Report: Ravens sign LB Chris Board

At times in the past, the Baltimore Ravens have reunited with former players by signing them years after they previously departed the team. Previous defensive veterans like Brent Urban, Pernell McPhee, and Josh Bynes come to mind as examples of this. You can now add another player to that list — linebacker Chris Board.

According to The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec on Tuesday night, the Ravens have signed Board, who began his career in Baltimore as an undrafted free agent in 2018.

Board, 28, played four seasons with the Ravens after a collegiate career at North Dakota State. He emerged as a special teams contributor during his rookie season and quickly became a leader in that area over the next three years. Board was one of the team’s leading special teams players from 2019 to 2021, playing over 1,000 snaps in that span.

While this was his primary role and where he made a name for himself, Board also had some nice moments as a rotational player at linebacker. He played 264 defensive snaps in 2020 and a career-high 337 snaps on defense in 2021.

In the former season, he made two starts and posted career-best totals in sacks (2.5), quarterback hits (five), and tackles for loss (two). He also recorded the first forced fumble of his career during that year. In 2021, Board racked up 41 combined tackles in 16 games.

Board was not re-signed by the team during the 2022 offseason and joined the Detroit Lions. Last year, he signed with the New England Patriots. He appeared in a full 17 games with both teams. Now, the former UDFA re-joins the Ravens, where he could return to his role as a special teams ace and depth inside linebacker.

The Ravens lost two linebackers in free agency, Patrick Queen and Del’Shawn Phillips, while re-signing Malik Harrison. Phillips had played a very similar role to Board the past two seasons as a special teams ace, so there’s now a void in that spot.