Baltimore Ravens News & Rumors

Updated 2022 NFL Draft Order

With the Wild Card round complete, another six positions in the 2022 NFL Draft have been confirmed.

One of the most interesting developments relates to the Philadelphia Eagles. After losing on Sunday, their own first round pick has been locked in at No. 19, having already known they would also own the 15th and 16th selections. What the team does with that much draft capital will be one of the most interesting storylines of the draft.

For non-playoff teams, the draft order is determined by the inverted 2021 standings, plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule. For playoff teams, the order is determined by their postseason outcome and regular season record.

Here is the updated order after this weekend’s results:

  1. Jacksonville Jaguars: 3-14
  2. Detroit Lions: 3-13-1
  3. Houston Texans: 4-13
  4. New York Jets: 4-13
  5. New York Giants: 4-13
  6. Carolina Panthers: 5-12
  7. New York Giants(via Bears)
  8. Atlanta Falcons: 7-10
  9. Denver Broncos: 7-10
  10. New York Jets (via Seahawks)
  11. Washington Football Team: 7-10
  12. Minnesota Vikings: 8-9
  13. Cleveland Browns: 8-9
  14. Baltimore Ravens: 8-9
  15. Philadelphia Eagles (via Dolphins)
  16. Philadelphia Eagles (via Colts)
  17. Los Angeles Chargers: 9-8
  18. New Orleans Saints: 9-8
  19. Philadelphia Eagles: 9-8
  20. Pittsburgh Steelers: 9-7-1
  21. New England Patriots: 10-7
  22. Las Vegas Raiders: 10-7
  23. Arizona Cardinals: 11-6
  24. Dallas Cowboys: 12-5
  25. Cincinnati Bengals: 10-7*
  26. Miami Dolphins (via 49ers)
  27. Buffalo Bills: 11-6*
  28. Detroit Lions (via Rams)
  29. Kansas City Chiefs: 12-5*
  30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 13-4*
  31. Tennessee Titans: 12-5*
  32. Green Bay Packers: 13-4*

* = Remaining playoff teams

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/17/22

Today’s minor transactions around the league:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Cincinnati Bengals

Denver Broncos

Los Angeles Rams

Tennessee Titans

Ravens’ Tyus Bowser Has Surgery On Achilles

One of the most important pieces to the Ravens’ defense started the long road back to recovery from one of many major injuries the team suffered in 2021. Outside linebacker Tyus Bowser had surgery to repair his torn Achilles, according to a report from Pro Football Talk.

Bowser tore his Achilles during the team’s regular season finale against the Steelers. The 26-year-old posted pictures of himself in the hospital, adding the caption “and the comeback begins”. Bowser, a 2017 second round pick, has established himself as one of the most versatile members of Baltimore’s defense. He served as the team’s top pass rusher this season, but, as usual, also played a key role in the team’s number one run defense and frequently dropped back in coverage.

Bowser’s ‘Swiss Army Knife’ mold made him the Ravens’ priority in free agency this past offseason. He signed a four year, $22MM extension while more established pass rushers Matt Judon and Yannick Ngakoue signed in New England and Las Vegas, respectively. In 2022, he’ll have a guaranteed salary of $3MM and a cap hit of $5MM.

In his first season as the team’s most experienced edge rusher, Bowser recorded 59 tackles, seven sacks, two forced fumbles and four passes defensed while appearing in all 17 games. The tackle and sack totals were career highs, as he played 77% of defensive snaps – also a career high. With Bowser and first round rookie Odafe Oweh as the only impact pass rushers under contract for next season, look for that position to be an area of focus for the Ravens this offseason.

NFL COVID-19 List Updates: 1/12/22

Today’s updates for the reserve/COVID-19 and practice squad/COVID-19 lists:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: TE Maxx Williams (remains on IR)

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Dallas Cowboys

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

  • Placed on practice squad/COVID-19 list: TE Mark Vital

New England Patriots

San Francisco 49ers

  • Restored from practice squad/COVID-19 list: QB Tyler Bray

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Football Team

  • Restored from practice squad/COVID-19 list: DT David Bada

Giants Request Interviews With Quentin Harris, Joe Hortiz For GM Vacancy

Two more names have entered the race to be the next Giants GM. Per Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports (on Twitter), the organization requested permission to interview Cardinals vice president of player personnel Quentin Harris.

Meanwhile, Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News tweets that the Giants also requested permission to interview Baltimore Ravens director of player personnel Joe Hortiz. Harris will interview for this post Thursday, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets.

Harris stuck around the NFL for more than half a decade as a player before transitioning to scouting in 2008. He eventually worked his way up to the Cardinals director of pro scouting, then to director of player personnel, and then his current role of vice president of player personnel, a role he took on this past offseason. The Giants are also planning to interview Cardinals vice president of pro personnel Adrian Wilson.

Hortiz joined the Ravens organization way back in 1998, and his time with Baltimore included a stint as the director of college scouting. He was promoted to director of player personnel when Eric DeCosta took Baltimore’s GM gig in 2019.

Harris and Hortiz join a list of candidates that includes Wilson, Bills assistant GM Joe Schoen, Chiefs Executive Director of Player Personnel Ryan Poles, Titans VP of player personnel Ryan Cowden, Titans director of player personnel Monti Ossenfort, 49ers assistant GM Adam Peters, and 49ers Director of Player Personnel Ran Carthon.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/10/22

A bunch of teams had their seasons come to an end yesterday, and these front offices are now starting to prepare for the offseason. Today, a number of players were inked to reserve/futures contracts, which allows organizations to retain (mostly) young, practice squad players throughout the offseason. We’ve compiled today’s reserve/futures contracts below:

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Football Team

Updated 2022 NFL Draft Order

The NFL’s first ever 17-game regular season is now over, and the 14-team playoff field is set. The end of the year also confirms, of course, the draft order for the top 18 picks, allowing the non-playoff clubs to begin planning for the offseason.

Despite their upset win on Sunday, the Jaguars will have the top selection for the second year in a row; this marks the fifth time a team has had back-to-back No. 1 picks, and the first since the Browns did in 2017-18.

For non-playoff teams, the draft order is determined by the inverted 2021 standings, plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule. For playoff teams, the order is determined by their postseason outcome and regular season record.

Here is the final draft order (for non-playoff teams) along with the current projected order for the 14 postseason clubs:

  1. Jacksonville Jaguars: 3-14
  2. Detroit Lions: 3-13-1
  3. Houston Texans: 4-13
  4. New York Jets: 4-13
  5. New York Giants: 4-13
  6. Carolina Panthers: 5-12
  7. New York Giants(via Bears)
  8. Atlanta Falcons: 7-10
  9. Denver Broncos: 7-10
  10. New York Jets (via Seahawks)
  11. Washington Football Team: 7-10
  12. Minnesota Vikings: 8-9
  13. Cleveland Browns: 8-9
  14. Baltimore Ravens: 8-9
  15. Philadelphia Eagles (via Dolphins)
  16. Philadelphia Eagles (via Colts)
  17. Los Angeles Chargers: 9-8
  18. New Orleans Saints: 9-8
  19. Philadelphia Eagles: 9-8*
  20. Pittsburgh Steelers: 9-7-1*
  21. New England Patriots: 10-7*
  22. Miami Dolphins (via 49ers)*
  23. Las Vegas Raiders: 10-7*
  24. Arizona Cardinals: 11-6*
  25. Cincinnati Bengals: 10-7*
  26. Buffalo Bills: 11-6*
  27. Detroit Lions (via Rams)
  28. Dallas Cowboys: 12-5*
  29. Kansas City Chiefs: 12-5*
  30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 13-4*
  31. Tennessee Titans: 12-5*
  32. Green Bay Packers: 13-4*

* = Playoffs

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/8/22

Here are Saturday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Ravens Rule Out Lamar Jackson

Tyler Huntley will serve as the Ravens’ starting quarterback on Sunday, head coach John Harbaugh announced. This marks yet another missed week for Lamar Jackson, as the Ravens head into the regular season finale against the Steelers.

The Ravens’ 20-19 loss to the Rams was a costly one. They still have a chance — albeit a slim one — of making it to the playoffs, but they’ll need a whole lot to work in their favor this weekend. To qualify for an AFC Wild Card spot, the Ravens need a win, plus losses from the Chargers, Colts, and the Dolphins. The Ravens would also qualify with a win, losses from the Chargers and Colts, plus a Dolphins tie.

Huntley, a former UDFA, has had his moments, but nothing like Jackson when he’s at his best. Of course, this hasn’t been a banner year for the former MVP, but he’s still managed a 64.4% completion rate for 2,882 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions across a dozen starts. He’s also added 767 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.