Every year, locker rooms change and rosters turn over. For teams like the Ravens with tight salary caps, those changes can be more extreme as they try to save money by building through the draft.

Other than the medium-size splash they made by signing wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, the Ravens were quiet in free agency. They re-signed some players from last year’s team and said goodbye to others.

Although the team went into the offseason with 21 pending free agents, the losses weren’t as dramatic as in last offseason, when the Ravens saw the departures of Pro Bowl linebacker Patrick Queen and outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney, among others.

The roster won’t start to fill out until the draft, when the Ravens will add talent at the cost of rookie contracts, and then after the draft, if general manager Eric DeCosta tries to find overlooked veterans to sign to minimum contracts.

In the meantime, here’s a list of the former Ravens who will leave the biggest holes in the roster.

5. LB Chris Board

For five of the last seven years, Chris Board has been a staple on the Ravens’ special teams. Outside of the two seasons he spent in Detroit and New England, Board has been on the field for at least 70% of the Ravens’ special teams snaps. Upon his return to Baltimore in 2024, Board remained primarily in a special teams role. However, when linebacker Trenton Simpson’s role decreased at the end of the season, Board saw his own increase. Together with Malik Harrison, Board took over Simpson’s defensive snaps.

Although the Ravens will miss the depth at linebacker, they will desperately need to find another leader for special teams. Board logged more special teams snaps than any other player and earned a captain’s patch for the Ravens’ playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Ravens are losing other special teams players from a group that was young in 2024.

4. LB/OLB Malik Harrison

Like Board, Harrison was a key contributor on special teams. But, where Board was primarily a special teams contributor until the end of the season, Harrison played a significant role as a linebacker and an outside linebacker.

When healthy, Harrison was part of the defensive rotation, sometimes contributing on the edge and sometimes playing next to inside linebacker Roquan Smith. He was reliable against the run, helping the Ravens finish with the league’s best rushing defense, and he had a career-high two sacks.

Harrison also gained playing time as Simpson lost it. While he and Board rotated to fill in for the younger player, Harrison handled a heavier load than Board. After he made 13 tackles in a competitive game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Harrison was granted significantly more playing time. Although his contributions came mainly at inside linebacker last season, the Ravens will also miss having him outside. They will have to hope their young players (Simpson at inside linebacker and outside linebackers Adisa Isaac and David Ojabo) make up for Harrison’s departure.

3. NT Michael Pierce

The Ravens have been preparing for nose tackle Michael Pierce’s retirement. Travis Jones stepped up as Pierce played a smaller role in the defensive line rotation. It’s a positive sign that the Ravens survived Pierce’s stint on injured reserve.

But Pierce’s retirement will hurt. He was a veteran presence, and his story of building an eight-season career after going undrafted was inspirational for the younger players. He was a monster against the run, light on his feet for a 355-pound player. He opened things up for the pass rush while contributing two sacks and four quarterback hits.

Jones will provide a stalwart presence up the middle with Pierce gone, and Broderick Washington proved he can handle a bigger role. But Jones and Washington dealt with injuries throughout the season, meaning the Ravens will need to find depth on the interior of the defensive line.

2. CB Brandon Stephens

In his contract year, Brandon Stephens did not play up to expectations. He was a key part of why the Ravens’ pass defense was so good in 2023 — and one of multiple factors for why it struggled in the first half of 2024. But whether or not you believe he can return to being the shutdown cornerback he was, his absence creates a giant hole.

The secondary’s turnaround came when safety Ar’Darius Washington earned the starting job over Eddie Jackson and Marcus Williams and when Kyle Hamilton dropped back from nickel to deep safety. To move Hamilton back, the Ravens shifted cornerback Marlon Humphrey to the slot. That left rookie Nate Wiggins and Stephens on the outside, with help from trade deadline acquisition Tre’Davious White.

Now, Jackson, Williams and Stephens are gone and White has not signed anywhere. The Ravens have a lot of spots to fill. But, out of all of them, Stephens was the only starter. He played 92.8% of the defensive snaps. The Ravens have two second-year safeties in Sanoussi Kane and Beau Brade and one second-year cornerback in T.J. Tampa, but all three are mostly unproven.

1. OL Patrick Mekari

The Ravens aren’t just losing a starting offensive lineman; they’re losing their most versatile player along the line. For years, the Ravens said they saw Patrick Mekari as a starter even though he wasn’t in the starting lineup. They found him to be more valuable as a Swiss Army knife who could sub in where needed.

This season, they needed him more at left guard than they did as a backup. Mekari started at right tackle before switching when the Ravens apparently decided they would rather have rookie Roger Rosengarten take over at tackle so Mekari could replace Andrew Voorhees at guard. For the first time in his career, Mekari started every game.

Voorhees hadn’t played football in a year after a season-ending ACL tear ahead of his rookie season, so he might be more prepared after a year of practice. But even if Voorhees can take over the starting position that Mekari vacated, the Ravens will miss having Mekari to fill in as needed. They have other backup offensive linemen, but many of them are limited in what position they can fill. They also do not play at as high a level. By losing Mekari, the Ravens are losing a safety net.