Odafe Oweh Talks About Trade to Chargers

A day after being traded to the Chargers, outside linebacker Odafe Oweh arrived in Los Angeles looking forward to a fresh start and apparently carrying a bit of a chip on his shoulder.

Per ESPN’s Kris Rhim, Oweh said he was shocked by the timing of the trade but knew this would be his final season with the Ravens when he didn’t get a contract extension last year.

“I was really trying to get an opportunity to be in a new system and prove what I can to people that are really trying to see that, so I have a little animosity on my back,” Oweh said. “But I know this is a good opportunity for me to show who I can be and what was not really able to be shown with the Ravens. I’m happy now.”

The Ravens picked up Oweh’s fifth-year option – which came with a $13.25 million salary cap hit – after he posted a career-high 10 sacks last season, but the 2021 first-round pick did not have any sacks through five games this season. Oweh’s snap count fell to a career-low 45%, while fellow outside linebacker Tavius Robinson’s rose to 70%.

Oweh, who had a team-high five quarterback hits, said he believes the sacks will come with his new team.

“I don’t attribute it to me not having the moves or me not winning,” Oweh said, via the Chargers website. “I was winning, just the ball was getting out or different situations in Baltimore.

“There’s a lot of things, but I could have been better as well. I know the fact that I have a lot of pressures, that’s going to translate. I don’t know when. But I’m just going to keep doing what I have to do and the production will come.”

By trading Oweh for safety Alohi Gilman, the Ravens added a proven starter to a banged-up and underperforming secondary and gained a reported $8 million of cap space. The teams also swapped Day 3 picks, with Baltimore getting a 2026 fifth-round selection and the Chargers getting a 2027 seventh-rounder.

Head Coach John Harbaugh complimented Oweh’s play and said he has an opportunity to “go out there in his contract year and have a chance to make a statement maybe.”

“I thought he was rushing the passer well, probably why the Chargers wanted him,” Harbaugh said. “I think if you look at the tape, you’ll say, ‘Hey, he’s playing good football.’ So, it’s not something that we didn’t take lightly. We understand that this is a good player – a really good player – who was a first-round pick who was playing well. We just had to weigh it out, all things considered. There’s three or four other factors involved in it, too. It does give us a piece in the secondary [in Gilman], who’s a really good guy and a really good player who, we think, brings something to the table for us that can help us.”