The Baltimore Ravens should be looking forward to the 2026 season given how 2025 went. The team finished with an 8-9 record and missed the postseason for the first time since 2020.
The question is being asked: Will 2026 be different for Lamar Jackson and the Ravens?
“Good Morning Football’s” Manti Te’o and Willie Colon have an answer.
“There’s been a lot of conversation about the Baltimore defense the past few years of how it takes a long time for that defense to start going, almost half the season, and then they become what we are known to see the Baltimore Ravens as: a dominant, turnover machine,” Te’o said. “You bring in a person like Jesse Minter to kind of solve all those riddles. So what I’m excited about is we hopefully will see a Baltimore Ravens team defensively that will have more momentum going into the second half of the season.”
Will Colon Keys in On Lamar Jackson’s Importance
Lamar Jackson has been the sole reason Baltimore has been able to stay afloat in the AFC. Colon says it all starts with him.
“I think right now you’re betting on Lamar,” Colon said. “You have a two-time MVP at quarterback. You have a juggernaut running back in Derrick Henry. You have a new voice and a new air in the building in Jesse Minter and [Offensive Coordinator] Declan Doyle. You still have playmakers in Zay Flowers and Mark Andrews.
“Right now, you’re looking at a team, if they stay healthy, they will remind us who Lamar Jackson is and what they can be.”
To be fair, the Ravens have been betting on Lamar Jackson since they drafted him. The biggest knock on his career so far is that he can’t seem to get over the hump and get to the Super Bowl. He’s accomplished everything else in his young career.
One thing is for certain and two things for sure, Jackson will continue to have pressure on him until he delivers a Super Bowl. After all, he did promise the Ravens one on his draft night.
The Baltimore Ravens Have Improved Defensively
Lamar Jackson has to stay healthy for the Ravens to succeed and everyone knows that. The biggest priority for the Ravens this offseason was addressing their struggling defense.
Defensively, the Ravens had trouble generating pressure with a 30% pass rush win rate in 2025. According to ESPN, the win rate ranked 28th in the league.
The Ravens ranked 24th in total defense during the 2025 season. Baltimore was the 10th ranked defense against the run. They were the 30th ranked defense against the pass.
Trey Hendrickson may be the biggest offseason signing considering how bad the Ravens needed him. Hendrickson signed a four-year, $120 Million contract with Ravens. The move came after the Baltimore Ravens backed out of a trade for Maxx Crosby.
Trey Hendrickson was arguably the best player available in this year’s free agency class. Hendrickson signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as a free agent in 2021. Since that time, Trey Hendrickson has been one of the NFL’s premier pass rushers.
Hendrickson, along with Kyle Hamilton, Roquan Smith, and the return of Nnamdi Madubuike, the Baltimore Ravens defense should be vastly improved from last season.
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