The Ravens badly need some edge-rushing depth after losing Odafe Oweh (trade) and Tavius Robinson (broken foot) in Week 6.
Second-year outside linebacker Adisa Isaac is already on injured reserve with a dislocated elbow; neither he nor Robinson are expected to be back until mid- to late-November at the earliest. The Ravens’ pass rush could use a more significant upgrade before the Week 9 trade deadline, but they need some immediate help off the edge for their next two games. Here are their top options:
Internal depth
The Ravens have two edge defenders on their practice squad: Malik Hamm and Kaimon Rucker. Both have been with the team since training camp and should know the defense, but they are completely untested against NFL regular-season competition.
Hamm impressed in training camp as an undrafted rookie in 2023, but he has spent the last two seasons on injured reserve with knee injuries. He returned to the field this year, but he did not stand out in the preseason.
Rucker, a rookie out of North Carolina, was an intriguing prospect who went undrafted due to a lengthy injury history. He doesn’t have exciting size or athleticism, but his high motor and long, powerful arms led to 18.0 sacks and 30 tackles for loss across 35 games in the last three years. Per Pro Football Focus, Rucker logged an 18.6% pass rush win rate in his final college season and flashed in the preseason with six pressures on 58 pass-rushing snaps and a 16.4% PRWR. His frame limits his ability to set the edge against the run, but the effort is there, and, quite frankly, the Ravens need more help rushing the passer than they do stopping the run.
Of the two, Rucker seems like the higher-upside option to add some juice to the pass rush right away. If the Ravens do not make a signing this week, they should see what he can do against the Bears.
Off the street
Pickings are slim this late in the season, but there are a few available veterans who the Ravens could pursue. They already worked out Jesse Luketa and Carl Lawson on Monday and Efe Obada on Tuesday. Fans have mentioned Yannick Ngakoue as well, but that seems like a move that would have happened already.
DeMarcus Walker is another intriguing option. The seven-year veteran started for the Bears in 2023 and 2024 with seven sacks and 16 tackles for loss in that span. Out of 93 edge rushers with at least 200 pass-rushing snaps last year, Walker ranked 43rd in pressures (39) and 52nd in pass rush win rate (11.1%), per PFF. No Ravens edge rusher is trending to best either of those marks this season.
Walker primarily lines up on the edge, but his 6-foot-4, 280-pound frame does offer some flexibility to flip inside. That happened significantly less in Chicago relative to the first five years of his career. His size makes him a questionable fit for the Ravens’ base 3-4 formations, but at this point, that should matter much less than his proven ability to offer solid defensive line play at the NFL level.
The 31-year-old was released by the Bears as a cap casualty in February. He made a few visits in April, but is still a free agent. His pass-rush coach recently posted a video of Walker working out that suggests he wants to sign with a team this season.
Inexpensive trades
General manager Eric DeCosta may be hesitant to make a big swing before the Ravens’ next two games, but he does have the draft capital to make a low-cost move right away.
Titans edge rusher Arden Key stands out as the most obvious veteran acquisition. He’s been mentioned as a trade target multiple times since Brian Callahan’s firing, but he’s lagging behind the consistent production of his last four seasons in terms of both traditional stats and metrics from PFF and Next Gen Stats. If the Ravens are looking for a veteran who is ready to play, they could do worse than hoping for some positive regression from Key.
As for the compensation, it should not take much. Baron Browning and Josh Uche were both traded for sixth-round picks last year, but they brought lower salaries to their new teams. The Titans paid $2.5 million to facilitate DeAndre Hopkins’ move to the Chiefs last year, so they might be willing to pay down Key’s remaining salary for a late-round pick.
The Ravens could also call the Giants about Victor Dimukeje. His pressure rate in 2023 – 15.9% per PFF, 16.7% per Next Gen Stats – didn’t lead to more playing time in 2024, though the fifth-year outside linebacker still recorded similar per-snap numbers. Here’s the catch: he’s coming off a torn pectoral suffered during offseason workouts and just made his 2025 debut this past week. It is too early to tell if he can build on the positive steps of the last few years.
That could take him out of trade talks entirely, or it may incentivize the Giants to squeeze some value out of a player that is blocked on their depth chart. For the Ravens, this kind of speculative move would not be worth more than a late-round pick swap, but it would not cost much money, either.
Practice squad poaching
The Ravens could also look to other teams’ practice squads for young EDGE talent, but realistically, it’s hard to imagine a replacement-level players is available. The Ravens could poach your favorite draft priors who didn’t make a 53-man roster – mine are Mohamed Kamara and Bradyn Swinson – but that would be a tremendous bet on unproven players.
Should the Ravens pursue any of these EDGE options, or should they be taking a bigger swing to upgrade the position? Let us know in the comments!
