By Edward G. Robinson III
Some Baltimore Ravens fans are looking at the team’s current roster and can’t help but skip ahead to the NFL playoffs.
They recall last season, when the Ravens exited the playoffs earlier than expected in a heartbreaking 27-25 loss to the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Round, and they are demanding a do-over.
Still, they should take cues from coach John Harbaugh, someone who can look at this team – loaded with coaching experience, offensive superstars, defensive stoppers and even undrafted rookie talent – and maintain composure, knowing that preseason promise never equates to postseason triumph. Especially when the first four Ravens games are against the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs.
Baltimore Ravens cornerback Keyon Martin (#38) celebrates after intercepting a pass and running it back for a touchdown during the first half of a preseason NFL football game against the Washington Commanders Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
“We’ve had a lot of good preseasons, as you might recall,” said Harbaugh, asked to compare this team’s level of depth at a press conference on Aug. 25. “It was certainly better than last year, for sure. If we’re going to make a direct comparison, I feel like we’re in a lot better of a place right now, as far as the preseason goes. [The roster is] deeper, [we have] more guys playing at a high level, for sure. I definitely see that, and I think that’s a good thing. Hey, we’re where we’re at now, so it’s all we can judge by, and I feel good about that at this point.”
The message is: Feel good, but don’t get ahead of the process.
As the Ravens open the 2025 season on Sept. 7 against the Buffalo Bills, it’s understandable how die-hard supporters could read the names on the current Ravens’ 53-man roster and start to pencil their team in for a trip to Super Bowl LX in San Francisco Bay Area on Feb. 8
Start with Lamar Jackson. The team’s starting quarterback has accomplished so much as a passer and runner that it’s almost implausible to consider: He’s thrown for over 20,000 yards in seven seasons.
Just last season Jackson completed 316 of 474 pass attempts for 4,172 yards and 41 TDs. He rushed for 916 yards and four TDs.
Next, consider Derrick Henry. The team’s powerful starting running back has compiled 11,423 yards in nine seasons. Last season he rushed 325 times for 1,921 yards, finishing second in the league behind Philadelphia Eagles’ Saquon Barkley.
Move down the roster, other Baltimore Pro Bowl standouts appear: wide receiver Zay Flowers, center Tyler Linderbaum, defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike, linebacker Roquan Smith, cornerback Marlon Humprhrey and safety Kyle Hamilton.
And the player list goes on and on.
Surprisingly, three undrafted rookies made the squad: linebacker Jay Higgins IV, safety Reuben Lowery III and cornerback Keyon Martin.
Martin, who during preseason finished with a safety and a pick-six, impressed senior defensive assistant and secondary coach Chuck Pagano.
“He’s done it all preseason. … He’s so instinctive. He’s so smart and is football savvy,” Pagano said, in an interview with BaltimoreRavens.com Staff Writer Clifton Brown. “His football IQ is off the charts. You see him walk in the building, you’re thinking, ‘OK, he’s working in IT or something or breaking tape down for somebody. Surely, he can’t be putting pads on and intercepting passes for touchdowns.’ At a buck-60, he’ll say he’ s a buck-70, but he can’t be. He’s a tremendous player. He did a great job.”
By signing three undrafted rookies, the Ravens have now had at least one undrafted rookie make the final 53-man roster in 21 of the past 22 years.
“It shows you how deep we dig,” Harbaugh said, at the Aug. 25 press conference. “I think we have a really good system that has been built with deep foundations here, and we operate at a really high level. I also think that we work hard. We develop our players, we bring them in, and we give them reps. We’re not practicing for [only] an hour and 10 minutes out here. We’re out here; we’re giving these guys reps; we’re giving them walkthroughs; we’ve got meetings for these guys; we’ve got extra meetings for the young guys.”
This year, the Ravens are presenting a roster every team in the NFL is watching after the team finished undefeated in the preseason. The coaches are looking forward to working with those who made the cut.
“We try to develop them, because we think if you sign with the Ravens, you should get coached, and you should get every opportunity to have a fair shot,” Harbaugh said. “It’s not just a token opportunity, [it’s] a real opportunity. We feel like as coaches, that’s our job to develop every guy on the roster.”