Odafe Oweh felt trapped in Baltimore. He’s found freedom in D.C.

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The phone call that brought Odafe Oweh to a low point was also the one that set him free.

Oweh had been struggling to get to the quarterback following his 10-sack 2024 season when the Ravens opted to trade their former first-round pick to the Los Angeles Chargers in exchange for safety Alohi Gilman in the middle of last season.

“They told me over the phone, and two hours later, I was on a flight to L.A. with just like a little duffel bag,” Oweh said.

He walked in as an outsider to a Chargers locker room built around an established core. Oweh had to figure out how to “mesh” off the field as the new guy while continuing to have faith in his ability to be a dominant force on the field after the Ravens decided to move on instead of committing to a longterm deal.

Oweh broke his sack drought in the first game. And then he went on to record 7.5 regular season sacks and three postseason sacks before signing a four-year $96 million contract with the Washington Commanders in free agency — making him the fourth-highest paid player to sign in free agency this offseason.

On Wednesday, Oweh will travel with his new team to the Ravens’ practice facility for joint practice with his former teammates and their new coach — who is also Oweh’s old Chargers defensive coordinator.

Oweh is trying to square the difficult times he had in Baltimore with the opportunity he has now — and the pressure it brings.

“Back in the DMV, got a good chance to, not right my wrongs, but kind of just have a different flair, bring a different Dafe to the DMV, a more positive Dafe,” Oweh said.

Oweh’s time in Baltimore was a struggle from the beginning. He suffered a shoulder injury his rookie year that required offseason surgery ahead of the 2022 season. In 2023, he dealt with an ankle injury. He had yet another ankle injury in 2024, although he still managed a to have a career season.

In 2025, Oweh was generally healthy, but a change he made in the offseason hindered him.

In hindsight, Oweh wishes he hadn’t focused on gaining weight. He added about 20 pounds to try to bring more power to his rush and strength to his run defense. At 265 pounds, he was the heaviest he had ever been in his life, he said.

At the time, Oweh said he felt like his speed and explosiveness hadn’t diminished. But the change didn’t seem to help much — he played only 45 percent of snaps in Baltimore — and didn’t stick: Oweh is listed at 251 pounds on the Commanders roster this year.

He feels more secure making that decision for himself and “understanding what type of player I am, understanding who I am, what I do best and dominating within that role.”

Oweh also hinted at distractions and disfunction within the Ravens, but declined to elaborate. .

“I just feel like there was a lot of like stuff going on, just in the facility, the defense, just a lot of daily issues that was going on in terms of like what we were trying to do with personnel,” Oweh said.

The Ravens lost defensive lineman Nnamdi Madubuike in Week 2 to a season-ending neck injury last season, and it had a significant ripple effect.

Oweh didn’t deny Madubuike’s injury had an impact, but said he thought they should have been able to shift players better to “bandage” the hole and that there were players still on the roster who could have flourished.

“I think there was just a lack of understanding of what we were going to do next after Nnamdi went down,” Oweh said.

Three weeks later, it was no longer Oweh’s concern.

Instead, he had to focus on getting over the emotions of being traded and figure out how to contribute to his new team.

Luckily, his new defensive coordinator set him free.

“I think Jesse would tell you guys too, he just let me be free and let me rush freely and not be capped, not be in a jail,” Oweh said.

Whereas pass rushing felt mechanical before, under Minter, it felt like an art.

Instead of being told to rush the same way for the whole game, Oweh was allowed to treat it “like chess.” He didn’t add any new pass rush tools to his bag, but he felt more comfortable trying things out and being more aggressive without the fear he’d be sidelined for a mistake.

His newfound confidence helped him to generate the sixth-highest pressure rate (17.3%) in the league, according to Next Gen Stats. And he contributed in critical times, recording three sacks and two forced fumbles in the Chargers’ playoff game against the New England Patriots.

When he hit free agency, Oweh landed back on the East Coast but with a fresh start.

His sister also lives nearby.

“It just made sense,” Oweh told reporters.

After signing the deal in Washington, Oweh connected with defensive coordinator Daronte Jones about the plan for him. He liked that they told him he’d be able to find one-on-one match ups and play fast, but he also also that they valued him as a run defender.

“I’ve worked hard and by the grace of God, He’s helped me get better at the pass rushing aspect,” he said. “The run game was what I hung my hat on at first.”

Oweh, who had a strong start to camp, won’t participate in Owings Mills due to a calf injury. But he’ll get to see the new era of Ravens football with Minter taking over for John Harbaugh.

Minter has connections to a lot of Oweh’s former Ravens coordinators. He was an assistant alongside Mike Macdonald, then succeeded him as defensive coordinator at Michigan; the two of them still share ideas with each other. Zach Orr, the Ravens’ defensive coordinator the last two years, spent years on the same staff with both of them.

That doesn’t mean everything is the same, or even close.

Oweh explained how Minter’s defense can look different for the outside linebackers in Baltimore.

“He did a good job of letting edge defenders go and make the play,” Oweh said. In Orr’s defense, Oweh and other pass rushers were more frequently asked to keep containment and occupy blockers while other players tried to create pressure.

Knowing most of the Ravens’ pass rushers, Oweh expects them to thrive under Minter. He shouted out Tavius Robinson’s run defense, Green’s pass rush skills and Trey Hendrickson’s overall game.

“It could be similar to exactly what we had with the Chargers, if not better,” Oweh said.

Oweh, meanwhile, is looking forward to having his own form of “freedom” in a defense catered to his talents for a team looking to build an identity and return to the playoffs after a down year.

“I think this defense is going to let a lot of people wreak havoc, not just me,” Oweh said.