The Ravens will head into the start of the new league year Wednesday afternoon with bigger roster holes than “special teams contributor.” They need a veteran cornerback to replace Brandon Stephens. They need a couple of inside linebackers behind Roquan Smith and Trenton Simpson. They need several offensive linemen. And a starting-level safety (or two). And a backup quarterback. A game-wrecking edge rusher would do nicely, too.

But of all the Ravens shortcomings underscored on the first day of the NFL’s “legal tampering” period, maybe none were more surprising than those on their special teams. Coordinator Chris Horton’s unit was already a patchy group in 2024, ranking in the league’s bottom third by one metric. By Monday night, its 2025 outlook was no less shabby.

Inside linebacker Chris Board, who led the Ravens and finished ninth in the NFL in special teams snaps last season, according to TruMedia, reportedly agreed to a two-year, $6 million deal with the New York Giants. Fellow linebacker Malik Harrison, who finished behind Board in snaps and likewise contributed on all five special teams units, is reportedly headed to the Pittsburgh Steelers on a two-year, $10 million deal.

Their departures leave the Ravens on shaky ground early in the offseason, with another special teams shake-up looming on the horizon. Kicker Justin Tucker, the most accurate kicker in league history, is under investigation by league officials in the wake of The Banner’s reporting on 16 massage therapists from Baltimore-area spas who’ve accused him of inappropriate sexual behavior. His 13-year tenure could end with an unceremonious release.

“We’ll wait as patiently as we can for as much information as we can,” general manager Eric DeCosta said last month at the NFL scouting combine, where the Ravens were looking into this year’s class of kicker prospects, “and we’ll make our decisions based on that.”

The Ravens’ special teams renovation won’t be an easy fix. They finished last season ranked 23rd in overall efficiency, according to FTN, by far the team’s lowest ranking since 2011. Only two of the Ravens’ units, kick returns and punt coverage, finished in the top half of the NFL in FTN’s DVOA metric, and neither ranked inside the top 10. The Ravens’ fall-off under coach John Harbaugh, long one of the NFL’s best special teams practitioners, was as precipitous as it was sudden.

Suddenly, the Ravens were losing games on the margins instead of winning them there. Punter Jordan Stout’s late-game shank in Week 2 cost the Ravens in a loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. Tucker missed two field goal attempts in Week 11 against the Pittsburgh Steelers and another two in Week 13 against the Philadelphia Eagles; the Ravens lost both games by a combined seven points. Offseason acquisition Deonte Harty, signed for his skills as a returner, was limited by injuries to just five games, leading to a cycle of eight other players at the kickoff and punt return spots. Splash plays were few and far between.

Overall, the Ravens lost over 33 expected points last season because of their special teams woes, according to TruMedia. Only the San Francisco 49ers fared worse.

“We’re looking to see our young guys continue to grow and our veteran guys continue to lead, and I do believe that we’re going to continue to make progress on all the phases,” Horton said in December. “Think about our punt coverage, something that we harped on a lot this offseason, covering punts and just being down there and being in the right spot and making tackles. Our guys have done a great job protecting the punt [and] covering. I think Jordan is doing a great job just continuing to find that consistency across the board, and we’ll be fine. We’ll continue to develop, our guys will continue to get better, and we’ll move forward.”

A handful of special teams contributors are set to return. Rookie safeties Sanoussi Kane and Beau Brade, rookie cornerback Nate Wiggins, tight end Charlie Kolar, outside linebacker Tavius Robinson and Simpson all ranked among the nine most active players there last season. Two other first-year players, wide receiver Devontez Walker and cornerback T.J. Tampa, also earned significant special teams snaps when they were active.

“They’ve done well, so we have to keep training those [rookie] guys, and I think as those guys keep getting better, our kick and kickoff return will keep getting better,” Harbaugh said in October.

But wide receiver Tylan Wallace (fifth in special teams snaps) and inside linebacker Kristian Welch (10th) are free agents, and Simpson and Wiggins’ roles could shrink if they step into full-time starting roles on defense. Safety Ar’Darius Washington (13th), meanwhile, is a restricted free agent.

Still, it might not take much for the Ravens to restore their old special teams glory. Tucker was one of the NFL’s least accurate kickers last year; an uptick in production at the position under senior special teams coach Randy Brown will be expected. New assistant special teams coach Anthony Levine Sr., a longtime ace in Baltimore, should be a valuable resource. And Harbaugh and Horton will have the offseason to drill down on the NFL’s “dynamic” kickoffs and identify return candidates.

“We need to get settled at punt returner,” Harbaugh said at the Ravens’ season-ending news conference in January. “That’s a huge role on the team, whether it’s one of the guys here right now or someone that we’re able to bring in. That’s an important position for us.”

Not as important as, say, cornerback or linebacker or quarterback, but important just the same. The Ravens have enough cap space to get veteran special teams help. They’ll have enough draft picks to get young special teams help. And in Harbaugh, they have a coach with an outsize dedication to fine-tuning special teams details.

Even if the Ravens’ offseason departures are substantial enough to keep them from winning games with their special teams in 2025, they shouldn’t be enough to keep them from losing games with their special teams. That happened far too often last year.

“To be a Raven, you’ve got to be great on special teams,” Levine said years ago during his playing days. “If you want to be here, you’ve got to make an impact, and that’s what we’re doing. On special teams, we’re trying to take over a game.”