Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta has confirmed the team will go for "big ticket" items.
During a press conference with Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti and general manager Eric DeCosta, both laid out the plans for the team in finding a new head coach, and how they move on from the disappointing 2025 season.
A major step for the Ravens front office is to give quarterback Lamar Jackson an extension, which can then open up the cap space for the team to go after some bigger players in free agency. That is not the usual case for the team, but DeCosta confirmed that the team will go against "tradition" for some "big ticket" items.
The last big free agent the Ravens signed was running back Derrick Henry, who has worked out in a big way. However, that was in 2024, and he was one of the only bigger free agents the team has gone after.
Linebacker Kyle Van Noy was signed in the 2023 season, but he isn't exactly the type of splash player that is what the Ravens have traditionally not gone after.
Signing and awarding in-house talent is never a bad thing, and the Ravens roster has proven that it can work. The 2025 season is a reminder that not every player needs to be one who was drafted or has been a longtime veteran.
With holes in the secondary and a desperate need for a pass rusher that can elevate the defense, DeCosta confirmed the team will be in a position to go after "bigger ticket" items via free agency.
When asked about Jackson's upcoming contract extension, DeCosta stated that getting that done can help open the books for a deeper free agency run.
"It would certainly give us more flexibility, cap-wise, roster building. I think we have done a good job, we carried over $10 million dollars in money, probably double what we have in the last however many years. We do have a nice little nest egg, not as much as we'd like.
"A deal with Lamar would give us the ability to be more active. To resign some more players on the team, and to potentially go after a couple of big-ticket items. We haven't traditionally done that. We've been, as you know, more reserved in free agency," DeCosta said.
DeCosta and Bisciotti offered some big self-awareness regarding how the season went, why it was time to move on from John Harbaugh, and how the team can recover. The fact that DeCosta is already confirming the need for more big-ticket free agents definitely points to a major change.
The Ravens have been fringe Super Bowl contenders for too long, which is a sentiment that both Bisciotti and DeCosta echoed in their answers during the presser. With Jackson only getting older and the window to compete potentially shrinking, it is time to take bigger swings to help the roster.
Granted, the proper way to build any team is through the draft and finding solid younger prospects, but free agents are also meant to complement and elevate the roster into a winner. The Ravens have been a competitive team for years, but the 2025 season knocked them down in a way they need to bounce back from.
A good way of changing the direction and narrative is to go away from tradition, which means going after some bigger free agents.
Currently, the Ravens have $21 million in cap space, per overthecap.com. That figure can jump up significantly when the team signs Jackson to a new extension.
DeCosta also confirmed the team plans to get a deal done before March and when free agency starts, further proving the front office will attempt to land some bigger free agent players.