In another 12 hours or so, DeCosta would be back in the chair where he\u2019s most comfortable, doing what he does at a critically acclaimed level. On Thursday night, after shaking off a deal that was short-circuited by another team, the Ravens would make a pick (Penn State guard Vega Ioane) that symbolically spoke to the franchise\u2019s core values.<\/p>\n
Then, on Friday and Saturday, DeCosta would methodically attempt to upgrade his roster at numerous positions \u2014 with much of that energy geared toward enhancing star quarterback Lamar Jackson\u2019s reality \u2014 a prospect that excited him as the three-day marathon approached. His comfort zone was such that he\u2019d even ceded one of his selections to an obsessive draftnik who is fond of telling the GM, \u201cI\u2019m one of your best scouts\u201d \u2014 more on that later.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I\u2019m in my sweet spot, which is the draft,\u201d DeCosta said between bites of eggs. \u201cIt\u2019s my comfort zone. It\u2019s what I love and it\u2019s what I know the best. It brings me great enjoyment working with the coaches and the scouts, looking at these players and getting ready.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething we\u2019ve always been known for is the draft in Baltimore, of course, and we take that very seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last month, the 55-year-old DeCosta became known to legions of fans \u2014 especially those who revere the Raiders \u2014 for something far less flattering. After backing out of an agreement to trade first-round picks in 2026 and 2027 for Crosby, DeCosta was decried as dishonorable, dirty and duplicitous, especially after Baltimore signed another accomplished edge rusher, Trey Hendrickson, to a free-agent deal the following day.<\/p>\n
The blowback was so bad that one Ravens executive told DeCosta he had \u201cturned heel\u201d \u2014 a pro wrestling term denoting a formerly sympathetic character who is abruptly recast as a villain. That resonated with DeCosta, who grew up in Taunton, Mass. as a WWF fan.<\/p>\n
\u201cWrestling was huge in the \u201980s in Massachusetts,\u201d DeCosta said. \u201cI loved wrestling. I remember when I was 11 and Jimmy Snuka got hit in the head with a coconut by Rowdy Roddy Piper, and I started crying. I thought it was real. I think (eventually) even Jimmy Snuka, who was one of my favorite\u00a0guys, turned heel. So that expression really resonated with me. Someone said, \u2018You turned heel,\u2019 and I\u2019m like, \u2018Holy s\u2014, I did! I\u2019m reviled now by a lot of the football fans.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Despicable Eric DeCosta\u00a0did what he had to do because, after reviewing three doctors\u2019 assessments of Crosby\u2019s recently repaired left knee, he believed acquiring the five-time Pro Bowl defensive end posed too much of a risk.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew we were going to take a huge hit, so we did not do it lightly,\u201d recalled Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, who was on a golf course in the Bahamas when he learned of DeCosta\u2019s trepidation. \u201cI said, \u2018I understand the firestorm you\u2019re walking into.\u2019 It was very tough for him, because he\u2019s the one that takes the bullets.\u201d<\/p>\n
In January, after his surprising decision to fire Harbaugh, Bisciotti stood in the line of fire, owning the decision during a lengthy press conference that, because of the owner\u2019s candor, was largely well received. Harbaugh, whose achievements included 12 playoff appearances, four AFC Championship Game appearances and a Super Bowl victory, immediately became the league\u2019s hottest coaching candidate, ultimately choosing the New York Giants. The Ravens conducted a protracted search, hiring Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter \u2014 one of Harbaugh\u2019s former assistants \u2014 as the franchise\u2019s fourth head coach.<\/p>\n
It was a hectic stretch for DeCosta, and an emotionally charged one. He and Harbaugh, neighbors whose houses were only about a football field apart (they famously converged in their respective backyards to celebrate the end of the 2020 draft during the pandemic lockdown), had worked together for nearly two decades, and DeCosta said he was blindsided by a close friend\u2019s dismissal. Two nights earlier in Pittsburgh, in a game to decide the AFC North, the Ravens had appeared headed for the playoffs thanks to Jackson\u2019s late heroics before rookie Tyler Loop sprayed a 44-yard field goal attempt on the final play.<\/p>\n
In DeCosta\u2019s words: \u201cThe kick goes sideways, and then the offseason goes sideways, in a lot ways.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harbaugh\u2019s dismissal came at the end of a long day that DeCosta had spent mostly at the Johns Hopkins Hospital waiting nervously as two family members underwent procedures: His 22-year-old daughter, Jane, donated bone marrow to her maternal grandmother, who is battling leukemia.<\/p>\n
Both are doing well now, but there were some initial complications, and DeCosta\u2019s wife, Lacie, had a hard time reaching him as he navigated the evolving situation back at the team\u2019s training facility. \u201cThat was a really long day, with poor communication probably by me,\u201d DeCosta admitted. \u201cIt was one of those years. I lost a couple of people in my life \u2014 my neighbor and dear friend, and my cousin, Bobby, who\u2019s like my dad\u2019s best friend. We had a couple of long days this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of those, of course, occurred on Tuesday, March 10, during the \u201clegal tampering\u201d period that preceded the following day\u2019s start of the league year \u2014 and four days after the Ravens and Raiders had agreed to the seismic trade for Crosby, which had been widely reported after its completion. Technically, the trade couldn\u2019t become official until the league year began, meaning either side could change its mind for any reason.<\/p>\n
Upon arriving in Maryland that Tuesday Crosby, who\u2019d had surgery in January to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, underwent a physical exam that included a series of imaging tests. After consulting with the Ravens\u2019 team physician \u2014 and those of the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants \u2014 DeCosta became uncomfortable with the prognosis. He sat in his office, struggling with the choice that awaited him: Honor the deal, and assume what he now viewed as a significant risk, or be the bogeyman who blew it up.<\/p>\n
He called Bisciotti in the Bahamas, telling him, \u201cI\u2019m not sure if you want to sit down for this, but it\u2019s not good news.\u201d Bisciotti gulped and asked for half an hour to consider the situation, after which he called back and agreed with his GM that the best course of action was to renege.<\/p>\n
DeCosta sat in his office, dreading what came next. He\u2019d viewed the Crosby acquisition as potentially transformative, akin to the Green Bay Packers\u2019 1993 signing of future first-ballot Hall of Fame defensive end Reggie White during the first unrestricted free agency class. The lowest moment, he said, was \u201ctrying to find the strength to tell Maxx. It was not an easy thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
After he and Minter delivered the news to a devastated Crosby, more unpleasantness awaited. \u201cI knew that it was going to be a s\u2014storm,\u201d DeCosta conceded. The Raiders soon issued a curt statement<\/a> saying the Ravens had \u201cbacked out\u201d of the trade, and enmity ensued.<\/p>\n \n Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta was under a microscope after an agreed-upon deal to acquire Maxx Crosby fell through. (Kenneth K. Lam \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n The newly hired Minter was struck by DeCosta\u2019s decisiveness and resolve. \u201cHe stood out there and did what he needed to do as the general manager of this organization and handled it, like, unbelievably well,\u201d Minter said while sitting in his office shortly before the start of Thursday night\u2019s first round. \u201cAnd it\u2019s in a way it\u2019s kind of like, \u2018That\u2019s fine. That\u2019s what you guys think about us? Whatever.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The Ravens\u2019 organizational defiance, and chutzpah, was underscored when it was announced the next morning that Hendrickson, a four-time Pro Bowl defensive end with the AFC North rival Cincinnati Bengals, had agreed to<\/a> a four-year, $112 million deal. DeCosta, like most other GMs, had expected Hendrickson to be off the board by then, but a surprisingly soft market dropped the player\u2019s asking price. Hendrickson met with Ravens coaches on a video call on Tuesday the 10th, even as Crosby was in the building. Theoretically, Baltimore could have landed both players to shore up an ailing pass rush; after bailing on the Crosby trade, he became a pretty convenient fallback.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to pivot,\u201d DeCosta said. \u201cIt\u2019s like with the draft. You have a name on the card. That guy gets picked. You go to the next guy. The only way I really know how to operate is to have a plan and to move forward as strategically and quickly as possible. And that was Trey, and we were absolutely fired up. He just seems like a classic Raven.\u201d<\/p>\n The outraged reactions only intensified, including claims that teams would be reticent to do business with the Ravens in the future. Asked Thursday morning whether he\u2019d noticed any change in the six weeks that followed, DeCosta laughed and said, \u201cI do get phone calls from GMs. I do talk to agents often about deals. I have GMs who are calling me about trades. So I think maybe that storm has subsided, and we\u2019re open for business again.\u201d<\/p>\n DeCosta has \u201cknown since I was 8 years old that I wanted to be an NFL GM,\u201d and the Ravens are the only franchise he has ever known. He had the good fortune of being mentored by legendary Baltimore GM Ozzie Newsome, a Hall of Fame tight end who, as Baltimore\u2019s general manager from 2002 to 2019, may have been even more accomplished than he was as a player. Newsome made DeCosta the draft room\u2019s point person on trades as a 26-year-old player personnel assistant in 1997, and Bisciotti told DeCosta<\/a> in 2007 that he\u2019d be Newsome\u2019s successor. After rebuffing numerous overtures from other teams seeking general managers, DeCosta finally took over after the 2018 season. Newsome, 70, stayed on as a Ravens executive vice president and remains in that role.<\/p>\n Bisciotti\u2019s succession plan, the owner explained late Thursday night, was based on his observation that DeCosta was \u201cadored by his boss. Trust me, it was Ozzie\u2019s belief in Eric that (convinced me); he was going to be The One. And, you know, they\u2019re completely different people. Eric\u2019s feisty, and Ozzie is really measured. And that\u2019s why I wouldn\u2019t let Ozzie retire. I want both.\u201d<\/p>\n \n Eric DeCosta, far left, was tagged as legendary Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome\u2019s by owner Steve Bisciotti, right. (Patrick Semansky \/ AP)<\/p>\n Many of DeCosta\u2019s peers revere his talent-evaluation skills, roster-building approach and intensity.<\/p>\n \u201cEric has become one of the best in the NFL at building and sustaining a championship-caliber roster,\u201d said Eagles executive vice president and general manager Howie Roseman, one of the sport\u2019s most successful<\/a>\u00a0GMs. \u201cHe was patient throughout the years, even when presented with other opportunities, because he knew the value of working with and learning from Ozzie Newsome, one of the greatest general managers in the history of this league \u2014 so that when he got his shot, he could be great. Eric has carried on the standard Ozzie set but has also put his own stamp on the Ravens.\u201d<\/p>\n Said a high-ranking personnel executive for another NFC team: \u201cHe\u2019s unique in that he\u2019s got exceptional intelligence, but he also has that Boston grit and toughness bred in him. He\u2019s a true Masshole that is afraid of no one, and I say that as a huge compliment.\u201d<\/p>\n Whether cast as an endearing tough guy or a wrestling villain, DeCosta is ultimately judged on performance \u2014 and the draft is his headlining gig. After 18 years of collaborating with Harbaugh, he was energized by the opportunity to experience a draft with Minter and his assistants for the first time, saying it \u201csharpens you a little bit and creates a little more urgency.\u201d<\/p>\n The Ravens went into this draft with obvious needs \u2014 interior offensive linemen, pass-catching targets and edge rusher being the most glaring \u2014 but what DeCosta craved most of all was a return to the team\u2019s hard-nosed roots<\/a>. With the 14th selection, he targeted a cluster of players that included offensive linemen (Spencer Fano, Francis Mauigoa and Ioane), wide receivers (Carnell Tate and Jordyn Tyson) and tight end Kenyon Sadiq. As the pick approached, both Ioane and Sadiq remained available; surprisingly, another player he coveted, former Miami edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr., was also there for the taking.<\/p>\n With three enticing options, DeCosta was willing to trade back \u2014 and he thought he had a deal worked out with a team (which he declined to name) that would keep the Ravens picking in the teens and allow them to pick up extra fourth-round picks in each of the next two drafts. Once on the clock, however, the trade fell through. This time, it was not DeCosta\u2019s doing. \u201cWe had something on the table, but inexplicably they told us they\u2019d changed their mind,\u201d he said Friday morning. \u201cThey changed the deal (and made another offer that wasn\u2019t as good), and we passed.\u201d<\/p>\n In making his choice, DeCosta gave a lot of weight to the desires of Minter and his assistants. \u201cJesse had a really strong opinion (about wanting Ioane),\u201d DeCosta said. \u201cThat really resonated with me.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Baltimore](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2265480972-1024x560.jpg\")
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