The Baltimore Ravens have given inside linebacker Trenton Simpson plenty of chances to prove himself over the last 3 seasons. If he can’t show he’s capable of making plays, the former 3rd round pick might be looking elsewhere for work in the coming months.
Sports Illustrated’s Jason La Canfora put Simpson at the top of his list of Ravens who “won’t be on the roster by Week 1” after training camp plays out.
Simpson is in the final season of his 4-year, $5.4 million rookie contract.
“At a very similar point as (offensive lineman) Andrew Vorhees, making almost the same salary,” La Canfora wrote. “Both were in essence given starting jobs, or very close to it, and neither could hold it down. Both struggled to the point where alternatives were preferred and more draft capital and/or cash was thrown into their positions. When your payroll gets this high, there is some pressure to trim fat where you can and if Simpson looks like he’s going to be primarily a special teams guy then you take a late-round pick for him if you can get it and put that nearly $4M to use somewhere else, where it’s needed.”
Trenton Simpson Struggled in Starting Role
The Ravens — and everyone who watched the Ravens play in 2024 — got a year’s worth of cringeworthy football from Simpson when he was shoehorned into a starting role in his 2nd season.
Simpson, 6-foot-2 and 238 pounds, played all 17 games with 13 starts and finished with 73 tackles, 5 TFL, 1.5 sacks and 4 pass deflections.
In 3 other “dynamic stat” categories — interceptions, forced fumbles and fumble recoveries — Simpson came up with a big, fat zero.
According to Pro Football Focus, Simpson was one of the worst players at his position in the entire NFL in 2024.
Simpson’s overall grade from PFF came in at 58.7 — 124th out of 189 eligible inside linebackers. He was equally below average in pass rush (60.6), pass coverage (55.3) and run defense (63.2).
Rookie Easily Took Trenton Simpson’s Starting Spot
It didn’t take very long for Ravens rookie and 2025 4th-round pick (No. 129 overall) Teddye Buchanan to take Simpson’s spot in the starting lineup — and show that he could be the real, long-term answer at inside linebacker.
How Buchanan bounces back from a torn ACL suffered late in the season should determine whether the Ravens decide to keep Simpson around.
Buchanan had 93 tackles in 14 games with 13 starts in 2025 and was a much better pairing with NFL All-Pro Roquan Smith than Simpson ever was.
Pro Football Focus NFL writer Bradley Locker put Buchanan on his NFL All-Breakout Team — a list of the “next great players at every position” — alongside Ravens safety Malaki Starks.
“Growth feels like the name of the game on Baltimore’s defense, and it should permeate to Buchanan over the middle,” Locker wrote on May 13. “Even as a fourth-round rookie, Buchanan garnered significant playing time with 652 snaps across the team’s first 14 games. Prior to suffering a torn ACL, Buchanan showed promise with an 8.6% missed tackle rate and a 70.8 PFF run-defense grade. The Ravens have hardly adjusted their linebacker room, which means that Buchanan should obtain another year of starting next to All-Pro Roquan Smith. With Jesse Minter now calling the shots, Buchanan could experience a similar elevation to what we saw with the Chargers’ Daiyan Henley in 2024.”
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