The Baltimore Ravens had a solid 2024 NFL season. Baltimore won the AFC North division title after finishing the regular season with a 12-5 record. The Ravens even got a Wild Card win against the Steelers. Unfortunately, Baltimore could not get past a mighty Buffalo team led by MVP candidate Josh Allen. Now the Ravens enter the offseason with revenge on the mind as they try to reload the roster.
The good news for the Ravens is that many of their core players are already under contract for the 2025 season. Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, Kyle Hamilton, and Roquan Smith will all be returning, as will most of Baltimore starters on both sides of the ball. The Ravens can get even more dangerous after adding talent in the 2025 NFL Draft.
The one issue for Baltimore is that they have limited cap space for the 2025 offseason. According to Over the Cap, Baltimore is projected to have roughly $17 million in cap space heading into the offseason. That is not a dire situation, but it could restrict the Ravens from spending too much money on any individual player.
Now the question becomes: which players will the Ravens prioritize among their impending free agents? Or will they prefer to keep some cap space in reserve and focus on the 2025 NFL Draft instead?
Below we will explore three Ravens players who Baltimore should re-sign before the beginning of the 2025 NFL free agency period.
Patrick Ricard is a necessary piece of Baltimore's running game

Patrick Ricard is one of the rare pure fullbacks that is still kicking around the NFL.
Ricard is the perfect run-blocking fullback who gives Baltimore an advantage over opposing defenses. He is built like a rock at six-foot-three and 300 pounds. There is a reason why the Ravens have held onto him for so long.
Ricard is coming off a three-year contract and will turn 31 years old during the 2025 season. He is coming up on the end of his NFL career, especially as many teams have abandoned the fullback position altogether. However, I believe he deserves one final season with the Ravens.
Baltimore still has Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson, so the running game will still be a huge part of this offense in 2025. Ricard is certainly replicable in the long-term, but he provides too much value in the short-term to be ignored.
Over the Cap does not believe that he will have a strong free agency market, and this is easy to understand. Ricard likely means more to the Ravens than any other NFL team, much like Kyle Juszczyk with the 49ers.
This reunion just feels right, as long as the Ravens can budget for re-signing Ricard.
Patrick Mekari is worth keeping around, even if he's just offensive line depth
Mekari has been a mainstay on Baltimore's offensive line for years now. The six-year veteran was signed as a UDFA by the Ravens in 2019 and has stuck with the team ever since.
Mekari, who started for the Ravens at left guard in 2024, was on the final year of a three-year contract extension this season. His cap hit was roughly $6.5 million in 2024, and Over the Cap believes that this is about the salary he could command on the open market.
The Ravens would probably like to keep Mekari, if only to keep the offensive line chemistry that he has built up over the years.
Mekari is only 27 years old, so a multi-year extension could be in play for him if he is retained. That could be important because it could allow the Ravens to structure his contract in a way that minimizes his cap hit in 2025.
It would be a huge win if both sides can agree to terms on a deal that keeps Mekari in Baltimore on a limited cap hit for the upcoming season.
Brandon Stephens is a no-brainer re-signing, so long as the price is right

Stephens may be the most important player on this list.
Stephens started at outside cornerback for the Ravens this season next along with Nate Wiggins. The Ravens drafted Brandon Stephens in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft. 2024 was the final year of his rookie contract, which means the Ravens have to extend him to keep him in Baltimore.
The price tag will be the most important factor for Stephens, even more so than with Ricard or Mekari. Cornerback is a premium position in the modern NFL and free agent corners have been known to sign massive contracts in recent years.
Over the Cap places Stephens' value at just under $5 million per season. I believe he could easily net more than this in average annual value, especially if multiple teams get in a bidding war.
If the Ravens want to keep Stephens, they need to re-sign him ASAP and avoid letting him test the open market.