The Baltimore Ravens are quickly building a stacked pass rush group. The duo of Kyle Van Noy and Odafe Oweh leads the way and rookie sack artist Mike Green is looking to make his known, so time is quickly ticking on some of Baltimore’s outside linebackers.
2023 fourth-round pick Tavius Robinson might be the most likely to win the rotational pass rusher job after an encouraging 2024 campaign. Second-year man out of Penn State Adisa Isaac should also fight for the role, making it one of the most competitive position battles this offseason. For David Ojabo, the writing may already be on the wall for his exit.
Alex Ballentine recently addressed every NFL team’s needs, trade assets, and cap situation as we get closer to the 2025 season. He listed Ojabo as one of the Ravens' best trade pieces.
Ojabo is heading into his fourth year, and while the future initially looked bright for him coming out of college, he's had an extremely underwhelming career. His 11-sack season in 2021 had scouts salivating at the potential he could bring to the NFL. Unfortunately, it hasn’t gone as planned.
After tearing his Achilles at his pro day in 2022, his horrible injury luck has continued. Over the past three seasons, Ojabo has played in just 18 games. Those games have seen limited snaps and production as well. He’s tallied four sacks in that action and has yet to flash much of what he showed in college. The explosive pass rusher that once dominated offensive lines in 2022 may be gone, and his time in Baltimore might be up.
Going into the final year of his deal, it’s put up or shut up time for Ojabo. If he can’t prove to be a part of the Ravens’ future, the team may have no choice but to trade or cut him. However, he just turned 25, so there’s still time for him to find his way in the league, but that time could be with another team.
You can never have too many pass rushers. and teams around the league might be calling for Ojabo’s services. Whether they be young and hungry teams looking to find a key contributor who can rush the passer or contending teams looking for another body to put them over the top and into playoff and Super Bowl contention, the Ravens should have suitors for the former second-round pick.
One of these teams could be the Seattle Seahawks. The connection between Ojabo and Seahawks Head Coach Mike Macdonald dates back to their days at Michigan. After spending two years together in Baltimore, Macdonald jumped ship to Seattle in 2024. The second-year head coach only got five games out of Ojabo during his tenure in Baltimore, so with him finally healthy, Macdonald and the Seahawks could jump at the opportunity to unlock the speedy pass rusher.
While it could be difficult for Baltimore to give up on Ojabo given what he has endured, it would be best for both sides to move on. Trading him would allow other pass rushers to get their chance to shine and let Ojabo revive his career with a new franchise.
