Though the Baltimore Ravens didn’t finish the season hoisting the Lombardi Trophy or holding a parade, they broke several records and finished a franchise-best 14-2 with the team’s first-ever No. 1 seed in the AFC. With a lot of accomplishments during the 2019 season, there are a number of players who shone brightly while others failed to live up to expectations.
With that in mind, I took a look back at the Ravens’ 2019 season to see which players were the biggest studs and which ones were the biggest duds.
Stud: CB Marcus Peters
Peters got traded from a team that clearly didn’t want him and didn’t value him as a long-term option to a franchise that is seemingly in better shape to win a Super Bowl and handed him a big contract extension. It’s hard to find a bigger winner this season than Peters.
Dud: LB Patrick Onwuasor
Onwuasor was expected to lead the defense this season, taking over for the departed C.J. Mosley. In turn, Onwuasor was offered a contract extension in the offseason but turned it down and bet on himself, according to The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec. That backfired massively as Onwuasor not only lost the green dot on his helmet (for the mic’d helmet to communicate calls) but his starting job.
Now Onwuasor enters free agency as a huge question mark for both the Ravens and potentially other teams, likely hurting his value from what Baltimore offered him initially.
Stud: S Chuck Clark
Clark finally got his time to shine and he did exactly that when replacing the injured Tony Jefferson. Clark stepped into the starting role and not only handled coverage and run-support roles well, but was praised for his football intelligence.
Clark had been a depth player who got some snaps prior to this season but has firmly emerged as a starting weapon in Baltimore’s secondary.
Dud: S Tony Jefferson
On the flip side is Jefferson, who was clearly replaced by Clark. Even without the injury, Jefferson was far from a lock to return for the 2020 season as a potential salary-cap casualty. But with the injury potentially meaning he won’t be at 100% next season and Clark’s emergence, it seems almost a sure thing that Jefferson is on the way out this offseason.
Stud: QB Lamar Jackson
How could Jackson not be on this list? The 2019 NFL MVP not only exceeded the expectations of national pundits but of local reports and fans as well. The hard work Jackson put in during the offseason showed up immediately with Jackson’s first five-passing-touchdown game and led him to a historically amazing season that puts him among the NFL’s best quarterbacks.
Dud: C Matt Skura
Skura making the “dud” list isn’t a knock on his play as he too exceeded expectations this season. But after suffering a devastating knee injury that put him on injured reserve, Skura’s status for training camp is still firmly in the air. And with how well Patrick Mekari played in his stead, Skura went from a guy the Ravens practically had to re-sign to one that is not guaranteed to come back next season, even as a restricted free agent.
Stud: LB Josh Bynes
I refuse to stop talking about Bynes. For a guy who was effectively on his couch before getting the call from Baltimore, he immediately stepped into the starting spot and made the type of impact everyone was hoping Onwuasor was going to make. In Bynes’ first game with the Ravens, he notched an interception that ultimately helped Baltimore win a close game in Week 5 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Bynes might have revived his career a bit with his play and might now have suitors in free agency because of it.
Dud: CB Jimmy Smith
Smith really needed to prove himself this season, especially considering he was on the final year of his contract. But once again, injury issues reared their head with Smith going down after just six defensive snaps in the first game. He ended up effectively missing half of the season with a knee injury, which only further proved Smith isn’t a reliable option. With the trade for Peters, Smith’s fate in Baltimore was sealed and with his injury history, he might not garner much interest in free agency now.
That’s a big blow for a player who had stretches of Pro Bowl-caliber play before and might have been able to earn another decent contract as a starter.
Stud: RB Mark Ingram
Not everyone was impressed when Baltimore signed Ingram over the offseason. Some thought Ingram’s injury history and age pointed to a down season for the Pro Bowl running back, considering the deal to be a waste of valuable cap space. Instead, Ingram helped lead the Ravens’ power rushing attack to a career year and earned himself another Pro Bowl nod for his work.
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