Ravens Insider: Ravens’ Kyle Hamilton trying to focus on football — and golf — rather than extension talks

ExtremeRavens · Tuesday at 12:00 PM

Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton has golf on his mind.

Earlier this month, he teed it up at Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, Florida, as part of the NFL’s Pro Bowl festivities. Later this month, he’ll head to California for a buddies trip that includes tee times at venerable Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill, Monterey Peninsula Country Club, nearby Pasatiempo Golf Course and, he hopes, the ultra-exclusive Cypress Point Club.

Hamilton said he was banged up during the season, but that it hasn’t slowed him down. That he’s able to endure all that twisting and torque on his body to swing a golf club, particularly as well as he does, is probably a good sign of his health, including his right leg.

“Everybody deals with something throughout the season so I got my little Tiger Woods leg sleeve,” he told The Baltimore Sun the week leading up to the Super Bowl in New Orleans. “I’m all good though.”

Of course, he was better than good in his third season in the NFL.

Hamilton’s 107 tackles were a career high and ranked 12th among all defensive backs. He was the only one at that position to post at least 100 tackles, an interception, two sacks and two forced fumbles. And he finished as the second-highest graded safety by Pro Football Focus behind only Detroit Lions standout Kerby Joseph, an All-Pro who led the NFL with nine interceptions.

The 14th overall draft pick in 2022 and the glue to Baltimore’s defensive turnaround the second half of the season, Hamilton was selected to the Pro Bowl, named second-team All-Pro after being a first-team selection a year ago and finished ninth in The Associated Press NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting. He’s also eligible for a contract extension this offseason with one year remaining on his rookie deal and could break the bank in resetting the safety market.

Where is he at in that process and would he like to get a deal done before the start of next season?

Hamilton isn’t saying (nor are his agents) for now.

“I told my agents and family I don’t want to talk about any sort of contract stuff,” he said. “I just want to play football.”

Signing Hamilton for the long-term figures to be Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta’s top priority this offseason, and it’s an expensive proposition.

Last offseason, Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Antonie Winfield Jr. became the league’s highest-paid defensive back in history when he signed a four-year, $84.1 million extension. Translation: Hamilton will get more.

The only question is how things will play out.

Baltimore could reach an agreement on an extension this offseason or next. If a deal isn’t reached by May 1, the Ravens would likely pick up his fifth-year option to keep him under contract through the 2026 season and then could franchise tag him in 2027.

But that’s not how Baltimore has typically handled foundational players of Hamilton’s ilk, so it’s more likely a new deal will be discussed this offseason rather than next.

One of the many reasons Hamilton is so valuable is not just his talent and athleticism but his versatility. After playing a hybrid nickel role his first two seasons, he was deployed to a more traditional safety role the final two months of the season.

“That guy is just different,” Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey said of Hamilton late in the season. “His play, obviously, you guys see the play, but the communication getting guys right. There are plays that I’m on the field … I get the call, I ask Kyle, ‘What do I do in this call?’ I hear Kyle give somebody else what they need to do in this call. His smarts, how he keeps the guys calm — he’s just a piece you can put at any position. But him going back to safety has seemed to really stabilize everybody else in all of their spots, whether it’s corners, communicating to the nickel, communicating to the ‘backers.”

How the Ravens utilize Hamilton in 2025 remains to be seen, but his goal is to focus on football and let the contract situation work itself out.

“Wherever coaches and the team see best for me to play — that’s a week-to-week basis, that’s a season-to-season basis — I’m all for it,” Hamilton said. “I feel like I can impact the game at multiple spots. … Me going back to traditional safety, not nickel, I was fine with it. I played safety all my life.

“That’s my main focus, is just focus on football, get ready, get back in for OTAs and all that stuff. All the other stuff, I’ll let my agents handle it.”

Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1.