Sitting at 1-5 but with their playoff hopes still very much alive — and largely dependent on the health of quarterback Lamar Jackson — the Baltimore Ravens are trying to improve what’s been one of the NFL’s worst defenses.
According to NFL Insider Jordan Schultz, the Ravens are trying to get an instant boost from veteran free agent edge rusher Carl Lawson.
“Sources: The Ravens are signing DE Carl Lawson after having him in for a workout,” Schultz wrote on his official X account on October 23. “Lawson notched 5 sacks last season with the Cowboys and has been waiting for the right opportunity.”
Lawson, 30 years old, played in 2024 on a 1-year, $1.125 million contract with the Dallas Cowboys but spent the first 7 seasons of his career split between the Cincinnati Bengals and New York Jets.
The Ravens are currently 30th in the NFL in total defense 31st in sacks.
Lawson Landed Massive Payday in 2021
Lawson, 6-foot-2 and 260 pounds, was a fourth round pick (No. 116 overall) in the 2017 NFL draft after earning All-American honors at Auburn in 2016 with 13 TFL and 9.0 sacks.
As a rookie in 2017, Lawson played in all 16 games for the Bengals and finished second on the team with a career high 8.5 sacks. He missed the final 9 games of the 2018 regular season with a torn ACL but returned to play 12 games in 2019 and finished with 5.0 sacks.
Lawson became a full time starter for the first time in his career in 2020 and finished with 5.5 sacks. That led to a 3-year, $45 million free agent contract from the New York Jets in March 2021. He tore his achilles tendon during a joint practice with the Green Bay Packers during training camp and missed the entire 2021 season.
In 7 NFL seasons — that’s minus the year he sat out — Lawson has had at least 5.0 sacks 5 times and has 32.0 career sacks.
Lawson’s Uncle and Fiance Both Olympians
Lawson has an interesting family history in regards to the Summer Olympics.
His grand-uncle, also named Carl Lawson, was a sprinter for Jamaica at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Lawson’s fiance, discuss thrower and Auburn All-American Rachel Dincoff, competed for Team USA in the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Lawson and Dincoff got engaged in April, with Lawson dropping to one knee and proposing while the 2 were standing in the Auburn track and field throwing pits.
Ravens in Desperate Need of Help on Defense
While 34-year-old edge rusher Kyle Van Noy had a career high 12.5 sacks in 2024, he’s missed 2 games due to injuries in 2025 and has just one sack and 6 tackles in the 4 games he’s played in.
The Ravens also thought they got first round value in the second round with Marshall edge rusher Mike Green, who has zero sacks and just 2 QB hits through his first 6 games.
Ravens defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike, who hasn’t played since suffering a season ending neck injury in Week 3, still leads the Ravens with 2.0 sacks.
Very thankful for the opportunity I got in Dallas last year,” Lawson wrote on his official X account on October 22, just one day before signing with the Ravens. “Actually believe I’m twice the player I was even last year with a healthy offseason.”
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