Team faces plenty of questions as free agency, draft near

Ravens decision-makers will descend upon Indianapolis this week.

That’s where the annual NFL scouting combine is taking place and where general manager Eric DeCosta, coach John Harbaugh and other front office and coaching personnel will get their most extensive look yet at what will ultimately become Baltimore’s 2025 rookie class. The 329 players who were invited to this year’s combine will be poked, prodded and tested, physically and mentally, by teams across the league.

It’s also where DeCosta and Harbaugh will face questions for the first time about kicker Justin Tucker, who has been accused by at least 16 massage therapists from eight spas and wellness centers in the Baltimore area of sexual misconduct between 2012 and 2016, according to The Baltimore Banner. Six of the therapists from five high-end spas accused Tucker of “exposing his genitals, brushing two of them with his exposed penis and leaving what they believed to be ejaculate on the massage table after three of his treatments,” The Banner reported last month. Three more came forward following the initial report and accused Tucker of similar behavior in interviews with The Baltimore Sun and The Banner, and an additional seven massage therapists shared similar accounts with The Banner earlier this month. Investigators from the NFL were in Baltimore last week interviewing massage therapists who have accused Tucker of misconduct.

Tucker, 35, has denied the allegations.

DeCosta and Harbaugh are each scheduled to hold news conferences on Tuesday.

As for the rest of Baltimore’s roster, several holes need to be addressed and some of them will be filled via the draft.

Left tackle Ronnie Stanley is the Ravens’ most significant of their 19 unrestricted free agents, and there are serious doubts as to whether they will be able to retain his services. Stanley, who is coming off a Pro Bowl season and will turn 31 next month, is expected to be one of the top players available when free agency opens on March 12 and could be prohibitively expensive for a team that is tight on salary cap space.

Baltimore also has other free agent decisions on its roster to consider, including versatile left guard Patrick Mekari, All-Pro fullback/tight end Pat Ricard, linebacker Malik Harrison, maligned cornerback Brandon Stephens and veteran wide receiver Nelson Agholor, as well as restricted free agent and safety Ar’Darius Washington.

“Not as many tough decisions this year — looking at it — which I’m thankful for, but obviously, as we look out, we’ll have some tough decisions after next season,” DeCosta said at last month’s end-of-season news conference.

They will also be shaped, at least in part, by the present.

Most notably, Pro Bowl safety Kyle Hamilton and Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum are set to enter the final year of their rookie deals and thus are extension-eligible. Veteran tight end and Lamar Jackson security blanket Mark Andrews is also set to enter the final year of his contract, while fellow tight ends Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar are also extension-eligible and in the last year of their rookie contracts. And outside linebacker Odafe Oweh, who is coming off a career-high 10 sacks, is slated to be a free agent after next season and thus could be in line for an extension after Baltimore picked up his fifth-year option last offseason.

Having 11 picks, which includes four compensatory selections, in April’s draft will help.

While Baltimore won’t pick in the first round until No. 27, the expectation is to get someone who will be a significant contributor immediately. That was the case last year when the Ravens drafted cornerback Nate Wiggins 30th overall.

It was, too, for the Super Bowl champion Eagles, whose first two picks, cornerback Quinyon Mitchell (22nd overall) and defensive back Cooper DeJean (40th), were key cogs in helping turn Philadelphia into perhaps the best defense in the NFL en route to a championship.

As for what direction Baltimore will go, the needs are myriad — offensive line, edge rusher, cornerback, safety and wide receiver, to name a few.

“One of the things you look at with the Ravens is because they amass all these picks and have played the comp [pick] game better than anybody else in the NFL, is you have options,” NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said on a pre-combine conference call. “I think there’s a lot of depth along the defensive front, not just edge rushers, but D-tackles. If they want to be patient, I think one comes to them.”

Jeremiah’s most recent mock draft has the Ravens taking Texas A&M edge rusher Shemar Stewart in the first round.

At 6-foot-5 and 281 pounds, Stewart looks like a potential game wrecker. Jeremiah called him big and explosive and said he “just feels like a Raven to me,” while Stewart’s NFL.com draft profile notes his quick first step, disruptiveness but a lack of polish in his moves. To that last point, he managed just 4 1/2 sacks in 37 games over three seasons for the Aggies.

Another option could be the offensive line, particularly with the uncertainty surrounding starters Stanley and Mekari. Baltimore made moves to get younger up front last year and it paid off with second-round pick Roger Rosengarten settling in at right tackle, a position he could vacate if Stanley leaves in free agency and the Ravens decide to shift him to the left side.

But, Jeremiah said, the offensive tackle class is not deep, so perhaps the Ravens could use a package of picks to move up in the first round, though that’s something they have rarely done. Still, it’s something they might consider.

“If you’re picking 28th or 30th, you might only have 15 or 20 guys that you really want,” DeCosta said last offseason.

Baltimore has only traded up in the first round on draft day five times. The most recent occasion was in 2018 when they traded down twice to select tight end Hayden Hurst 25th overall before trading back into the first round to take Jackson 32nd.

Given the aforementioned depth at edge rusher and defensive line, could Baltimore trade up on the first day of the draft for an offensive lineman? There are some possibilities, including Oregon tackle Josh Conerly Jr. and Ohio State tackle Josh Simmons.

Conerly, at 6-4 and 315 pounds, has the build, moves well and improved significantly as his final season at Oregon wore on. Notably, he shut down Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter — the potential No. 1 overall pick — in the Big Ten championship game.

Simmons, meanwhile, is almost identical in size (6-5, 310) and has good athleticism but is coming off a season-ending knee injury that he suffered in mid-October, though Jeremiah doesn’t view that as a problem.

“He’s ready to go,” he said. “He could start right away.”

And if Stanley sticks around Baltimore?

The Ravens could still look to the offensive line in the first round. Or, perhaps they would consider drafting a cornerback with their first-round pick for a second straight year with the possibility of starting Wiggins on one side, their selection on the other and utilizing Marlon Humphrey, an All-Pro in the slot last season, on the inside again. In that case, the Ravens could go with East Carolina corner Shavon Revel Jr., whom ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. has them taking in his mock draft. Rated as the 22nd best overall prospect by Kiper, he would provide the kind of value DeCosta likes, and at 6-1 and 188 pounds, he’s long, fast and physical, which suits the Ravens’ mold.

But again, there is good depth at the position, Jeremiah said, adding that Ole Miss’ Trey Amos, Kansas State’s Jacob Parish or Louisville’s Quincy Riley could be Day 2 possibilities.

Whatever direction Baltimore goes, though, remains to be seen.

This week will be about the Ravens getting their most thorough look at players yet. With 11 draft picks, there’s potential for a good haul.

“It’s a starter’s draft is how I would phrase it,” Jeremiah said. “Going through and watching all these guys for the combine and talking to a bunch of people around the league, OK, some positions maybe don’t have that superstar that we have had in years past, but we do have a boatload of starters, particularly the defensive line. A bunch of really, really good players.”

Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at [e-mail], 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1.