AFC North Notes: Ravens, Bengals, Warhop
Three new staffers are joining Jesse Minter in Baltimore. The Ravens are hiring Dwayne Ledford and Shawn Flaherty from the Falcons along with Mike Mickens from Notre Dame, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec and CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz. Ledford will move from Falcons O-line coach to the same position with the Ravens, making the switch after Kevin Stefanski hired Bill Callahan in Atlanta. Ledford joined Arthur Smith‘s Falcons staff in 2021, after a career at the college level, and he has been instrumental in the success of Tyler Allgeier and Bijan Robinson. Ledford was previously Louisville’s OC.
Minter will sign off on the Falcons’ OL staff coming over. Flaherty was in place as Atlanta’s assistant O-line coach from 2023-25, and he will hold the same position in Baltimore. The Falcons ranked in the top 10 in rushing in each of those seasons, though ESPN’s run block win rate metric ranked Atlanta’s front 30th (the Ravens ranked 17th) last season. Mickens spent the past six seasons at Notre Dame, working as the Fighting Irish’s defensive backs coach. He will take the same job in Baltimore, with Minter installing Mickens as his defensive pass-game coordinator. This will be Mickens’ first NFL gig.
Here is the latest from the AFC North:
- The Ravens are also blocking one staffer from leaving. Inside linebackers coach Tyler Santucci will not be allowed to pursue another opportunity, per Zrebiec, as the Ravens will be retaining the former Georgia Tech DC in 2026. The Ravens hired the one-year Yellowjackets DC as their ILBs coach in 2025. While John Harbaugh may have eyed him for a Giants role, his recent hire will be on Minter’s staff.
- Departing Ravens OC Todd Monken landed his first HC job today, accepting the Browns‘ position. He will bring veteran O-line coach George Warhop with him to Cleveland, Schefter tweets. Warhop, 64, has been in coaching since 1983 and has been an NFL staffer since 1996. An O-line coach for eight teams over the past 30 years, Warhop is returning to Cleveland, where he was OL coach from 2009-13. Monken worked with Warhop in Tampa and had him in place as the Ravens’ O-line coach over the past two seasons.
- Trey Hendrickson appears all but certain to leave Cincinnati. The five-year Bengals defensive end staple received a hefty raise in 2025, after the team did not budge on a refusal to offer post-Year 1 salary guarantees, and The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. indicates Hendrickson will almost definitely depart in free agency. It does not appear a franchise tag, which would cost more than $30MM, would be in play for the four-time Pro Bowler coming off just a seven-game season.
- A far better chance exists Dalton Risner will stay in Cincinnati, however. Mutual interest exists for the journeyman guard — who has repeatedly struck out in free agency as the market devalues his work — to stay, Dehner adds. Risner, 30, joined the Bengals just before last season and started 11 games. He played for just $1.34MM in 2025, and neither of his one-year Vikings deals topped $3MM. The ex-Broncos second-rounder will likely be cheap for the Bengals to retain at RG.
- As the rest of the AFC North teams make sweeping staff changes, the Bengals are standing pat after a 6-11 season. Retaining Zac Taylor and de facto GM Duke Tobin, the Bengals are also not making scouting changes, the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Kelsey Conway notes. The Bengals have the NFL’s smallest scouting staff, employing just six full-timers. That is a fraction of where most teams’ staffs sit. “Our scouting staff is, in my opinion, the size that it is because I think the collaboration is better at that size,” Tobin said. “We have never lacked for information on a player. There’s never been a player selected that we didn’t have multiple reports and a large background on. It’s not about the volume of information we have.”
- The Bengals’ latest Tanner Hudson contract checks in at one year and $1.35MM, per OverTheCap. This represents another incremental raise for Hudson, who played for $1.26MM in 2025. He will see $50K guaranteed.
Ravens Notes: Johnson, Santucci, Ricard, Rosengarten, Jackson
Part of the Ravens’ calculus in acquiring Diontae Johnson at last year’s trade deadline (and reclaiming him off waivers after the regular season) was the potential to recoup a compensatory pick for him when he left in free agency.
However, Johnson’s lack of production and locker room issues in both Baltimore and Houston is expected to scuttle any chance of him getting a contract that would qualify for the compensatory formula. Instead, Johnson will likely sign a one-year deal for the veteran minimum that could earn him more money with incentives, per Sportskeeda’s Tony Pauline.
His 51.0 yards per game in Carolina had him on pace for a sizable payday in free agency that would have likely netted his former team a compensatory pick, but his struggles with the Ravens and the Texans cratered his value. He only made three catches for 18 yards across five games and expressed frustration with his minimal role with both teams. As a consistent (albeit target-dependent) wideout over the course of his career, Johnson will likely have a chance to rebuild his value next season.
- After moving on from inside linebackers coach Mark DeLeone last week, the Ravens have tapped Georgia Tech defensive coordinator Tyler Santucci as his replacement on Zach Orr‘s staff, per a team announcement. The 36-year-old Santucci was previously the defensive coordinator at Duke and received NFL interest in the past, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The Ravens will be hoping that Santucci can develop 2023 third-rounder Trenton Simpson after his disappointing 2024 season.
- Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said that the team hopes to re-sign All-Pro fullback Patrick Ricard, who is set to hit free agency in March, per The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec. Ricard has expressed his desire to stay in Baltimore, per Ravens team reporters Ryan Mink and Matt Ryan. “I want to stay here,” said Ricard after the Ravens’ season ended. “I want to be here. I want to retire here. We’ll see what happens when the time comes.” Ricard had a bigger role under Greg Roman compared to recently-extended Ravens OC Todd Monken, but still maintained a 39% snap share over the last two seasons as part of Baltimore’s league-best rushing offense. Few teams use a fullback at the same rate, so Ricard may not see a robust market if he enters free agency, further incentivizing a return to the Ravens.
- Baltimore has just under $6MM in cap space entering the offseason, per OverTheCap, so they will need to create space to retain Ricard and other key free agents like Ronnie Stanley. The Ravens could look to restructure Lamar Jackson‘s deal, per Zrebiec, which could create up to $15.8MM in cap space. That would further backload Jackson’s deal, which is already set to have cap hits of $74.65MM in 2026 and 2027.
- If the Ravens can’t re-sign Stanley, they may consider moving Roger Rosengarten to left tackle, according to Zrebiec. The 2024 second-round pick started most of his rookie year at right tackle. He played the same position at the University of Washington, where he was entrusted to protect left-handed Michael Penix‘s blindside.