Ravens Best Fit for Free Agent DE Jadeveon Clowney?

With veteran defensive end Jadeveon Clowney still on the free agency, could the Baltimore Ravens be in the mix?

The Baltimore Ravens defensive line was among the league's best a season ago. 

With four players registering over five sacks - Justin Houston (9.5), Justin Madubuike, Calais Campbell, and Patrick Queen (5.5) - and the unit ranking sixth in total sacks (48), tenth in forced fumbles (14) and fourth at stopping third-down conversions, first-year defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald certainly set the standard.

But question marks remain at how Macdonald will follow-up his superb first year leading the Ravens defense. 

With Houston still a free agent, and Campbell signing a deal with the Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore could lose a pair that combined for 14.5 sacks a season ago. 

However, ESPN recently compiled a list of the "best fits" for remaining free agents, and deemed Baltimore as the top choice for former No. 1 pick Jadeveon Clowney. 

"Clowney is a straight-line power rusher who can set a hard edge versus the run game, and he would fit in coordinator Mike Macdonald's defensive scheme in Baltimore," ESPN writes." Yes, his production declined in Cleveland last season -- he had just two sacks -- but the 30-year-old can still create disruption in both the run and pass game. Clowney can play off the edge or align inside as a stand-up defensive tackle in the Ravens' multiple fronts.

"Baltimore turned over its front seven, and I see a part-time role for Clowney there."

Despite Clowney's decline from three consecutive Pro Bowl campaigns (2016-2018), the former South Carolina product is still capable of wreacking havoc in the backfield. Over the past two seasons on the Cleveland Browns, the 30-year-old racked up 11 sacks, 65 tackles and 23 quarterbacks hits in 26 games. 

Baltimore currently sits at roughly $12 million in cap space according to Spotrac, solidifying that a Clowney signing is not out of the equation.

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