It’s no secret that the Baltimore Ravens defense needs help after four weeks. The unit has allowed three consecutive quarterbacks to throw for 300-plus-yard for only the second time in team history, and it gave up the longest rushing touchdown in team history to the Cleveland Browns in Week 4.
All of that defensive turmoil is, of course, going to result in some roster changes. One such move was Baltimore cutting outside linebacker Tim Williams on Tuesday. In search of help, the Ravens brought in several free agents for workouts that day.
Among the group are some fairly familiar names. Linebacker Josh Bynes was with Baltimore for three years. The Ravens worked out Vincent Rey earlier in the offseason. Defensive tackle Domata Peko played for the Cincinnati Bengals for 11 years.
Let’s take a closer look at all the players Baltimore brought in:
LB Dekoda Watson
A 10-year veteran, Watson was a seventh-round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, starting only six games in his four-year stint with the team. Watson played in just four games last year for the San Francisco 49ers, notching two sacks.
LB Josh Bynes
Bynes is familiar with Baltimore, having been part of its Super Bowl XLVII team in the 2012 season. After being cut and signing with Detroit in 2014, he started 19 games in three seasons for the Lions, finishing with an interception and half of a sack. Bynes most recently played for the Arizona Cardinals, starting 12 games at middle linebacker in 2018.
LB Mason Foster
With 92 career games started, Foster is a far more proven commodity than the rest of the linebackers on this list by far. Foster started his career in Tampa Bay when he was drafted in the third round in 2011, then moved to Washington in 2015. Foster is a middle linebacker by trade, and seeing how Patrick Onwuasor and Kenny Young have had issues locking down the middle of the field, a veteran presence like Foster would certainly be welcome.
LB Vincent Rey
A name that should be familiar to Ravens fans, Rey was a mainstay of the Bengals defense for nine seasons and was half of the linebacker tandem that gave Baltimore headaches for years — the other half being Rey Maualuga. Rey played his entire career with the Bengals until he was cut at the end of last season. Rey, like Mason Foster, is primarily an inside linebacker and would be a veteran presence there.
DT Domata Peko
Another former Bengal, Peko played 11 seasons for Cincinnati before shipping off to Denver where, at 32 years old, he wasn’t his former game-wrecking self. Since Brandon Williams is dealing with an injury, a stopgap defensive tackle wouldn’t be out of the question for the Ravens, who allowed 193 yards on the ground to the Browns in Week 4.
DT Jeremiah Ledbetter
The youngest player the Ravens tried out was drafted by the Lions in the sixth round of the 2017 NFL draft. Ledbetter played in all 16 games for Detroit in 2017 but didn’t perform well enough to stay on the team the next season. Ledbetter joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for one game this season but was cut shortly afterward. Ledbetter has half a sack over the last two seasons.
