Tyus Bowser’s deal named ‘best contract for the Ravens’ by PFF

PFF’s Brad Spielberger recently examined every team in the AFC to determine the best value contract each one had to offer. For the Baltimore Ravens, Spielberger landed on outside linebacker Tyus Bowser.

“There are a half-dozen candidates for this selection, as the Ravens have been particularly sharp with both extending their own players early on and taking advantage of other teams’ cap casualties,” Spielberger wrote. “Tyus Bowser is a Swiss Army knife for the Ravens’ defense, having played more than 200 snaps in run defense, as a pass rusher and in coverage in 2021. Bowser set career highs with 40 quarterback pressures and seven sacks last season, earning his third-straight season grade of 70.0-plus with a big bump in snaps played.”

Bowser signed a four-year, $22 million contract with Baltimore following the 2020 season. In comparison, the Ravens lost fellow outside linebacker Matthew Judon to the New England Patriots during the same offseason on a four-year, $56 million contract. While Judon has been the more productive player, opting to go with Bowser for a fraction of the cost made sense.

“Bowser tested off the charts at the 2017 NFL scouting combine, particularly demonstrating his explosiveness with 90th percentile broad jump and vertical scores, but was a bit raw coming out of Houston,” wrote Spielberger.” “As he rounds out his game — an extremely versatile game, at that — he could continue to build on a strong foundation and provide great value to Baltimore for the next few years. “

The former second-round pick took a few years to come into his own in the NFL but now sees himself as a key piece on defense. A piece that the Ravens may be without to start the season as Bowser recovers from a torn Achilles suffered in the last game of the 2021 season against the Pittsburgh Steelers. With rookie second-round draft pick David Ojabo also returning from a torn Achilles, Baltimore is currently thin at the outside linebacker position. How quickly Bowser can return from his injury and to a similar level of play as last season will be instrumental for defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald’s unit.