OTL: Add “Ravens North” to “Ravens West” As Hortiz & Harbs Raid Pantry

When Joe Hortiz took over as the general manager of the Los Angeles Chargers in 2024, he immediately got to work building his roster by poaching plenty of familiar faces from Baltimore. Seven former Ravens were signed to be Chargers for the 2024 season, the most notable being JK Dobbins, Gus Edwards, Bradley Bozeman, and Tony Jefferson.

It makes sense for a general manager in a new spot to surround himself with similar personnel, especially when the head coach is his former colleague’s brother. The Chargers continued the trend over the past year, with their midseason trade for Odafe Oweh.

Oweh earned himself a really nice 4-year $100 million contract in Washington which now makes him 12th highest paid edge in the league. Imagine telling a Ravens fan back in October that Oweh would earn that kind of money after he laid a goose egg in the sack column through the first five weeks.

Hortiz went back to the well in Baltimore once again to get his offseason kicked off, signing Charlie Kolar. Kolar earned a nice LA payday; his 3-year $24.3 million dollar contract was one that was well earned. He was never the biggest receiving threat, but was an instrumental part of the run game. That point alone is probably the reason Baltimore wasn’t comfortable with paying Kolar that kind of money. They hit on two tight ends in the 2022 Draft, and may look to do the same in the mid-to-late rounds this year.

With John Harbaugh taking the head coaching gig in New York, there’s a new Raven poacher in the league. The Giants signed three former Ravens on the first day of the tampering period, Isaiah Likely, Jordan Stout, and Ar’Darius Washington

Likely makes for a fun pairing in a Giants offense that looks to turn a corner in 2026. A big part of Lamar Jackson’s early progression was having Mark Andrews at his disposal, and it seems like the Giants are trying to copy that blueprint by putting an athletic, play-making tight end at Jaxson Dart’s side.

Yeah, Likely was the priority. They tried on multiple occasions. When it was clear there was a gap, they started working on Andrews, whose deal was always going to be more team friendly than what they’d be able to do with Likely.

— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) March 3, 2026

The first day of the tampering period always brings surprises, but perhaps nothing was more shocking than the contract Tyler Linderbaum received from Las Vegas. Coming into this offseason, the highest paid center was the Chiefs’ Creed Humphrey at $18 million per year. Linderbaum reset that market and then some with a 3-year $81 million contract. The math on that: an average per year of $27 million.

The Ravens made efforts to re-sign Linderbaum at a very lucrative price point, but this was one of those cases of a team with a desperate need willing to spend a ton of money to get their guy. Vegas is almost sure to take Fernando Mendoza first overall in the draft, and those two will have a chance to establish a connection very quickly.

In asking around, it sounds like Ravens max offer to retain C Tyler Linderbaum was four years for $88 mill. Linderbaum got 3 years for $81 million.
So the APY was obviously way higher than they were willing to go, but the three-year term was just as problematic, if not more so.

— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) March 9, 2026

Baltimore did make an interior o-line move, bringing back former Raven John Simpson on a 3-year deal, where he’ll most likely slot in at left guard. That leaves an opening at center, and at right guard, though the guard spot could be filled in house with Andrew Vorhees or Emery Jones.

The unfortunate nature that comes with having a talented team is that it feels like you get ravaged in times like these. As I’m writing this, the Ravens have lost seven of their unrestricted free agents: Linderbaum, Likely, Dre’Mont Jones, Kolar, Jordan Stout, Ar’Darius Washington, and Alohi Gilman.

Fortunately, the compensatory pick formula will treat the Ravens well in 2027, and if they make no additional moves impacting the formula, they could potentially end up with a 3rd from Linderbaum, a pair of 5ths from Likely and Jones, and a 6th from Kolar. If the Simpson signing cancels out the likely 5th round Jones rather than a 6th round comp, it would be a fifth and two sixths.

The fun has just started. What else do you think the Ravens need to get done between now and the 2026 Draft?

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