The Ravens were thrown for a loop last year when starting cornerback Marlon Humphrey missed the opening four games of the season; this after watching their other starter, Marcus Peters, depart as a free agent. This forced the team to rely on some unexpected contributors like free agent addition Arthur Maulet. This year, it’s Maulet’s turn as a knee injury has the veteran set to miss the start of the regular season, per Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network.
Head coach John Harbaugh reports that the injury is not a long-term one and doesn’t expect it to end Maulet’s 2024 campaign. Per Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic, Maulet is due to undergo a knee scope procedure to take care of the situation. They intend to revisit his status closer to the beginning of the regular season.
Maulet was part of a group of veteran cornerbacks the Ravens brought in as free agents to improve their depth at the position last year. They had already planned on replacing Peters with the versatile Brandon Stephens, who was a nice surprise, starting 16 games and grading out as the 50th-best cornerback out of 121 graded players at the position, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
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To replace Humphrey, though, Baltimore utilized a combination of Maulet, Ronald Darby, and Rock Ya-Sin. Ya-Sin was expected to be a huge contributor as one of the team’s bigger free agent signings over the 2023 offseason but ended up being a relatively minor character in their campaign. Darby took over as the starter across from Stephens.
Maulet found himself playing early and often off the bench as the team’s primary nickelback when the expected slot starter, Ar’Darius Washington, suffered a near-season-ending chest injury. Maulet composed himself well as an injury replacement, with PFF ranking him as the 44th-best cornerback in the league and the team’s second-best.
In 2024, Maulet was likely to open the season as the team’s top slot corner. Washington, a formerly undrafted player that has seen time at both safety and corner, had seen his role expand back to safety a bit with the departure of Geno Stone in free agency. Stone helped Baltimore field three safeties often with Kyle Hamilton and Marcus Williams. The recent signing of veteran Eddie Jackson likely means the can return to exploring Washington’s use in the slot.
Behind them, the Ravens are still waiting on young cornerbacks Jalyn Armour-Davis and Damarion Williams to make their impact on the defense. The arrivals of talented rookie draft picks Nate Wiggins and T.J. Tampa will push Armour-Davis and Williams even more this season. The Ravens will take all the help they can get from their young cornerbacks as they are forced to deal with Maulet’s injury to start the season.