{"id":36052,"date":"2025-03-26T03:01:10","date_gmt":"2025-03-26T03:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=36052"},"modified":"2025-03-26T03:01:10","modified_gmt":"2025-03-26T03:01:10","slug":"breaking-ravens-controversially-sign-veteran-cornerback-chidobe-awuzie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=36052","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING : Ravens Controversially Sign Veteran Cornerback Chidobe Awuzie"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

C<\/a>hidobe Awuzie<\/strong>\u2018s Titans stay lasted one season, as the team took on some dead money to move on from a player given a healthy guarantee in 2024. Awuzie has found a new home.<\/p>\n

\"\"Set to return to the AFC North, the former Bengals cornerback signed with the Ravens on Tuesday. The team announced Awuzie, an eight-year veteran, is Baltimore-bound. It is a one-year deal.<\/p>\n

Although the market for third CB contracts reset thanks to the deals handed out to\u00a0Charvarius Ward<\/strong>,\u00a0Carlton Davis<\/strong>,\u00a0D.J. Reed<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Byron Murphy<\/strong>\u00a0earlier this month, that group had seen three previous vets \u2014 Awuzie,\u00a0Darius Slay<\/strong>,\u00a0James Bradberry<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 jettisoned. Awuzie\u2019s came after he had signed a three-year, $36MM deal that came with $19MM guaranteed at signing. The Titans (again) changed GMs this offseason and shed that contract from their payroll,\u00a0incurring a $12.51MM dead money hit\u00a0in the process.<\/p>\n

The Ravens let 2024 starter\u00a0Brandon Stephens<\/strong>\u00a0walk in free agency, where he received a somewhat surprising\u00a0three-year, $36MM Jets contract\u00a0\u2014 one that came with $22.98MM guaranteed at signing. Never viewed as likely to pay Stephens in that range, the Ravens are adding a proven veteran on the cheap. As the Titans will be paying most of Awuzie\u2019s salary, minus what will likely be a veteran-minimum Ravens pact that will subtract from Tennessee\u2019s dead money total (via offset language), Baltimore will bet on Awuzie bouncing back from another season-altering injury.<\/p>\n

A groin injury sustained in Week 3\u00a0kept Awuzie out nine games. The Titans had paired the former second-round pick with high-end trade acquisition\u00a0L\u2019Jarius Sneed<\/strong>, but the duo barely played together. Sneed also missed most of his first Titans season. While Tennessee will hope Sneed bounces back, Awuzie will aim to do so in Baltimore. Awuzie, who also has an ACL tear on his medical sheet, will turn 30 in May.<\/p>\n

Awuzie will enter the 2025 season having made 81 career starts. The Cowboys let the 6-foot boundary corner walk in 2021, leading to a Bengals commitment (three years, $21.75MM). The Colorado alum\u00a0suffered an ACL tear on Halloween 2022, after having started for Cincinnati\u2019s Super Bowl LVI-bound team, and did not solidify his job upon returning in 2023. Awuzie, however, recaptured a Bengals starting post down the stretch in 2023; that led to the Titans\u2019 lucrative investment in a player PFR\u00a0ranked as the No. 39 free agent last year.<\/p>\n

Pro Football Focus ranked Awuzie as a top-15 corner in 2021 and had him near that level before his 2022 injury. After an inconsistent 2023 season, PFF slotted Awuzie 61st during his injury-interrupted Titans campaign. As far as coverage numbers, Awuzie was viewed (via Pro-Football-Reference) as improving on his 2023 numbers. He allowed a 57.7% completion rate as the closest defender and 7.2 yards per target, working out to an 89.7 passer rating in coverage. The Ravens will give Awuzie a shot to start alongside\u00a0Marlon Humphrey<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Nate Wiggins<\/strong>, with 2024 draftee\u00a0T.J. Tampa<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0looming in a potential competition.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chidobe Awuzie\u2018s Titans stay lasted one season, as the team took on some dead money to move on from a player given a healthy guarantee in 2024…. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36054,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\nBREAKING : Ravens Controversially Sign Veteran Cornerback Chidobe Awuzie - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=36052\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING : Ravens Controversially Sign Veteran Cornerback Chidobe Awuzie - 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