One of the major stories in the opening days of free agency was the way the Ravens kept losing starters on defense. One of the major stories in the recent days of free agency is the way the Ravens keep adding starters on defense.
The latest addition is veteran safety Michael Huff, who agreed in principle with the Ravens on a three-year contract, the team announced today.
The 30-year-old Huff was cut by the Raiders just before the start of free agency and has drawn interest from several teams since then. Huff has been a starter since the Raiders took him with the seventh overall pick of the 2006 NFL draft, and he started all 16 games last season.
Safety was a position of need for the Ravens because of the loss of last year’s starters, Ed Reed and Bernard Pollard. Huff should step into the starting lineup immediately.
In addition to losing Reed and Pollard, the Ravens also lost cornerback Cary Williams and linebackers Paul Kruger and Dannell Ellerbe in free agency, and they also lost linebacker Ray Lewis to retirement. But now the Ravens have added four solid players in Huff, Elvis Dumervil, Chris Canty and Marcus Spears. Throw in another solid addition or two in free agency or the draft, and it’s entirely possible that the Ravens will field a better defense in 2013 than they fielded last month, when they won the Super Bowl.