After two seasons with the Bears, Angelo Blackson is heading to Baltimore. The Ravens announced an agreement with the veteran defensive lineman Wednesday.
Blackson, who has played for four teams during his eight-year career, has spent extensive time as both a starter and a backup. The former Titans draftee has made 42 starts since coming into the league as a fourth-round pick back in 2015.
He will join a Ravens team that cut Calais Campbell earlier this year. Baltimore did not draft a defensive lineman last month. With Campbell out of the mix (and now with the Falcons), the Ravens stand to field a D-line group consisting of rookie-deal players — Justin Madubuike, Broderick Washington and Travis Jones — and veterans Michael Pierce and Brent Urban. Blackson, 30, will join the latter contingent.
Blackson played out a two-year, $5.5MM Bears deal last season. The Auburn alum started 12 games over the past two years. He was more productive in 2021, totaling 43 stops, 2.5 sacks, nine QB hits and his only career interception. Blackson played a career-high 583 defensive snaps in 2021 and totaled 392 under Matt Eberflus last season.
Pro Football Focus also viewed Blackson as a better performer in 2021; last season, the advanced metrics website slotted him as a bottom-10 interior defensive lineman. The Bears moved to a 4-3 base alignment under Eberflus. Blackson had previously spent his career — in Tennessee, Houston and Arizona — on teams using 3-4 schemes. The Ravens have used a 3-4 look for ages. Blackson also spent time with the Patriots in 2017 but did not see any game action, being poached off the Pats’ practice squad by the Texans, who later extended him.
The 315-pound D-lineman has been durable as well, playing at least 15 games in each of the past five seasons. Blackson’s most notable contract came with the Texans, who signed him to a three-year, $12MM deal in 2019. Although Blackson started a career-high 15 games that season, he ended up taking a pay cut in 2020. But Blackson played out that contract, despite Houston going through significant changes in the front office and on the sideline, and has now managed to fetch two more.