The Ravens are among the league’s best teams when it comes to drafting and developing young talent. That’s traditionally been a cornerstone of success in the NFL, and there are few teams who have done it better, especially in recent years. Unfortunately, one of the main downsides of developing top young talent is that they can often find a bigger payday somewhere else. For fifth-year outside linebacker Odafe Oweh, The Athletic‘s Jeff Zrebiec writes that he’s in a position where he “may price himself out of Baltimore” with another impressive season in 2025.
Ravens May Prioritize Other Extension Candidates over Oweh
With other big names entering free agency following this season – including superstar Lamar Jackson – the Ravens will likely be forced to choose which defensive players to extend. 24-year-old star safety Kyle Hamilton will be one of their top candidates and will “almost certainly” be the highest-paid safety in the league when the Ravens extend him after this season.
As Zrebiec points out, “quality young edge rushers typically find a lot of interest – and money – on the free-agent market.” Even with Oweh coming off a double-digit sack season, he has struggled with a lack of consistency, and has only started 23 games across his first four seasons.
“Oweh has battled consistency issues throughout his young career, making it hard to know what his ceiling is and whether he’s close to hitting it,” writes Zrebiec. “The Ravens have many key players due for extensions, and you can’t pay everyone. They could view rookie second-rounder Mike Green as Oweh’s replacement.”
As Zrebiec points out, though, the Ravens haven’t acted like a team that was prioritizing a deal to keep Oweh around long-term, meaning that another season with high-level production could mean that he will “price himself out of Baltimore.” With Mike Green playing on a rookie deal, the Ravens will need to make a decision about the future of their defense. They may not come to the same view as Oweh when it comes time for contract negotiations next offseason.
Fellow Edge Rusher May Be in Similar Territory Following 2025 Season
PFF‘s Ryan Smith ranked the top 32 edge defenders in the NFL coming into the 2025 seasons, ranking Oweh at No. 26. He was followed closely by his teammate Kyle Van Noy, who came in at No. 30.
Smith notes that Oweh has “plenty to play for” with free agency looming in 2026. The Ravens picked up his fifth-year option last season and Oweh responded with career highs in sacks (11), quarterback hits (16) and total pressures (55), including the playoffs.
Clifton Brown of BaltimoreRavens.com notes that the Ravens may consider an extension, which “could also help the Ravens create cap space to make other moves.”
One of those other moves could be choosing to bring back 11-year veteran Kyle Van Noy, who earned his first Pro Bowl nod in 2024. Luckily for Baltimore, Van Noy has been extremely productive considering his price tag. With a base salary of just $2.75 million for 2025, he is capable of playing far above his cap hit of $6.125 million.
With 21 1/2 sacks in his two seasons as a Raven, Brown writes that Van Noy has “outperformed his contract, but he’s also 34, and the Ravens presumably are content going year to year.”
