The Baltimore Ravens have made another late addition to their defense, agreeing to a contract with edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney.
The Ravens confirmed the signing Friday. Baltimore's defense has been dealing with injuries in the secondary and could also use some pass rushing help. Clowney can provide the latter. He has 43 sacks in nine seasons since entering the NFL as the No. 1 pick in the 2014 draft.
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“Preseason, he'll probably play a little bit, and get him ready,” coach John Harbaugh said. “Then right away, Week 1, he should be out there playing hard and doing a good job for us.”
Clowney had 11 sacks over the past two seasons with the Cleveland Browns.
“I think he's a little underrated as a pass rusher. Top pick in the draft and all that,” Harbaugh said. “As a play-hard, heavy-handed edge setter, gives us a chance to get four pass rushers on the field on third-down situations, that are true pass-rusher type guys. There's a real value in that.”
Baltimore moved on from veteran pass rushers Calais Campbell and Justin Houston this offseason. Odafe Oweh and David Ojabo have potential in that department, but neither has Clowney's experience or track record.
On Thursday, the Ravens acquired cornerback Ronald Darby to help a position group that will be missing Pro Bowler Marlon Humphrey for at least a little while because of a foot issue that required surgery.
“I would say that the timeline is pretty well defined,” Harbaugh said. “I'm not going to give it to you, but it's not super long. When he's getting close you'll know. So you don't need to ask probably for a few weeks. But he's going to be back pretty early in the season.”
Harbaugh said Humphrey could have played through the foot issue, but there was a risk of it getting worse. Darby is coming off a knee injury that ended his season in early October last year.
“He's a guy we've kind of been keeping our eye on with the rehab from the knee,” Harbaugh said. “Came in and worked out, and worked out really well. Looked really good, was in really good shape.”
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