The Baltimore Ravens are floundering, and after a brutal start to the season, they made a significant move to shake things up ahead of Week 6.
The Ravens on Oct. 7 traded edge rusher Odafe Oweh and a 2027 seventh-round pick (originally from the Rams) to the Los Angeles Chargers in exchange for safety Alohi Gilman and a sixth-round pick next season.
Trading Oweh, one of the few bright spots on an injury-riddled defense this season, was unexpected, but apparently the Ravens felt they had to address the banged-up secondary. In grading the intraconference deal, ESPN.com gave both the Ravens and Chargers a “B” for their sides of the swap.
Why Ravens Got ‘B’ Grade for Surprising Chargers Trade
“Gilman gives the Ravens a third safety (they also added C.J. Gardner-Johnson to the practice squad on Tuesday),” Seth Walder wrote for ESPN.com. “That helps in the short term if Kyle Hamilton misses more time, but safety should be an asset for Baltimore once Hamilton returns.
“The Ravens like to play three safeties: Last season, they played a combination of Hamilton, Ar’Darius Washington and either Marcus Williams or Eddie Jackson for 290 snaps. With Washington injured, they haven’t had that type of three-safety flexibility this season. Perhaps they do now.”
Gilman, a former sixth-round pick who played his college ball at Navy and Notre Dame, has played in all five games for the Chargers this season. He played in 87% of the defensive snaps in that five-game sample, and he also ahs been a contributor on special teams with 42 snaps. He has yet to record an interception this season but has five in his career, and opposing quarterbacks have only completed half of their attempts targeting Gilman, a rate that would be the best of his career.
Pro Football Focus has a 65.5 overall grade for Gilman this season, ranking him 58th out of 134 safeties.
The Ravens’ offensive injuries, especially quarterback Lamar Jackson, have generated plenty of headlines, but the team’s performance has been most impacted by the injuries on the defensive side of the ball. Perhaps none has been more significant than Hamilton’s groin injury, and Baltimore’s decision to sign Gardner-Johnson and trade for Gilman seem to suggest as much.
What Trade Says About Ravens’ Pass Rush
The decision to trade Oweh did raise some eyebrows. As Walder noted, Oweh’s pass-rush win rate is the best of his career, an improvement on last season when he racked up 10 sacks.
Assuming Baltimore isn’t starting some sort of fire sale, the willingness to trade an impact player like Oweh probably indicates they feel good about what they have on the roster that can fill the void. Oweh only played 45% of the defensive snaps this season, down considerably from 56% last season.
This might mean the Ravens are pleased with what they’ve seen from rookie pass rusher Mike Green, despite the fact he has yet to record a sack and has just two quarterback hits while playing nearly 60% of the defensive snaps.
“If anything, this is a major bet on Mike Green and Tavius Robinson to replace Oweh’s snaps and have a bigger impact,” Baltimore Beatdown’s Nikhil Mehta wrote. “It could also signal that Adisa Isaac is nearing a return.”
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