{"id":480586,"date":"2026-02-17T11:41:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T11:41:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/480586\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T11:41:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T11:41:07","slug":"nfl-free-agency-4-targets-the-ravens-can-sign-to-replace-dremont-jones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/480586\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL Free Agency: 4 targets the Ravens can sign to replace Dre&#8217;Mont Jones"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Watch the <a href=\"https:\/\/sportsdata.usatoday.com\/football\/nfl\/teams\/baltimore-ravens\/366\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Baltimore Ravens;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Baltimore Ravens<\/a> play football long enough, and you&#8217;ll hear some familiar jargon. Conversations have evolved into the NFL being a passing league and that kind of thing.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s a common theory. We also hear statements like &#8216;defense wins championships.&#8217; It just isn&#8217;t something we hear as often as when we were younger. As pro football changes its rules to help teams score more frequently, defensive coordinators rush to find the answers.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s something else you&#8217;ve heard relatively often. Championship windows close quickly. Sound familiar? That&#8217;s why you see urgency in the <a href=\"https:\/\/sportsdata.usatoday.com\/football\/nfl\/teams\/baltimore-ravens\/366\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Ravens;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Ravens<\/a>&#8216; organization. <a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/articles\/jesse-minter-ravens-announce-coaching-183859619.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:That&#039;s probably why Jesse Minter, a defensive-minded coach, was hired;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">That&#8217;s probably why Jesse Minter, a defensive-minded coach, was hired<\/a>. It seemed the prevailing view was that the defense let Baltimore down last season.<\/p>\n<p>They didn&#8217;t fail for lack of effort. Once GM Eric DeCosta determined that the pass rush was anemic, moves were made. One of the most effective was <a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/article\/ravens-acquire-pass-rusher-dremont-005927570.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:trading for Dre&#039;Mont Jones on;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">trading for Dre&#8217;Mont Jones on <\/a>November 3. Baltimore sent a conditional fifth-round pick to the <a href=\"https:\/\/sportsdata.usatoday.com\/football\/nfl\/teams\/tennessee-titans\/336\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Tennessee Titans;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Tennessee Titans<\/a>. There was just one issue. His current contract was only a one-year arrangement.<\/p>\n<p>He now joins the list of impending free agents whose contracts expire when the new league year begins on March 11. <a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/articles\/ranking-ravens-top-12-free-102030590.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:He&#039;s seemingly a priority signing;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">He&#8217;s seemingly a priority signing <\/a>after notching 17 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 15 additional QB hits, a pass breakup, and a fumble recovery.<\/p>\n<p>He did so in nine games, eight of which he started. So far, there&#8217;s been no extension announced. David Ojabo, another edge rusher, is also staring at free agency, so while we have some time, here are a few possible free agent targets if they or the Ravens move on.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>It seems unlikely that the Ravens will bring Odafe Oweh back or break the bank for Trey Hendrickson, though it would be funny to see him in a Ravens jersey and terrorizing the <a href=\"https:\/\/sportsdata.usatoday.com\/football\/nfl\/teams\/cincinnati-bengals\/327\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Cincinnati Bengals;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Cincinnati Bengals<\/a>. Here&#8217;s a more realistic option.<\/p>\n<p>Mafe won&#8217;t turn 28 until November. He&#8217;s one of the better blends of youth and cost-effectiveness that Baltimore will find on the open market this time around.<\/p>\n<p>We wanted a veteran bridge player on the list. This spot came down to a toss-up between Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack. Ultimately, we gave the nod to Bosa because he&#8217;s a little younger and led the league in forced fumbles last season.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>Keep an eye on Mack, though, if someone snatches Mr. Bosa. They&#8217;ve put up some comparable numbers over the past two seasons, and both would be great mentors for the young guys, particularly Mike Green.<\/p>\n<p>The Ravens didn&#8217;t seem interested in Jadeveon Clowney last season when he was available. Now, he&#8217;s a year older, but he may cost less.<\/p>\n<p>He&#8217;s still pretty effective. He racked up 41 tackles, 8.5 sacks, ten additional QB hits, and a forced fumble last season, but his 2023 run with the Ravens was actually a better one (43 tackles, 9.5 sacks, 19 QB hits, and two forced fumbles).<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s another option if you&#8217;d prefer fresher legs.Arnold\u00a0Ebiketie won&#8217;t turn 28 years old until January. He has never racked more than six sacks.<\/p>\n<p>He only produced two last season, but he did so in a rotational role. With more responsibility, he could blossom.<\/p>\n<p>This article originally appeared on Ravens Wire: <a href=\"https:\/\/ravenswire.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/nfl\/ravens\/2026\/02\/17\/nfl-free-agency-4-targets-ravens-can-sign-replace-dremont-jones\/88666108007\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:NFL Free Agency: 4 targets the Ravens can sign to replace Dre&#039;Mont Jones;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">NFL Free Agency: 4 targets the Ravens can sign to replace Dre&#8217;Mont Jones<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Watch the Baltimore Ravens play football long enough, and you&#8217;ll hear some familiar jargon. Conversations have evolved into&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":480587,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[436],"tags":[116456,1766,1742,190534,1748,49,48,1740,1721,42858,194454,82131,161816,64232,29481,514,91351,1739,82,1741,1746],"class_list":{"0":"post-480586","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-arnold-ebiketie","9":"tag-atlanta-falcons","10":"tag-baltimore-ravens","11":"tag-boye-mafe","12":"tag-buffalo-bills","13":"tag-ca","14":"tag-canada","15":"tag-cincinnati-bengals","16":"tag-dallas-cowboys","17":"tag-david-ojabo","18":"tag-defensive-coordinators","19":"tag-jadeveon-clowney","20":"tag-jesse-minter","21":"tag-joey-bosa","22":"tag-khalil-mack","23":"tag-nfl","24":"tag-odafe-oweh","25":"tag-seattle-seahawks","26":"tag-sports","27":"tag-tennessee-titans","28":"tag-trey-hendrickson"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=480586"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480586\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/480587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=480586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=480586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=480586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}