Sportsnaut
Usually, when teams with hopes of reaching the playoffs have an obvious moment of weakness, they make an attempt to upgrade the position. This time, the Baltimore Ravens, despite being on pace to have the worst defense in NFL history, traded pass-rusher Odafe Oweh, who recorded 10 sacks last season.
While Oweh hadn’t generated any sacks this season, the Ravens will still need to replace him on the field after he’d played in 45% of the team’s snaps thus far. The one thing the Oweh trade did accomplish was to clear up roughly $8 million in cap space. ESPN’s Dan Graziano believes Baltimore could allocate that cap void to acquiring another pass-rusher before the NFL trade deadline.
If the Ravens do look for another pass-rusher, who could they acquire? Here’s a look at five sack specialists who could be available, either now or before the Nov. 11 deadline.
Judon didn’t just start his career in Baltimore; he spent five seasons there, averaging 6.9 sacks per year. He also became a two-time Pro Bowler. Since then, he’s bounced around to three different teams across the past five seasons. Now 33, the Ravens could send a late-round draft pick to the Dolphins for Judon, who’s under contract at just a $1.6 million cap hit.
Under contract through 2026, Jermaine Johnson is a prime candidate to break out with a change of scenery. The 26-year-old one-time Pro Bowler is stuck on a one-win Jets team that could end up as trade deadline sellers. Yet, the former first-round pick has played in just four games since his 7.5-sack, one-interception breakout season in 2022.
Playing on an expiring contract, Phillips is another prime trade candidate on a one-win Dolphins team. At 6-feet-5, 263 pounds, the former first-round pick could still shape into a premier pass-rusher. He averaged 7.3 sacks per season across the first three years of his career, but he’s still just 26. If nothing else, the Ravens could take a mid-season flyer on Phillips, hoping he can thrive in Baltimore’s scheme, but he’d probably fetch a mid-round pick.
Another 26-year-old former first-round pick with great size at 6-foot-4, 245 pounds, McDonald had a breakout 10.5 sack season in 2024. He’s already tallied two more in five starts this season, showing he’s already in mid-season form. Plus, McDonald is under contract through 2026. If available, the Jets would probably demand a mid-round draft pick.
A 24-year-old former No. 5 overall pick, Thibodeaux isn’t ahead of Brian Burns or Abdul Carter in the Giants’ hierarchy. That automatically makes the edge rusher an eventual trade candidate. It may not happen this season, as he’s still under contract through 2026, but teams could be eager to add a player who once recorded 11.5 sacks in a single season.
Somehow, Young, who was the No. 2 overall pick in 2020, is still just 26 years old. A one-time Pro Bowler,...
