Ravens sign veteran OLB Steven Means

With the Baltimore Ravens currently short on healthy edge defenders, they signed veteran Stevens Means to a one-year deal on Friday.

He participated in the team’s minicamp this past week and parlayed it into an opportunity to contend for a spot on the final 53-man roster with training camp a little over a month away.

After the Ravens tendered Justin Houston and brought in Jason Pierre-Paul for a visit in recent weeks, this is not quite the notable edge rusher addition that fans were expecting. However, it does help them bolster their depth chart and add more competition at the position.

This marks Means’ second stint with the Ravens. His first came back in 2014 but he wasn’t active for any of the three games he was on the roster for. Means suffered a sports hernia prior to the start of the 2015 season and was released on an injury settlement.

Since then, he has played for two different teams with his most recent action coming with the Atlanta Falcons — where he started 29 of 38 games over the last three seasons. During that time, he recorded four of his six career sacks, forced a pair of fumbles, a fumble recovery, 95 total tackles including eight for a loss, and nine quarterback hits.

Means was originally drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL draft out of the University of Buffalo. He not only provides a healthy body at a position, where the Ravens have two players working their way back from torn Achilles, but he is already the most experienced outside linebacker on the team.

His 29 career starts are almost more than the combined totals of Odafe Oweh, Jaylon Ferguson, Daelin Hayes, and Vince Biegel’s 36 career starts.