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Baltimore Beatdown is all about Almost Ravens this week! In addition to our reader-driven bracket narrowing down the biggest near-acquisitions in team history, our staff will also be providing their opinions on their favorite moves the Ravens almost pulled off. Today, we’re focusing on trades:
When thinking about how it fits in team history, the Ravens’ cancelled trade for Terrell Owens in 2004 is fascinating. Baltimore had just won the AFC North in 2003 on the back of – surprise, surprise – an elite defense and a punishing ground game. But rookie quarterback Kyle Boller led the league’s worst passing offense with a relatively uninspiring set of targets aside from a young Todd Heap. Adding Owens into the mix could have at least stabilized the passing game into a more effective complement to the Jamal Lewis-led rushing attack – if Boller could get him the ball. Just as interesting is the difference in philosophy from those early 2000s Ravens – imagine Eric DeCosta trading a second-round pick for a 31-year-old diva wide receiver! – Nikhil Mehta
My favorite player the Ravens almost traded for is Maxx Crosby. The excitement of acquiring followed by the shocking news that the Ravens backed out of the trade days later was not a fun rollercoaster of emotions. It also brought about a cloud of negativity surrounding the team from people who thought the Ravens got “cold feet” and used medical concerns as a front to back out of the deal. However, the sheer hours of imaging Crosby in the Ravens’ defense was exciting, as was seeing him quickly embrace joining the team online. Quickly pivoting and signing Trey Hendrickson instead, while keeping their two first-round picks, was ultimately a positive for the Ravens. It’s a still a what-if to imagine what a healthy Crosby could have done in Baltimore, though. – Frank Platko
My favorite player the Ravens almost traded for is Jalen Ramsey. The Ravens have tried to get Ramsey multiple times in his career. In the 2016 draft, they attempted to trade up with the Cowboys for him, but the trade fell through and the Ravens picked Ronnie Stanley (not a bad fallback option). Since then, the Ravens have been reportedly in on Ramsey multiple times, including as recently as last year when he was traded from Miami to division rival Pittsburgh. But I am thinking of 2019 when the Ravens had reportedly reached out to Jacksonville in Ramsey’s prime and nearly grabbed him. Pairing prime Ramsey with prime Marlon Humphrey might have been the NFL’s best, and most physical, cornerback duo in NFL history. Ramsey is one of my favorite corners of all time, and I’ve begged the football gods to make him a Raven since he was drafted. Alas, despite chances in 2016, 2019, 2023, and 2025, it never happened. – Zach Canter
Maxx Crosby has to be my answer here. While the situation quickly devolved into ridiculous online arguments over whether or not the Ravens backed out of the trade for Crosby for nefarious reasons, the move at the time had me more excited for this team than I have been in a while. Crosby has been one of my favorite players to watch since he entered the NFL. His tenacious style of play and complete skillset on the edge would have been a perfect match in a Baltimore defense. The Ravens have not had an edge rusher of Crosby’s caliber since Terrell Suggs left the building. Signing Trey Hendrickson was a nice consolation prize after failing to acquire Crosby, but I can’t lie and say that I was not extremely disappointed when the deal fell through. In hindsight, Hendrickson plus rookie first-round guard Vega Ioane and a first-round pick next year should be a better haul for the team, but the excitement of picturing Crosby in the purple and black is hard to match. – Dustin Cox
