There aren't many notable free agents still available this late into the offseason, but two of the biggest names on the market just so happen to be former Baltimore Ravens edge rushers.
The first is Jadeveon Clowney, who tied his career-high with 9.5 sacks as a Raven in 2023 but had just 5.5 with the Carolina Panthers in 2024. The second is Za'Darius Smith, who spent his first four NFL seasons with Baltimore from 2015-18, but has since earned three Pro Bowl selections with other teams. They are both 32, but with their career accomplishments, it's surprising that they haven't found a new homes yet.
The Ravens have a knack for late offseason signings, which begs the question: could they look to bring either one of them back to Baltimore?
Though he did not entirely rule it out, The Athletic's Jeff Zrebiec believes a reunion between the Ravens and Clowney or Smith to be very unlikely.
"The Ravens like their young edge rushers and believe they need to play to appropriately develop," Zrebiec wrote in a recent mailbag article. "I don’t think they want to reduce the snaps of Kyle Van Noy, Odafe Oweh and Tavius Robinson any more than the presence of Mike Green and a healthy Adisa Isaac already could. You can never have enough pass rushers, but adding Clowney or Za’Darius Smith would impact what production you get from the guys you already have.
"You can only play so many guys. I’d include an asterisk next to my answer and wouldn’t rule it out because I could see a scenario in which the Ravens use the first few weeks of training camp to evaluate the young edge rushers. If they don’t think they’re ready to make an impact, they could turn to Clowney or Smith."
The Ravens have a good amount of depth on the edge, featuring both veterans such as Van Noy and youngsters such as Green. Though they lack a true superstar at the position, their pass rush is still one of the fiercest in the league.
While Clowney or Smith could still make an impact, they could also throw off the balance of the unit as a whole. As such, it's easy to see why neither coming back seems particularly likely.
