![\"Eric](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2201991701-e1771692686172.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta sent the team a worrying message ahead of 2026 NFL free agency.<\/p>\n
Anyone expecting the post-John Harbaugh era to prompt the Baltimore Ravens<\/a> to become big spenders in 2026 NFL free agency is in for a rude awakening, based on a worrying message sent by general manager Eric DeCosta.<\/p>\n The latter isn\u2019t planning to change the way he approaches the veteran market as he embarks on building the first roster for rookie head coach Jesse Minter. Instead, DeCosta told \u201cThe Inner Circle<\/a>\u201d podcast, featuring Todd France, \u201cI don\u2019t get as involved with free agency so I\u2019m not gonna spend as much time\u2026 we don\u2019t spend a lot of money in free agency, as Todd knows, that\u2019s why he always hated the Baltimore Ravens. We\u2019ve never been a free agency team. We\u2019re a draft and develop team.\u201d<\/p>\n These comments ticked a lot of boxes for those football voices and analysts who believe building through the draft has more merit than shelling out cash in free agency. It\u2019s an approach that\u2019s earned the Ravens a lot of plaudits over the years, but DeCosta doubling down on a draft-centric strategy is also confirmation it\u2019s business as usual at M&T Bank Stadium.<\/p>\n More of the same may not be welcome<\/a> after the team missed the playoffs in 2025 and perennially failed to win the biggest games under Minter\u2019s predecessor Harbaugh.<\/p>\n Eric DeCosta Happy With Status Quo<\/p>\n Team building is going to stay the same in Baltimore, so fans shouldn\u2019t expect obvious team weaknesses to be solved in free agency. It means premium free agents at wide receiver, along the offensive line, in the secondary and from a loaded edge-rusher class won\u2019t rock up in a Ravens uniform this offseason.<\/p>\n So there won\u2019t be any Tyreek Hill<\/a> or Kyle Pitts<\/a> for Lamar Jackson<\/a> to throw to, nor a Rasheed Walker<\/a> or Braden Smith<\/a> to better protect the franchise quarterback.<\/p>\n Minter\u2019s expertise is on the defensive side<\/a> of the ball, but he and his chosen coordinator<\/a>, Anthony Weaver, shouldn\u2019t expect Jaelan Phillips<\/a> or Trey Hendrickson<\/a> to arrive to boost a stale pass rush. There also won\u2019t be a Jamel Dean<\/a> or Josh Jobe<\/a> to upgrade an increasingly fragile depth chart at cornerback.<\/p>\n If DeCosta dips his toe into the free-agency pool, he\u2019ll likely continue his usual method. Which is to find ageing names who can provide short-term fixes at problem positions.<\/p>\n The problem is this approach has hardly worked.<\/p>\n Ravens\u2019 Free Agency Policy Hasn\u2019t Worked<\/p>\n Bar the odd success, like bulldozing running back Derrick Henry<\/a> and versatile outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy<\/a>, the Ravens haven\u2019t had a lot of luck addressing needs with 30-somethings. It hasn\u2019t worked at receiver, where both Odell Beckham Jr.<\/a> and DeAndre Hopkins<\/a> barely made a dent as go-to targets<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tackling obvious team weaknesses on the cheap hasn\u2019t made problems go away. Rather, it\u2019s led to roster deficiencies becoming fatal flaws at the business end of seasons.<\/p>\n Like when the Ravens mustered just 30 sacks and grabbed a mere 17 interceptions in the last campaign. A defense lacking big-play potential couldn\u2019t pick off a pass<\/a> against Aaron Rodgers<\/a> and the Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a> in the decisive, late-season defeat.<\/p>\n Putting the draft first has kept the Ravens consistent and respected, but getting over the Super Bowl hump may require a change in tact to something bolder than the status quo.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tJames Dudko<\/a> covers the New York Giants, Washington Commanders, New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens for Heavy.com. He has covered the NFL and world soccer since 2011, with bylines at FanSided, Prime Time Sports Talk and Bleacher Report before joining Heavy in 2021. More about James Dudko<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Ravens\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta sent the team a worrying message ahead of 2026 NFL free…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":767189,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2052],"tags":[184,117,2282,7,6,169],"class_list":{"0":"post-767188","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-baltimore-ravens","8":"tag-baltimore","9":"tag-baltimore-ravens","10":"tag-baltimoreravens","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-ravens"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116109846241408107","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/767188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=767188"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/767188\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/767189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=767188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=767188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=767188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}