The Baltimore Ravens were dealt a serious blow when they lost pass-rusher Terrell Suggs for the season to an Achilles injury last week. Suggs was coming off a season in which he totaled 61 tackles and finished second on the team with 12.0 sacks. Head coach John Harbaugh told the Baltimore Sun's Jeff Zrebiec that he believes Elvis Dumervil and Courtney Upshaw can help to fill the void, but he also admitted that the team is looking at external options as well.
That's probably a good idea. Despite racking up 17.0 sacks last season, Dumervil is 31-years-old and Upshaw has never been much of a pass-rushing threat. If the Ravens do ultimately decide to add someone in free agency, here are four suggestions from CSN's Clifton Brown.
1. John Abraham
"He had 11.5 sacks with the Cardinals in 2013, but he suffered a concussion in the first game of the 2014 season and has not played since. Would Abraham be healthy enough to help the Ravens if he joined them at age 35?"
2. Dwight Freeney
"Also 35 years old, Freeney was devastating pass rusher in his prime. However, he has just eight sacks since 2012, including 3.5 with the Chargers last season."
3. Mathias Kiwanuka
"At age 32, Kiwanuka is a younger option than Abraham or Freeney. However, Kiwanuka's 2.5 sacks with the Giants in 2014 were a career-low. The Giants released him in February."
4. Shaun Phillips
"He had 10 sacks for the Broncos in 2013, including 2.5 sacks against the Ravens in that year's season-opener. But Phillips tailed off to just two sacks in 2014 for the Titans. They released him last November, and after the Colts signed him, they released the 34-year-old Phillips in February."
Without another pass-rusher, the Ravens can't expect to finish second in the NFL in sacks (49.0) like they did last year. Can Upshaw or rookie Za'Darius Smith be that guy or will Baltimore be forced to look elsewhere?
