PALM BEACH, Fla. — Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh is attending his 15th NFL league meetings, but he finds himself in an unfamiliar position.
For the first time, the Ravens are coming off a last-place finish under Harbaugh after losing their last six games to finish 8-9. While much of the Ravens’ struggles can be chalked up to quarterback Lamar Jackson’s injuries and other banged-up starters, Harbaugh believes Baltimore has to play some catch-up in a much-improved AFC North. The defending AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals have bulked up the weakest part of their team by signing key offensive linemen, and the Cleveland Browns have traded for quarterback Deshaun Watson and wide receiver Amari Cooper.
"Hey, where we’re sitting right now, we’re the ones that have the most work to do. That’s how we look at it,” Harbaugh said Monday. "We have a long way to go. We’ve got to get ourselves back in contention and become a team that is vying for the AFC North championship and beyond. Great quarterbacks, great players … but we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
The Ravens have been more active than usual in free agency, signing safety Marcus Williams and offensive tackle Morgan Moses while bringing back nose tackle Michael Pierce and fullback Patrick Ricard.
Baltimore has plenty of other holes on its roster, and it’s optimistic to think the Ravens will address all of them with their 10 draft picks. And with $8.4 million of salary-cap space, the Ravens won’t be able to do too much more in free agency.
"I want everybody. The fans want everybody too, but you can’t have everybody,” Harbaugh said. "There's a salary cap limitation to it. We try to get as many great players on our team as we can, within the cap rules. Try to be responsible and think down the road as well, not spend our future generations’ money as much as possible. We won’t be able to sign everybody we want. If we sign one or two more guys, that’s going to forego other guys from coming, and that’s going to be an either-or type of situation.”
Here are positions to watch for the Ravens:
Pass-rusher: This is Baltimore’s top priority after Za'Darius Smith backed out of his deal and signed with the Minnesota Vikings. The Ravens’ top outside linebackers — Odafe Oweh and Tyus Bowser — are coming off offseason surgeries and have combined for 22.5 career sacks.
"We could add in free agency,” Harbaugh said. "There are guys out there, like Justin Houston, for instance, who was with us last year. Maybe, that will work out in terms of coming back. Then, the draft. It’s a good draft for pass-rushers and guys who play the edge. We’re looking forward to that as well.”
Cornerback: It’s the Ravens’ second-biggest need because there’s a major drop-off after Pro Bowl corners Marlon Humphrey and Peters, who both suffered season-ending injuries last year. The other corners -- Kevon Seymour, Iman Marshall, Robert Jackson and Kevin Toliver -- have no career interceptions. Baltimore needs to add two more starter-caliber cover guys.
"I’ve watched all the corners in the draft already,” Harbaugh said. "There’s a lot of good corners. We’re excited about getting one or two of those guys and adding them to the mix.”
Offensive tackle: The Ravens likely still have to add another offensive tackle due to one of the biggest question marks on the team. Pro Bowl left tackle Ronnie Stanley has missed 28 of Baltimore’s past 29 games (including playoffs) because of an injured left ankle.
“I don’t know exactly the time frame. He is doing well by all accounts,” Harbaugh said. "We won’t be hurrying him back into practice by any stretch. We’ll be looking to get him back for the season. It’ll be very important for us.”
Middle linebacker: Eight-time Pro Bowl defender Bobby Wagner visited the Ravens last week, but he left without a deal. Baltimore’s fallback option can always be re-signing Josh Bynes or L.J. Fort, which would represent cheaper but less-impactful moves than Wagner.
"I can't sit here and say we're not talking about or to Bobby Wagner,” Harbaugh said. "We'll see what happens with that and other things we're working on right now.”
Center: Baltimore has a starting spot to fill in the middle of its offensive line after letting Bradley Bozeman leave for the Carolina Panthers in free agency. Harbaugh said he “highly doubts” the Ravens will sign a center in free agency and focused more on a lineman already on the roster — Patrick Mekari, a right tackle last season who has started at center in the past.
“He's played lots of football and he can do it,” Harbaugh said. "He'll step right in, probably, as the starter, and then Trystan [Colon] will compete.”
Running back: The good news for the Ravens is J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards return after tearing their ACLs in the weeks leading up to the opener. The bad news is Baltimore likely won’t see its top backs on the field until August. This increases the chances of Baltimore drafting a running back for depth and insurance.
"There's a chance they'll be on PUP [Physically Unable to Perform list] to start training camp,” Harbaugh said. "We'll probably play it safe a little bit with those guys and take our time and just bring them along for the season.”
Punter: The Ravens might have a decision to make with Sam Koch, who has played more games (256) than any other player in Ravens' history. Koch, 39, ranks ninth among punters with a $2.1 million salary this season. But the Ravens, who rank among the teams with the least amount of cap space, could need that $2.1 million in additional cap room. Koch’s future could be decided by whether Baltimore drafts a punter at the end of April.