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The Ravens’ race to sign quarterback Lamar Jackson to an extension before the new league year opens next month is already underway. But a new deal for Jackson would be just the start of what should be a busy free agent period.

The Ravens have 24 players set to come off their books: 19 unrestricted free agents, four exclusive-rights free agents and one restricted free agent. And even if Jackson agrees to a deal that lowers his $74.5 million salary cap hit in 2026, general manager Eric DeCosta can’t keep every important piece in Baltimore.

With the start of free agency exactly three weeks away, here are the Ravens’ 11 best free agents, sorted by tiers. Rankings are based on their projected value to the team in 2026 and their projected open-market value, according to Pro Football Focus and Spotrac.

Better apart

RG Daniel Faalele: John Harbaugh was Faalele’s loudest champion in Baltimore, and with his firing, an extension for the lineman seems like pure fantasy. Ravens fans were eager to move on well before last season ended; the public relations blowback alone should be enough to make both sides uncomfortable about hashing out a new deal.

Faalele wasn’t as good as Harbaugh imagined he’d be, nor was he as bad as his lowlight reel suggested. He graded out as PFF’s No. 59 guard among the 90 players at the position with at least 200 snaps last season, ahead of left guard Andrew Vorhees (No. 67). According to Sports Info Solutions, Faalele’s blown-block rate was 2.7%, which ranked 18th among the 42 guards with at least 200 snaps.

Faalele entered the NFL as a tackle prospect, and it’s possible that some front offices still see him as more valuable out wide. But he’s started his past 34 games at right guard, where his heavy feet are better hidden. Spotrac’s market value for Faalele is a projected two-year, $21 million deal.

Key reserves and part-timers

QB Tyler Huntley: The Ravens misjudged Cooper Rush’s fit in their offense last offseason. Huntley, who returned to Baltimore as a practice squad player in late August, was by far the better backup quarterback. He went 2-0 in his starts against the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers, completing 77.6% of his passes for 426 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions and rushing 24 times for 151 yards.

The Ravens are not expected to keep Rush, and the savings from his release would help them afford Huntley. The 28-year-old, who’s close with Jackson, played well enough to earn a one-year deal well above the veteran minimum ($1.2 million).

RB Keaton Mitchell: Mitchell’s place in the Ravens’ plans is unclear. Running back Derrick Henry is already under contract on a two-year, $30 million extension signed last May. Justice Hill has a $3.9 million cap hit in the final year of his deal. Rasheen Ali is entering the third year of his rookie contract with a $1.1 million cap hit. A right-of-first-refusal tender for Mitchell, a restricted free agent, would be worth a projected $3.6 million. That’s a big bill for a position room that rarely gets more than one player onto the field at once.

Mitchell is limited as a blocker, but his breakaway speed is rare. Over his first 57 carries last season, he reached a top speed of at least 20 mph seven times, the most in the NFL, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats. After missing the Ravens’ first four games as a healthy scratch last season, Mitchell finished with 59 rushes for 341 yards (5.8 per carry) and a touchdown.

Mitchell’s contract situation could depend on Hill’s. Hill, 28, is the Ravens’ best third-down back, but he’s coming off a neck injury and struggled mightily as a runner last season (career-low 33.3% success rate, according to Pro Football Reference). The Ravens would incur less than $1 million in dead money if they cut him before free agency starts. Even if the Ravens don’t tender Mitchell an offer, they could still bring the 24-year-old back as an unrestricted free agent.

FB Patrick Ricard: Ricard has said he wants to retire a Raven, but will the team’s new coaching staff value him as much as Harbaugh’s staff did? Ricard was vital to the team’s success in heavy personnel under former offensive coordinator Todd Monken, a lineman-sized fullback who could clear a path for the Ravens’ running backs and slow edge rushers on play-action drop-backs.

Ricard’s value to the passing attack this past year was especially apparent. When he was on the field, Ravens quarterbacks faced pressure (43.2%) and took sacks (8.1%) at a slightly lower rate, posted a considerably higher catchable-ball rate (89.1%) and averaged an impressive 10.3 yards per attempt, according to SIS.

Ricard signed a one-year, $2.9 million extension in March, but after missing six games with a calf injury last season, his asking price will likely dip. The 31-year-old has a long injury history and a physical playing style, and not every offense needs an old-school fullback. Ultimately, the cost of keeping tight end Charlie Kolar could get in the way of keeping Ricard, but there’s space for both.

CB Chidobe Awuzie: Jaire Alexander was the Ravens’ splashy acquisition at cornerback last offseason, but Awuzie, who signed a one-year, $1.3 million deal, was the smarter one. When targeted in coverage in 2025, he allowed 23 catches on 50 attempts for 309 yards and two touchdowns, according to SIS. Awuzie gave up just 0.8 yards per coverage snap, a better rate than starting cornerbacks Nate Wiggins (0.9) and Marlon Humphrey (1.3). He also forced tight-window throws on a team-best 27.6% of his targets, according to NGS, and limited yards after the catch to 2.6 per reception.

Awuzie’s injury history is the biggest hurdle to a substantial raise. The 30-year-old missed 20 games from 2022 to 2024, and hamstring and foot injuries sidelined him for three games in Baltimore. Spotrac’s market value for Awuzie is a projected one-year, $1.3 million deal, but his film suggests he’s worth more than that. If he’s still available in the second or third wave of free agency, and if the Ravens have space in their budget for cornerback depth, a reunion would make sense.

Affordable starters

P Jordan Stout: After three up-and-down seasons, Stout kicked things up a notch in Year 4. He earned All-Pro honors after leading the NFL with a 44.9-yard net average, almost 4 yards better than his previous career high. Stout downed 24 punts inside the 20-yard line, had only six touchbacks and averaged a career-high 50.1 yards per punt, including a career-long 74-yarder.

The Ravens invested a fourth-round pick in Stout in 2022, hoping he might prove a worthy successor to Sam Koch. The bet’s paid off so far. Now they’ll have to pay to keep him. The average annual value of Seattle Seahawks punter Michael Dickson’s four-year extension, signed in June, is an NFL-high $4.1 million; Stout’s extension could approach or eclipse that.

TE Charlie Kolar: Kolar, who lined up primarily in the slot at Iowa State, took another step forward as an in-line blocker this past season. According to SIS, he had the lowest blown-block rate (0.4%) of any tight end with at least 200 blocking snaps in 2025. (Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely had fewer than 200 apiece last year, but they weren’t far behind, with both finishing at 0.6%.) Kolar remained an afterthought in the Ravens’ passing game, recording a career-low 1.39 yards per route run, according to PFF. But he still had career highs in catches (10), targets (15), yards (142) and touchdowns (two).

Spotrac’s market value for Kolar is a projected one-year, $1.7 million deal, an estimate that seems to underestimate the 27-year-old’s worth as a blocker. John Bates, who fills a similar role for the Washington Commanders as one of the NFL’s best blocking tight ends, signed a three-year, $21 million extension last offseason. The Ravens will need a reliable in-line presence for their outside-zone run schemes, and Kolar is a younger, healthier option than Ricard.

S Alohi Gilman: Gilman’s arrival in the early-October trade that sent outside linebacker Odafe Oweh to the Los Angeles Chargers helped free All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton to play closer to the line of scrimmage. Gilman and rookie Malaki Starks had a productive partnership as the Ravens’ deep safeties, though they couldn’t quite solve the big-play problem that afflicted the secondary’s cornerbacks.

Gilman struggled with his tackling in the open field (16.7% miss rate), but he had just two games in which he was responsible for allowing more than 50 yards in coverage, according to PFF. He finished the season with nine passes defended and 90 tackles overall, along with a memorable defensive touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Spotrac’s market value for Gilman is a projected two-year, $8.3 million deal, but the 28-year-old’s durability and starting experience (51 games over six seasons) could push it higher.

Expensive starters

TE Isaiah Likely: Likely had one of the most disappointing seasons of any Raven last season. He broke his foot early in training camp, missed the team’s first three games and finished with career lows in targets (37), catches (27), receiving yards (307), touchdowns (one) and yards per route run (1.29).

With Andrews signing a three-year extension, Likely is not expected to return to Baltimore, where he’s close with Jackson. But the 25-year-old should have a solid market in free agency. He’s a flexible receiver and blocker with good ball skills and elusiveness. Over the final seven games of the 2023 regular season, with Andrews sidelined by injury, Likely showed he could carry the load as the Ravens’ top tight end, grabbing 21 catches for 322 yards and five touchdowns. The Ravens’ passer rating when targeting Likely in that span: 157.9.

Spotrac’s market value for Likely is a projected two-year, $17.6 million deal. He could reunite with Harbaugh or Monken; both the New York Giants and Cleveland Browns figure to be in the market for tight end help.

OLB Dre’Mont Jones: Jones, acquired at the trade deadline for what became a fifth-round pick, couldn’t completely reinvigorate a punchless pass rush. But he was the Ravens’ best edge rusher over his two-plus months in Baltimore. From Week 10 to Week 18, according to PFF, he had 32 pressures, tied with defensive lineman Travis Jones for the most on the team in that span, and 2.5 sacks.

Dre’Mont Jones finished the season with seven sacks and 51 pressures overall, both career highs. His 18.8% pass rush win rate on true pass sets tied for 23rd among regular edge rushers, according to PFF, and was by far the Ravens’ highest mark. (Rookie Mike Green was next best, ranking 44th at 14.2%.)

Jones, who can win as an interior rusher and out wide, would help fortify the Ravens’ depth if they look elsewhere for help on Day 1 and Day 2 of the draft. But DeCosta would likely have to lock down the 29-year-old before he reaches free agency. PFF projects Jones’ next deal to be worth $20 million over two years, with $13 million guaranteed.

Star players

C Tyler Linderbaum: Linderbaum has started 66 of a possible 68 games and made three Pro Bowls over his four seasons in Baltimore. The only reason why the 2022 first-round pick isn’t already under contract through the 2026 season has to do with the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement, which doesn’t distinguish between offensive line positions in its valuation of fifth-year options. After Linderbaum earned his second Pro Bowl honor in 2024, the cost of his 2026 option soared to $23.4 million. No center’s deal is worth more than the $18 million owed annually to the Kansas City Chiefs’ Creed Humphrey.

The Ravens declined the option in April, but DeCosta said the team intended for him “to remain a Raven long term.” Losing Linderbaum along an offensive line that could be starting two new guards in 2026 is a daunting prospect. While limited as a pass protector — he had the eighth-highest blown-block rate there among the 37 most active centers in 2025, according to SIS — Linderbaum is only two years removed from a stout 2023 (No. 1 in pass blocking grade, according to PFF). Under new offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford, a well-regarded teacher who majors in the zone-blocking schemes that Linderbaum is best suited for, he could contend for All-Pro honors in Baltimore.

The Ravens need to keep Linderbaum from reaching free agency, either with an extension or the franchise tag. Plenty of teams will have the salary cap space to splurge on a star lineman, and PFF projects Linderbaum’s next deal to be worth $80 million over four years, with $53 million guaranteed.

Also considered: WR DeAndre Hopkins, WR Tylan Walace, DL Brent Urban, OLB Kyle Van Noy, ILB Jake Hummel, S Ar’Darius Washington