Baltimore is 1-5, and depending on whom you ask, they trade everyone but Lamar Jackson, push all the chips towards the center of the table, and rebuild the roster around their MVP quarterback. With 11 games remaining, Baltimore needs to win at least nine to secure the likely double-digit wins required to earn one of the final AFC wild-card spots.
At 4-1, Pittsburgh is currently three wins ahead of Baltimore in the AFC North, but the Ravens have the fifth-lowest strength of schedule in the NFL remaining (.442), with their most challenging matchups being the Steelers (twice), Packers, and Patriots. Baltimore is on a bye week, and will face the Bears (Oct. 26) and Dolphins (Oct. 30) before the November 4 trade deadline.
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The experts at ESPN believe the Ravens could be buyers or sellers depending on how the next few weeks go following the bye.
The Ravens are a fascinating team to watch ahead of the trade deadline. They’ve already been active. Last week they traded Odafe Oweh from an already thin pass-rush group to get safety Alohi Gilman. That’s an unconventional in-season move, but Baltimore is now 1-5 and desperate for any kind of answers in a season that had carried Super Bowl hopes. Will it go out and add more pass-rush help on the trade market? Are there players on the roster we might not assume are available (like Oweh) but could be if Baltimore determines it could solve a problem with another player-for-player deal? If the Ravens lose in Weeks 8 and 9 (they have a bye this week) and are 1-7, could they be dealing players for picks at the deadline?
A potential 1-7 team with an elevated salary cap and Lamar Jackson’s extension looming could look to part ways with 2026 free agents like Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, David Ojabo, Kyle Van Noy, Travis Jones, and Keaton Mitchell, among others.
This article originally appeared on Ravens Wire: Ravens named a team to watch ahead of the NFL trade deadline