agent] players that we will look at as well, but I think it’s probably safe to say that we’ll have more than two running backs on our roster at some point. We will definitely have a plan for that position.”
If the Ravens want to take a swing in free agency, there are some big names available. Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry, Austin Ekeler, Tony Pollard, Josh Jacobs and D’Andre Swift headline this year’s deep free agency class.
Any of those players would make for an intriguing addition to the Ravens’ backfield. Imagine trying to slow down read options with Lamar Jackson and Henry or Jacobs? Or accounting for Barkley, Ekeler, Pollard and Swift in an improving passing game?
Looking to contend for a Super Bowl, it would not be surprising to see Baltimore look to bring in an established running back. Any of those six players would be huge upgrades for an offense built around a two-time MVP.
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