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The Ravens have agreed to trade outside linebacker Odafe Oweh to the Los Angeles Chargers for safety Alohi Gilman and swap late-round draft picks, the teams announced Tuesday, in general manager Eric DeCosta’s first big attempt at stabilizing a flailing defense.

Oweh had a team-high 12 quarterback pressures but no sacks through five games for the Ravens, according to Pro Football Focus, and was getting a career-low 45% of the team’s defensive snaps. The former first-round pick, who had 10 sacks last season, was playing on his fifth-year option and was due about $8 million over the rest of the season.

The trade, which is pending the passing of physicals, leaves a disappointing Ravens outside linebacker group with just three reliable contributors: starters Kyle Van Noy and Tavius Robinson and second-round pick Mike Green, who’ve combined for three sacks this season. Reserve David Ojabo has two tackles over the past three games, and the team is hoping Adisa Isaac can return from injured reserve later this season.

With defensive lineman Nnamdi Madubuike lost for the season to a neck injury, the Ravens’ pass rush has been a huge weakness for a team that’s last in the NFL in scoring defense and second to last in total defense. The Ravens have a pressure rate of just 26.5% when rushing four or fewer pass rushers this season, according to Sports Info Solutions, 26th in the NFL.

“It has to be better,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said of the team’s pass rush Monday. “It has to be better on all three downs.”

Gilman has started 30 games over the past two-plus seasons for the Los Angeles Chargers, a key cog in defensive coordinator Mike Minter’s well-regarded unit. His experience as a deep safety could free up safety Kyle Hamilton to play closer to the line of scrimmage, where he’s been most disruptive over his career. Hamilton has played just 38 of his 293 defensive snaps in the slot this season, according to PFF.

Gilman, who started his career at Navy, overlapped with Hamilton at Notre Dame in 2019. Gilman was a team captain when Hamilton was a true freshman and became a sixth-round pick of the Chargers in 2020. He had five interceptions, four forced fumbles and a sack over five-plus seasons with the Chargers, starting 39 of his 73 games. He’s graded out as a top-40 safety in every season since 2023, according to PFF, and will be a free agent next offseason.

Injuries have reshuffled the Ravens’ secondary this season. Hamilton missed the Ravens’ blowout loss Sunday to the Houston Texans with a groin injury, and it’s unclear how long starting cornerbacks Marlon Humphrey (calf) and Chidobe Awuzie (hamstring) could be sidelined after suffering Week 4 injuries. The Ravens signed safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, a former starter for the Houston Texans and Philadelphia Eagles, to their practice squad Tuesday.

Oweh entered training camp with All-Pro hopes from Harbaugh, but his offseason weight gain seemed to add little to his physicality. He won primarily as a pass rusher with speed and finesse, often the beneficiary of unblocked pressures, and his run defense remained unreliable.

According to SIS, Oweh was on the field for just 33 of the 136 designed rushing attempts against the Ravens over their first five weeks. On-off splits can be misleading, especially in small samples, but the defense allowed 8.2 yards per carry when he was on the field and 4.6 yards when he was off.

Oweh played just six defensive snaps in the second half of the Ravens’ Week 3 game against the Detroit Lions, who rushed for 224 yards and four touchdowns in their prime-time win.

“I feel like I’m only really in for the pass, so I haven’t really got a chance to show” the difference the offseason work made, Oweh told The Banner last month.

“I think you’ve seen him make plays,” Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr said after the loss to Detroit. “We had different personnel groupings and different positions in there trying to stop the run. But, you know, I got full confidence in Dafe and his ability. So I think his snaps will continue to grow.”

As part of the trade for Gilman, the Ravens sent a seventh-round pick in the 2027 draft and received a fifth-round pick in next year’s draft.

NFL Network first reported the deal.

This story has been updated.