ExtremeRavens Posted December 16, 2024 Posted December 16, 2024 The Ravens’ defense continues to undergo changes. After benching struggling starting safety Marcus Williams in favor of Ar’Darius Washington last month, inside linebacker Trenton Simpson was the latest to get the treatment in Sunday’s win over the Giants. Simpson, who started the first 13 games this season, played just five snaps in garbage time of Baltimore’s 35-14 blowout of New York. It continued a downward trend for the the 2023 third-round pick out of Clemson who was drafted to replace the departed Patrick Queen this season. In the Ravens’ loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Simpson played just 22 snaps. The week before in a win over the Los Angeles Chargers, he was on the field for 30 snaps. The turning point perhaps was Baltimore’s loss to the Steelers in Week 11 when he had one of his worst games of the year with two missed tackles and three catches allowed on three targets for 31 yards, 22 of which came after the catch, per Pro Football Focus. That earned him a dismal overall grade of 32.2. Simpson played 66 snaps in that game but has seen his time on the field cut significantly since and even then continued to struggle with an even lower PFF mark (26) against the Eagles, despite the limited role. “From the standpoint of Trent it’s good for Trent, maybe takes some pressure off him a little bit,” coach John Harbaugh said Monday. “He’s a young guy. “He can take a breath a little bit just in terms of his picture, his side of it.” READER POLL: Who will win Saturday’s AFC North showdown between Ravens and Steelers? While Harbaugh said only that the decision is “week to week,” it seems likely Baltimore will continue to rely on others instead of Simpson in the middle of its defense. Veterans Malik Harrison and Chris Board have both seen significant increases in their snap counts and that figures to continue, with the former a reliable run defender who has also played outside and the latter the Ravens can utilize against the pass. Safety Kyle Hamilton being deployed deeper on the field more often to shore up the back end of the defense also means fewer snaps closer to the line of scrimmage as a dime linebacker. Harbaugh has also been pleased with the performances of the two veteran linebackers. Over the past three games, Board has 14 tackles (one for loss), which included seven against the Eagles. Harrison, meanwhile, has 29 tackles (two for loss) in his last four games, which included a career-high 13 in a win over the Chargers when Smith was out with a hamstring injury. That earned Harrison a game ball. “It’s a lot of people that doubted me coming into this game,” he said after the win over Los Angeles. “So I’m happy I was able to ball out and show them that I can be in this league, and I can play at a high level.” Harrison’s PFF grade of 81.5 that week was the highest on the team and it came when he played a team-high 73 snaps. In all, Board has played 107 snaps on defense (11%) and Harrison 269 (33%) this season. But those numbers figure to only go up. “They played really well,” Harbaugh said of their performance against the Giants. “For Malik to get this opportunity to prove himself – he’s been working hard for that opportunity, and he’s done great with it. And Chris Board same thing – he’s even more of a veteran guy. I know those guys appreciate that, and they’re making the most of it.” Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. View the full article Quote
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