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Super Bowl LXI road map: Time is now for an aging Lamar Jackson, Ravens roster

Sports Illustrated · Jul 22, 2026 10:00 · 6 min read

Super Bowl LXI Road Map: Time Is Now for An Aging Lamar Jackson, Ravens Roster

Baltimore could end up playing deep into the playoffs, but it’s just as likely that this team could watch the entirety of them from the couch.

Super Bowl road maps: Jaguars | Bears | Browns | Dolphins | Packers | Lions | Texans | Vikings | Falcons | Chiefs | Buccaneers | Bengals | Steelers | Colts | Rams | Panthers | Chargers | Titans | Cardinals

Welcome to Super Bowl LXI road maps, where we look at every team’s chances of winning it all in 2026. We’ll analyze the summer optimism before providing a reality check of what’s to come. Next path to assess: the Ravens.

This season will be different in Baltimore. Ravens fans are hoping the ending is as well.

After 18 years at the helm, a run that included a Super Bowl win in 2012, John Harbaugh was ousted, replaced by former Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. Minter, 43, comes in as a first-time head coach at any level and takes over a team long on talent but short on the ultimate accomplishment.

Since Lamar Jackson became the starting quarterback midway through the 2018 season, Baltimore has won four AFC North titles and reached the playoffs six times. However, the Ravens have only made one AFC championship game appearance and never reached the Super Bowl.

With Jackson turning 30 in January and a host of the other big names already on the other side of that threshold—including left tackle Ronnie Stanley, edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, corner Marlon Humphrey and running back Derrick Henry—the time is now for Baltimore.

Leadership

The shakeup in Baltimore is a legitimate game-changer. Since the franchise moved from Cleveland before the 1996 season, it has had only three coaches: Ted Marchibroda, Brian Billick and Harbaugh. Now, Minter steps to the fore with only six seasons of NFL experience.

Minter knows the team well, having worked under Harbaugh as a defensive assistant from 2017 to ’20 before going to Vanderbilt. After two seasons of working under Jim Harbaugh with the Chargers and guiding that defense to a pair of top-10 finishes in points allowed, he now takes over a Baltimore team looking to finally see its regular-season success translate into postseason glory.

To help in that cause, Minter tabbed 30-year-old Declan Doyle to be his offensive coordinator. Doyle comes over from the Bears, where he coached in 2025 under Ben Johnson. He’ll bring that style of offense to the Ravens, which should mean plenty of rushing attempts for Henry and quick, rhythmic throws for Jackson off play-action. To that point, Chicago quarterback Caleb Williams was sixth in both yards and attempts on throws under 10 yards last season.

Most influential roster move

While the signing of Hendrickson could be the answer on defense, it’s really the loss of Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum.

Linderbaum, 26, is one of the league’s top centers, alongside Creed Humphrey and Cam Jurgens. He only became a free agent last year because Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta declined his fifth-year option; under the franchise tag, all offensive linemen are placed in the same category, inflating their tag and option values. Essentially, DeCosta believed he could sign Linderbaum and keep him off the market. He was wrong.

By losing Linderbaum, Baltimore’s line has been thrown into chaos. The Ravens signed veteran Ethan Pocic to compete with fellow signings Danny Pinter and Jovaughn Gwyn; the latter two have combined for 10 career starts. Pocic has made 97 starts between the Seahawks and Browns, and checked in 19th on Pro Football Focus while Linderbaum ranked fourth.

While it’s impossible to fault the Ravens for not paying Linderbaum an absurd $27 million per year (three years, $84 million) as the Raiders did to reset the center market, it’s also fair to criticize Baltimore for allowing Linderbaum to hit free agency in the first place.

Why this offseason move won’t work

Remember when Maxx Crosby was traded to the Ravens for a pair of first-round picks? Only days after the trade was agreed to in principle, it fell apart due to a failed physical. In response, Baltimore pivoted and signed Hendrickson to a four-year, $112 million deal with $60 million guaranteed.

While either acquisition would represent a serious upgrade, the signing of Hendrickson was preferable because it didn’t cost two first-round picks. However, Hendrickson is also 31 years old (he will turn 32 in December) and played only seven games last season while dealing with core muscle and hip injuries. In those games, he recorded four sacks and eight quarterback hits for the Bengals.

The question is whether 2025 was an aberration, or the start of a downturn. In the four years before, Hendrickson made the Pro Bowl each time for Cincinnati, racking up 57 sacks and at least 24 quarterback hits. If he can produce anywhere near that production, Baltimore will be happy to pay Hendrickson $28 million per year. If he’s starting to slow down, DeCosta could be counting the hours until the dead money is palatable enough to move on from him.

Ultimately, it’s an understandable risk for a team that likely feels time is running out to make a championship run, given how many older, important players it has. But Hendrickson is another aging star, and at some point having so many on the same roster becomes a problem.

Baltimore Ravens safety Malaki Starks — As a rookie, Ravens safety Malaki Starks played 94% of the defensive snaps last year. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Breakout player candidate: Malaki Starks, S

A year ago, Starks was a first-round pick, drafted to play alongside All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton. As a rookie, Starks had four passes defensed and two interceptions, while recording 84 tackles (49 solo) and earning 94% of the defensive snaps.

All that experience should pay off in his second season, under a defensive-minded coach in Minter. With Hamilton likely taking on the do-it-all role that Derwin James Sr. played in the Chargers’ system under Minter, Starks will need to be even more involved in coverage. He has the tools, having run a 4.5 40-yard dash at the combine a year ago.

If Starks can become a rangy center fielder while Hamilton roams in the box and handles some man-coverage duties against slot receivers and tight ends, Minter will suddenly have more coverage calls at his disposal, especially with single-high looks that can muck up underneath routes.

Missing piece

For years, the Ravens have always been thin on the outside, with the lone exception being 2024, when Flowers and Rashod Bateman combined for 1,815 yards and 13 touchdowns. However, Bateman was underwhelming last season with only 19 catches for 224 yards in 13 games, bringing the problem into focus once more.

The current depth chart has potential, but the reality is it’s short on proven talent. Flowers has been a 1,000-yard receiver each of the past two seasons, but beyond him it’s Bateman and Devontez Walker alongside rookies Elijah Sarratt and Ja’Kobi Lane. And at tight end, Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar are gone, leaving the production to 30-year-old Mark Andrews, who caught 48 passes for 422 yards in 2025.

Baltimore could end up being all right if one of the rookies steps up while Bateman reverts back to his 2024 form. But if he’s injured (he’s missed 21 games in five seasons) or unproductive while the rookies struggle to find their footing as mid-round picks, Jackson could be holding the ball, often looking for a receiver who doesn’t exist.

Realistic outlook

Almost any outcome is possible for the Ravens in 2026.

Baltimore went 8–9 and missed the playoffs last season, with Jackson sidelined for a month with a pulled hamstring. He’s also missed significant chunks in two of the other previous four seasons, and with his 30th birthday just around the corner, he doesn’t stand to be any less susceptible to injury.

If Jackson stays healthy, and the other 30-somethings on the roster—Henry, Andrews, Hendrickson, Stanley, Humphrey and others—also show durability and don’t have a talent drop-off, the Ravens can contend in the wide-open AFC alongside the Bills, Chiefs, Broncos, Texans and others. However, those are big ifs for a team that has already shown a propensity to struggle in big moments. And, if age does start to catch up with those players, the Ravens are perilously thin behind them in many cases.

Baltimore could end up playing deep into the playoffs, but it’s just as likely that this team could watch the entirety of them from the couch.