When the Ravens’ season ended in a dismaying divisional round loss to the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium in January, outside linebacker Odafe Oweh did what a lot of NFL players do once there are no more games to play: He went to Miami.

With warm weather, no state income tax and an endless buffet of entertainment and scenery, South Florida has become a natural hibernation destination for professional athletes across all sports.

Oweh, coming off a career-high 10 sacks in his fourth season but none in the loss to the Bills, and entering a contract year, also had a bitter taste he was looking cleanse from his pallet.

“We didn’t have the outing, at least I didn’t have the outing I wanted, so I thought a lot of that had to do with my weight and being able to be stout in certain positions,” he said last week during voluntary organized team activities in Owings Mills.

“So, as soon as the season was done, I went to Miami, started eating, lifting and then gaining weight.”

Despite being one of the world’s best food cities, it wasn’t quite as appetizing as it sounds.

“It actually wasn’t good food,” Oweh continued. “It was a lot of nasty meal prep — dry chicken, Brussels sprouts, asparagus — but it did the job.”

Indeed.

Between a new diet and new workout routine, the 26-year-old went from 245 pounds during last season to what he says is about 265 pounds this spring. The goal was simple: bulk up and get stronger without losing the speed that had become a hallmark of his game. So through his manager, Oweh enlisted the services of Jordan Collins of DBC Fitness.

Collins, a 20-year veteran of the fitness industry who ran track at Auburn and also has a football background, specializes in strength training, linear speed development, deceleration and landing mechanics as well as returning to play from injury.

“He had done group sessions his whole career,” Collins said of the company’s individual program. “He really wanted to change things up and really dedicate himself fully.”

To Oweh, the relationship was exactly what he was looking for.

Despite career highs in sacks and pressures (28, per Pro Football Reference) as well as ranking 17th among edge rushers in pass rush win-rate, per ESPN analytics, a review of game film by Collins revealed a lack of power from the 6-foot-5 specimen.

That was evident during the regular season as well as the playoffs.

Though Oweh had a sack and three hits on Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson in a wild-card win in Baltimore, he was held to zero sacks and hits on Josh Allen when facing the Bills, who had one of the league’s best offensive lines last season.

Enter Collins, who first put Oweh through an orthopedic assessment with DBC performance coach Chaney Knowlton, before drawing up an intense schedule.

“The first session we had, he went through five to six bottles of water in 90 minutes with puddles of sweat everywhere. I was like dude,” Collins said. “He was talking to me and said he’d lose maybe 10 pounds a practice and about 15 pounds a game and that it’s hard for him to hold his weight during the season.”

So, Collins force fed him, with a nutritional shake after every workout followed by a full meal — one of six or seven during Oweh’s day — before he was allowed to leave the facility following tissue work.

The plan was next-level for Oweh, too.

On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, the first half of the sessions focused entirely on a lower body combo of movement patterning, speed and plyometrics, while the second half would entail heavy lower body weightlifting. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the focus was upper body lifting with Oweh pushing as much weight and volume as he could.

There was also 10 to 20 minutes of stretching daily, preceded by a daily wellness questionnaire to gauge his soreness, energy level and the amount and quality of sleep from the night before.

The routine carried on for six weeks — save for OTAs and other duties for the Ravens — and he’ll return to Miami for a few more weeks once OTAs and mandatory minicamp later this month conclude.

“He didn’t have the strength to bulldoze an offensive tackle and hunker down in some of the run game,” Collins said. “Especially from the upper body perspective.”

The workouts had to account for prior injuries that included at least two past shoulder surgeries, including one for what Collins said was a torn labrum following the 2023 season.

“His goals were be healthy, stronger at the point of attack and move around offensive linemen and be able to rush from anywhere,” Collins said. “It was real simple at that point. Get him as strong as humanly possible, get him as mobile as humanly possible and let the athlete be an athlete.”

Being athletic has, of course, never been an issue for Oweh, whom Baltimore drafted 31st overall out of Penn State in 2021.

Production, however, has been more mixed.

Over his first three seasons, Oweh had just 11 sacks total and never more than five in a season. He also struggled to be consistent and finish plays.

His results took a big step forward last season, though, and the progression with his new powerful frame puts the salary-cap-strapped Ravens in an interesting position.

Though they appear interested in signing him to a contract extension, there’s no indication the two sides are close on a long-term deal.

Baltimore also used a second-round draft pick this year on highly-touted edge rusher Mike Green, despite off-field character concerns over two sexual assault allegations that some teams had over the former Marshall standout.

And while fellow outside linebacker and veteran Kyle Van Noy is also in a contract year, along with David Ojabo, the Ravens have hopes for 2023 fourth-round pick Tavius Robinson and 2024 third-round pick Adisa Isaac to continue to develop into every-down players. Another strong year for Oweh could also price him out of Baltimore.

“I would be crazy to say that’s not something a little bit in the back of my mind,” he said of his contract. “But every year I try to get better, try to be better than I was last year. So to be honest, that’s really what I’m focused on. I know if I do that, it’s going to take care of itself.”

While OTAs — where contact isn’t allowed — don’t offer much in terms of how Oweh’s bulk will translate on the field, coach John Harbaugh has been pleased so far.

“I’m just really happy with Odafe right now, in terms of what he’s done in the last three months,” he said. “He’s worked really hard. He’s just very determined to be really great. Again, my goal for him is to be All-Pro. Go be the best, be the best in the business, and that’s tough, because there’s a lot of good players playing his position, but that’s the way he sees himself, and let’s go for it.

“I can see him being — if you want to call it that — a more direct rusher. Use his power, use (the) bull (rush) a little bit more.”

Could Oweh’s new bulk slow him down, though, and impact his repertoire?

“I wouldn’t say change, maybe sharpen it,” he said. “Obviously, I’m kind of a power-savvy, too, with my rush, so I could build off that more. And then, like I said, when I try to dip and bring the rip up, I’ll be more solid and stout in that.”

Still, losing speed was one of the reasons why Oweh was hesitant to add more weight in the past, Collins said.

Now that he has, however, he has set another goal: more sacks than last season.

“Just try to be more than that,” he said. “I’ve got a number in my head though, but I’ll keep that to myself.”

Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker @baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1.