Why Ravens should sign recently released second-round LB

The Ravens have a bit of the injury bug once again and they may have just been handed the perfect replacement at a key position.

The Broncos released LB Randy Gregory, a second-round pick in 2015, as they want to focus on young players. Here is why Baltimore should go all in on the veteran edge-rusher.

Cheap price

Gregory received a five-year, $70M contract from Denver in 2022, which was one of the largest deals handed out that year. The Ravens won't get him for pennies, but he certainly won't cost a lot either after cashing in a couple of offseasons ago and as a mid-season add. He also has just three sacks from 2022-23. Baltimore has about $6.44M in cap space, per Over The Cap, which could be used as a wise investment on Gregory given the team's growing injury report.

Depth

The Ravens have already seen injuries to linebackers Tyus Bowser, Odafe Oweh and David Ojabo, forcing them to turn to veteran linebackers Jadeveon Clowney and Kyle Van Noy. Clowney and Van Noy have filled in nicely in the absences of Oweh and Ojabo but Gregory would bring some much-needed depth to the room. The 30-year-old has a little bit of an injury history himself, only playing in six games last season, but teams can never have enough edge-rushers.

Fuel to the fire

Gregory has 19.5 sacks, 10 forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and one interception in his career, which began with the Cowboys. His career stat line may be underwhelming as a former second-round pick, but he would still add more firepower to a Baltimore team that has Super Bowl aspirations in 2023. The Ravens defense has 13 sacks on the year with second-year safety Kyle Hamilton with a team-leading three sacks. Gregory could be the missing piece in Baltimore.