The mystery of Brent Urban is almost solved.
On Tuesday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that former Ravens defensive end, Brent Urban, was scheduled to visit the Tennessee Titans that day. Urban hit the free agency market after the Ravens declined to sign him before the start of the new league year on March 13. This was somewhat surprising, as I expected the Ravens to re-sign Urban before he tested the waters of the market. Urban was signed to a one-year prove-it deal last offseason and played well for the Ravens this year. He was a steady contributor to a dominant defense, one that was losing many of its key components. Baltimore could have retained Urban to keep a piece of a rapidly changing defense, but the Ravens let Urban walk.
I still held out hope that the Ravens would find a way to bring Urban back. But based on the report made by Schefter, it is apparent that Urban is likely on the way out. The Tennessee Titans have over $27 million in cap space, and will be able to offer Urban a solid deal should they choose to do so. Urban will be an inexpensive pickup for the Music City, as he has gone over a month without signing a new contract.
The Baltimore Ravens are almost certain to lose Urban at this point. Baltimore could add a defensive end in the draft to replace him but are more likely to find a replacement on the roster. Baltimore drafted defensive end, Zach Sieler, in the seventh round of last year’s NFL Draft. He, along with other defensive linemen like Chris Wormley and Willie Henry will be given extensive time this offseason to prove their worth at the vacant position. Whether or not any of them will be able to adequately replace Brent Urban remains to be seen.
