Ravens UDFAs Share Emotional Reactions to Making Roster

"I'm excited about those three guys," DeCosta said. "What I would say is that those guys clearly seize the opportunity every single day. They earned it. I didn't go into this training camp, this time of the year, expecting three undrafted guys to make it. It hasn't happened in a long time. I think our defense was pretty talented, as you guys can look across and see, we have a lot of talent, so for three guys to make it speaks to what those young men did."

After Wednesday's practice, all three players got to speak with the media for the first time since getting the good news and shared what their individual emotional roller-coasters were like to experience.

Up first was Martin, who overcame the longest odds of the three as he wasn't even signed by the Ravens during the initial waves of undrafted free agency and had to earn a contract as a rookie camp tryout. After getting signed to the 90-man roster, the University of Louisiana-Lafayette product continued to work his way into the good graces of coaches by making plays in practice and then starring in the preseason.

"I carried myself any other day [and then] they came and tapped me," Martin said. "It was like, 'They want to see you upstairs.' That's when I'm like, 'OK, alright.' [My] heart was racing a little bit. Everybody knows about those tough conversations. I thought that's what I was going up there for, but when they told me, it was just a relief that [and I thought], 'OK, I'm in this building for a little bit longer.' Even though nothing is solidified, I still have to prove myself week-in and week-out, but it was just like, 'Alright, I'm here for a little bit longer."

Next was Lowery, who wasn't a priority undrafted free agent addition coming out of the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, as his contract didn't even include a signing bonus. All he did was stack days where he made impressive plays on the ball, starting  in rookie minicamp and continuing it through OTAs, training camp and the preseason to the point where he was a perceived lock to make the roster ahead of the Ravens' final exhibition game

"It's just a moment that you've been waiting for," Lowery said. "When the moment comes, we always talk about being ready for the moment, so when you get up there, you're ready for whatever decision [DeCosta] wants to make, and you prepare for it. There's a lot of emotions going on, a lot of feelings, but you know when you put all your work you can do, everything you can give each and every single day, that you can be at peace with whatever decision is made. I'm at peace right now. It was like a moment of triumph and a moment of accumulation of everything that went [on] in camp and the whole journey, so it was awesome."

Higgins didn't just round out the group, but he had the best anecdote about how it all went down for him. The former Iowa Hawkeye also had the most reasons for motivation after going undrafted because he was one of the best and most decorated defenders in all of college football in his final season as a unanimous All American and Big Ten Linebacker of the Year award recipient. Poor athletic testing at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine caused him to fall down boards, but once the pads and lights came on during the preseason, he put his instincts and playmaking ability on full display and earned his spot on the team.

"I was sitting at lunch, actually sitting next to Jake [Hummel] and [Tyler] Linderbaum, and I was eating my meal, and I got tapped on the shoulder, and as I was walking down the hall, I just felt my heart rate keep rising and rising," Higgins said. "I came up the steps, walked in the office and then saw Eric and it really, really started beating.

"I was just lightheaded when he told me. I was so surprised. I knew there were so many talented players on the roster. We got a lot of those guys back on the practice squad, and so it was just the numbers for me. So, when he told me, I was just really surprised. You hear your dream come true and you're standing up, I guess my legs were locked out, so I should have had a slight bend in the knee, so I did that wrong."

An undrafted rookie making the Ravens' initial 53-man roster is not a rare but a regular occurrence, as it has happened in 21 of the last 22 years. However, for three to make it in a year where the team made a league-high 11 draft picks, was already loaded on defense before their arrival and got even more so during the summer after the arrival of two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander, it's a testament to just how much work the resilient trio put in to defy such long and daunting odds.

"It goes to the fact that football is probably the truest meritocracy in our society," head coach John Harbaugh said. "I'm sure there are a lot of meritocracies, Broadway is probably one. You have to be really good to be on Broadway and stuff. But when it comes right down to it, it's what you do on the field. It doesn't really matter where you played or how you got here. Once you're here, and you walk out there on that grass, it's about how you play. And the best players are the players who play the best. And when they play the best, they should be recognized as such."