Welcome back to Loose Feathers! It was another light news week in Baltimore, but let’s catch up on some minor notes about the Ravens!
John Simpson calls Ravens reunion ‘no-brainer’
Simpson hit free agency this offseason after two very different years with the Jets. In 2024, he earned a 77.3 grade from Pro Football Focus with a 98.2 pass block efficiency and 2.9% pressure rate allowed. Those numbers dropped to 56.9, 97.1, and 4.7% last year. The 28-year-old did not stand out in a crowded market and earned the seventh-highest APY among free agent guards.
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But for Simpson, the three-year, $30 million offer to return to Baltimore was a “no-brainer,” he said at Tuesday’s OTAs. He added that “it means a whole lot” that the Ravens were interested in a reunion, especially to shore up their biggest weakness.
At the moment, it seems most likely that Simpson will play left guard having lined up there for all but 76 of his almost 5,000 career snaps, including every one during his first stint in Baltimore. First-round pick Vega Ioane, meanwhile, played 314 snaps at right guard from 2022 to 2024 (but just one last year).
Broderick Washington is back on the field
One injury note I neglected to mention Tuesday was the return of veteran defensive tackle Broderick Washington. He suffered an Achilles injury early in the season and underwent season-ending surgery in November. He is entering a crucial contract year and will have to earn his spot under a new coaching staff, especially since the Ravens can save $4 million by cutting him.
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Washington played his best football under defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver when he was the team’s defensive line coach in 2022 and 2023, so do not count him out. The Ravens have a mixed bag at defensive line with three true locks – Nnamdi Madubuike, Travis Jones, and Calais Campbell – a trusted veteran in John Jenkins, and young talent with physical/athletic upside like Aeneas Peebles and C.J. Okoye. That’s not even mentioning seventh-round pick Rayshaun Benny, who played under Jesse Minter at Michigan.
But the savings of cutting Washington would be valuable, whether it is to add a more impactful veteran free agent, reserve money for in-season expensive, or even just as extra cap space to roll into a tight 2027 budget.
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