This offseason, free-agent defensive lineman Derek Wolfe kept close tabs on what the Baltimore Ravens were doing, hoping to be a part of their plans. Though he decided against asking for a trade last season, the Denver Broncos didn’t bring him back for 2020, giving Wolfe a chance to join what he called his “first choice” in Baltimore.
But the Ravens were aggressive to start free agency, trading for Calais Campbell and agreeing to terms on a three-year deal with defensive tackle Michael Brockers. It was then that Wolfe thought his offseason hopes had been dashed.
“At the beginning there, when they signed Brockers, I was like ‘ah, I maybe missed my chance there’ and I assumed it was because of my injuries.”
However, that door wasn’t really closed after all.
Brockers’ physical gave the Ravens some pause due to an ankle injury. Though the team tried to work out a new deal given the injury information, they pulled their current offer and Brockers ended up re-signing with the Los Angeles Rams instead.
With the top of the free-agent market already picked over and former Ravens defensive tackle Michael Pierce set to join the Minnesota Vikings, Baltimore turned their attention to Wolfe. Once he heard Brockers was out, Wolfe pushed his agent to get a deal done with the Ravens.
“When I saw that [Michael] Brockers didn’t pass his physical, I immediately called my agent and said ‘what’s going on with the Ravens.’ And he said ‘I’m already on the phone.’
“I said ‘I really don’t care about the money at this point, I just want to get on that team.’ That’s the team I want to be on because I feel like if I can come in there and prove myself, they’ll extend me for a few years and I can be a part of the organization for more than just one year. That was my goal.”
Wolfe got his wish, signing with Baltimore on a one-year deal worth $3 million with another $3 million in incentives. After having eyes on the Ravens all the way back to last season, everything worked itself out in the end and Wolfe will get another chance to contend for a Super Bowl in Baltimore.
