In mid-January, the Ravens made a curious roster move.

Diontae Johnson, the talented wide receiver they’d cut after a tumultuous two months in Baltimore, was available on the waiver wire. The Ravens knew that he wouldn’t be eligible to help quarterback Lamar Jackson and a Zay Flowers-less offense in their postseason run. They claimed Johnson anyway.

The move made headlines, but it also made sense. Johnson, who’d lasted less than a month with the Houston Texans after his Ravens stint, was a pending free agent. Even with his disastrous 2024 — Johnson had just three catches for 18 yards after the Carolina Panthers traded him away in late October — there was a chance he could help the Ravens in their compensatory-pick formula.

“People were like, ‘What the hell are the Ravens doing? They cut the guy. He goes to Houston and gets cut, and the Ravens claim him. He can’t play for anybody now,’” DeCosta recalled in an interview on the “The McShay Show” that was published Tuesday.

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“Well, we did that because there’s a small chance that he signs a contract for more than $2.5 million, and if he does that, he qualifies for a comp pick,” he continued. “So those are the things that really motivate me. How do we a gain a small advantage? How do gain a big advantage? Right, you can go get [running back] Derrick Henry, you get a huge advantage. For me, part of the excitement is, how do we just keep getting all these small advantages that roll into something big?”

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The Ravens are expected to be awarded four compensatory picks in this year’s draft, among the most in the NFL, and they’re always looking for more. According to Pro Football Focus, Johnson is projected to earn a one-year, $3 million contract this offseason, which could help the Ravens qualify for a late-round compensatory pick in 2026.

“When the season ends, I’m all about: How do we get better? What’s the solution? What are the areas we can exploit? How do we find value? What are the small little margins we can play in to get better as a football team?” DeCosta said in the interview. “And so I love it. We always try to be innovative. We’ll look at the roster. We’ll look at: How do we save money? Who we should sign? How many comp picks do we have? How can we get more comp picks?”