PFF names Chase Young as the Ravens’ perfect free agent match

With free agency fast approaching, the Baltimore Ravens enter a pivotal part of their offseason. The Ravens have more than two dozen of their own unrestricted free agents set to hit the open market, presenting some positional needs to address.

One of these areas is the edge rusher spot, where the team could lose their top two-sack getters at the position in 2023. Veterans Jadeveon Clowney and Kyle Van Noy are both free agents. The only returning contributors from last season under contract for 2024 are Odafe Oweh, Tavius Robinson, and David Ojabo. The latter missed nearly the entire year, though, with injury. Tyus Bowser did in fact sit out all of 2023 due to a lingering knee injury and is expected to be potentially released as a salary cap casualty.

While re-signing Clowney or Van Noy is a possibility, as well as adding outside linebacker talent in the draft, the Ravens could also sign an external free agent as well. One possible target is Chase Young, who Pro Football Focus’ Dalton Wasserman recently named as the Ravens’ perfect free agent match.

“They [the Ravens] will be working on a tight budget but need to build up their edge defender group with Jadeveon Clowney and Kyle Van Noy hitting free agency,” Wasserman said. “Chase Young could be an option, as he is currently projected to sign a one-year prove-it contract to reestablish his market next year.”

It’s not often that former No. 2 overall picks have to reestablish their market and sign a short prove-it contracts, as Wasserman projects for Young. However, Young’s career thus far has been hampered by injuries.

Young played 15 games in his 2020 rookie season and recorded 44 tackles, 7.5 sacks, and four forced fumbles. He seemed on his way to meeting the lofty expectations given to him but played just 12 games combined over the next two seasons. 2023 was his first full season after suffering a torn ACL injury in November of 2021.

“He performed reasonably well in his first full season off a torn ACL but hasn’t yet lived up to his lofty draft status,” Wasserman noted. “Baltimore has a long history of handing veteran pass rushers one-year contracts, and Young could be next in line.”

Young was traded from the Washington Commanders to the San Francisco 49ers at last year’s midseason trade deadline. In nine games with the 49ers, he contributed 2.5 sacks and six quarterback hits. He resurfaced in the national spotlight in the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs, earning a sack on quarterback Patrick Mahomes for a four-yard loss.

For the season as a whole with both teams combined, Young matched his career-high in sacks (7.5) while posting a new best in quarterback hits (15). He displayed enough athleticism and raw talent coming off injury to make him an attractive free agent for some teams, which could include the Ravens.

To Wasserman’s point, the Ravens do have a history of giving one-year deals in free agency to veteran edge rushers. They did so with Clowney and Van Noy this past season and previously signed Justin Houston and Jason Pierre-Paul to one-year deals in recent years. All of these instances could be considered successes with good return on investment.

Whereas these four veterans the Ravens have signed recently were all tenured and 30+ years old, Young is still just turning 25 years old next month. He has only 43 career games under his belt, was the second pick in the draft just four years ago, and possesses untapped potential.

This isn’t the first time the Ravens have been linked to Young as a potential fit. There was speculation at last season’s trade deadline that the Ravens could be a team of interest. Other national media outlets and pundits have connected the two as well, including ESPN’s Matt Bowen in a similar article just a few weeks ago.

You can read Wasserman’s entire list here. He also named two of the Ravens’ own free agents as perfect matches for other teams: inside linebacker Patrick Queen for the Arizona Cardinals and offensive guard Kevin Zeitler for the New Orleans Saints.