Knee-Jerk Reactions: Ravens Trade EDGE Odafe Oweh to LA Chargers

The Ravens traded Odafe Oweh to the Los Angeles Chargers, along with a future 7th-round pick, for S Alohi Gilman and a 2026 5th-round pick.

RSR staff react to the move here.

I’m more interested in how the Ravens use the $8M in cap space. Also can’t wait to see if Oweh is a bust or the Ravens don’t know how to develop edge rushers. https://t.co/CVzxI72HwW

— Lombardi Party of One (@RSRLombardi) October 7, 2025

Kevin McNelis

At first glance, this looked like it could have been the beginning of a sell-off for the Ravens. It made sense to try to get something in return for a guy that they likely didn’t have interest in re-signing, so why not take a swing?

Then I digested this a little bit and realized a comp pick likely would have done the same thing, so if that was what they were after, they would’ve let Oweh play out the year. Besides, trading for another pending UFA in Alohi Gilman (an older player at that) wouldn’t make sense, so the sticking point became the $7 million in cap space generated by the move. The optimistic view of this move is that the cap space could mean the front office is trying to make a big swing to acquire a premier player and try to salvage this season.

If they’re trying to make serious cap room, the moves may not be done yet. Mark Andrews’ name has come up several times in discussions about the future as he’s also playing in a contract year.

Gilman has played in 87% of the Chargers’ D snaps this year (5 starts) & started 25 games in 2023-2024 (every game when healthy).

The Ravens will pay Gilman $2,527,778 for the balance of the yr, while being relieved of paying the balance of Oweh’s remaining salary ($9,570,167). https://t.co/RSyNm2LSZp

— Brian McFarland (@RavensSalaryCap) October 7, 2025

Rob Shields

This is an interesting move for the Ravens.

It’s clear they didn’t want to pay Oweh what he was going to command in free agency, which isn’t a surprise.

So they decided to get something for him even though he was one of the few pass rushers the team has.

Yes, this trade does allow them to play Hamilton down in the box more BUT they didn’t have to trade Oweh to accomplish this. There is more here than we know at the moment.

This deal saves them around $7M on the cap. Are they preparing for a bigger move, like say, Jeffrey Simmons?  If they were, you would figure that deal would be at least rumored already.  With injuries being what they are in the NFL, you can’t guarantee a deal week to week.

So, my guess is really that Oweh has become a distraction and locker room issue. John Harbaugh has continuously talked about fundamental mistakes being made by the defense.  Despite the team needing a pass rush, Oweh’s snaps declined week by week.  Why? We may not find out the truth any time soon, but my sense is that there is something more going on here.

Also, this is not a sell off. Not yet. This team wouldn’t do that so early.

I remember EDC talking about how he lamented not having cap space for Xavien Howard a couple of trade deadlines ago.

I wouldn’t dismiss the cap space element. They now have flexibility and draft pick capital to be players. #Ravens #RavensFlock https://t.co/KNgrAWRAEb

— Dev Panchwagh (@devpanchwagh) October 7, 2025

Nick Polinsky

I didn’t have an Odafe Oweh trade on my bingo card though with how poorly his play has been this year I’m not surprised.

Oweh was picked as a breakout candidate by many. He was going into a contact year, coming off of a 10 sack season, and a lot of people thought he would go crazy and make his price tag even higher.

In reality he’s been a complete non-factor for the Ravens with no sacks in five games.

The return was Alohi Gilman and a 2026 5th for Oweh and a 2027 7th. Gilman has played 277 snaps this year for the Chargers, and the Ravens do need safety help to allow Kyle Hamilton to be more of a free-roamer.

Derek Arnold

My overwhelming feeling about this trade is just thinking about what a disappointment Oweh ultimately was. Remember the game-winning play he made against the Chiefs at M&T Bank Stadium as a rookie? Imagine if I told you that night it would be his only memorable play as a Raven! I know he had 10 sacks in 2024, but were any offensive coordinators losing sleep about how to block him?

I figured he would be the latest Ravens edge rusher to blossom in his contract year before going on to do great things elsewhere. Unlike guys like Matt Judon and Za’Darius Smith though, Oweh was a first-round pick. I bought the hype about him adding muscle coming into the season, then watched him run himself out of play after play or be completely handled (without a double team) by whatever tackle he lined up against on 3rd-and-long.

The post Knee-Jerk Reactions: Ravens Trade EDGE Odafe Oweh to LA Chargers appeared first on Russell Street Report.

Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2025/10/07/knee-jerk-reactions/knee-jerk-reactions-ravens-trade-edge-odafe-oweh-to-la-chargers/