The 26-year-old former third-round draft pick is back with the Ravens.
Since Monday, March 11, when the free agency “legal tampering” period began, the Baltimore Ravens have lost several starters. But they were able to hold onto LB Malik Harrison, a vital component of their special teams.
“Ravens are re-signing free-agent linebacker Malik Harrison to a one-year deal, per source,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter announced the re-signing on X.
Although the details of Harrison’s contract with the Ravens are yet unknown, it is unlikely to be a sizable sum.
Harrison has spent the majority of his career as a backup, but during his first four seasons with the Ravens, he saw a lot of action on special teams. He participated in 68% of special teams snaps as a rookie in 2020 and 79% of special teams snaps by 2023.
Although it might not be as big of a splash as other teams are making, the addition was nevertheless necessary for depth. Retaining players who are accustomed to the system is crucial because the Ravens entered free agency with 23 players (almost half the squad) available.
Eric DeCosta, the general manager, has been effective in bringing back important players, like Nelson Agholor, who may not look like much but could be crucial to the team.
Malik Harrison Could Play a Bigger Part
The Ravens selected Harrison in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft, the same draft in which they selected standout linebacker Patrick Queen.
Harrison has spent the most of his career supporting Queen, but in 2024 he will have the opportunity to take the starting job by storm.
On Tuesday, March 12, Queen signed a contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers, moving from Baltimore—as was expected—to their bitter rival in the AFC North.
Harrison can increase his 2020 career-high 25% of defensive snaps now that Queen has left. Despite having only 120 total tackles in his four-year career, Harrison now has the opportunity to surpass his career highs by playing alongside to LB Roquan Smith.
It was no accident that Queen’s career seemed to take off again when Smith joined from the Chicago Bears in 2022. Queen’s two finest seasons as a player occurred with Smith, thus Harrison would gain by having the All-Pro linebacker beside him.
Trenton Simpson was selected by the Ravens in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, therefore Harrison will have competition for the snaps that are being released. When the starters were resting in Week 17 against the Steelers, Simpson played crucial snaps and shown tremendous talent.
A crucial battle to watch coming into training camp and the summer will be at the line of LB. Harrison should have another opportunity to prove his abilities, assuming the Ravens do not spend a lot of money on a linebacker in the draft.
Fans of the Ravens did not panic when Malik Harrison signed.
For the first several hours of the frenzy of maneuvers that began on Monday, March 11, DeCosta did not make any. Though a little nervous, fans were rewarded for their patience when Harrison decided to resign.
Zach Bollinger, a podcast presenter and Ravens fan, said on X, “Honestly. The response to Malik Harrison’s resigning has impressed me. I’ve noticed that more people are becoming composed and understand that this is a wise resignation in place of “EdC.” We weren’t scared at all, Ravens Twitter. We’re growing up. Feeling proud.
Given that their players were being taken by major competitors, Ravens supporters may have reacted to this with fear and rage. Rather, they expected additional deals to come after viewing the signing as the solid depth move that it was.
Derrick Henry’s signing on Tuesday, March 12 served as their reward. DeCosta may try to hold onto the 13 free agents that the Ravens still have.
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