Sportsnaut
No NFL defense has been as bad as the Baltimore Ravens this season. That’s a sentence that hasn’t been written often, before this year anyway.
But the 2025 Ravens have faced a unique set of circumstances, including injuries to all of their best and brightest defenders. Yet, other teams have dealt with worse injuries in the past, so the Ravens are not alone there.
The good news is, help is on the way.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Ravens have added free agent safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson to their practice squad. CGJ was shockingly released by the Houston Texans on September 23rd, despite the team having a top-five defense at the time.
The former Super Bowl winner took his time to find the right fit, considering several offers in the process. Ultimately, he saw a desperate Ravens defense as the best choice for his future. Gardner-Johnson is still just 27 years old, but he brings 64 NFL regular season starts, plus 10 more in the playoffs to the table. He’s even started two Super Bowls and won one.
That type of experience can be invaluable to a Ravens team that has featured a lot of moving parts early on. The Ravens have already had 21 different players make a start on defense, and if Gardner-Johnson impresses, he can increase that number to 22 in the near future.
After Ravens All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton missed last week’s game with a groin injury, the Ravens now have a better insurance plan in place, should he be forced to miss more time.
Last season saw C.J. return to his ballhawking ways, recording six interceptions for the second time in his career. But so far we’ve seen Gardner-Johnson make three starts this season, recording 15 tackles and a QB hit. He’ll have a great chance of adding onto those numbers in the near future, possibly even in time for Sunday’s matchup with the Rams.
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