Odafe Oweh leaves Ravens with ‘a little animosity,’ looks to show Baltimore made a mistake with Chargers trade
“I’m happy.”
The Baltimore Ravens got a jump start on one of their expiring contracts this week — shipping out former first-round pick Odafe Oweh to the Los Angeles Chargers. In return, Baltimore stocked up on another draft pick for 2026 and also added safety Alohi Gilman to their ranks in a bid to fortify the back end of their defense.
Oweh, a former-top draft choice out of Penn State in 2021, had endured a disappointing start to 2025 in what was supposed to be the encore for his big coming out party in 2024. It didn’t happen. Oweh failed to log a single sack in the first five games and, now, looks to get his feet under him in Los Angeles.
During his first opportunity to speak to the media since the trade, Oweh discussed the trade and his future with the Chargers. Perhaps most notably, he made it known that he thinks the Ravens got him all wrong with his tenure and departure.
Odafe Oweh thinks the Baltimore Ravens got him all wrong
“I have a little animosity on my back, but I know this is a good opportunity for me to show who I can be and what was not really able to be shown with the Ravens. I’m happy,” said Oweh via The Athletic’s Daniel Popper.
Oweh was playing a career low percentage of snaps for the Ravens thus far this season, posting a 45% snap rate after logging anywhere from 50-65% of defensive snaps across his first four seasons. It’s another surprising layer to Baltimore’s defensive performance this season when you consider the injury to Kyle Van Noy earlier this past month. It should have been a prime opportunity for Oweh to perform.
Odafe Oweh’s career with the Baltimore Ravens
- Drafted 31st overall in the 2021 NFL Draft (Penn State)
- 23.0 career sacks in 67 career games
- Set a career-high in sacks with 10.0 in 2024
- Played a total of 2,488 defensive snaps with Baltimore
Instead, he did and the snaps waned in favor of rookie Mike Green and Tavius Robinson. Robinson in particular feels as though he’d passed Oweh by, posting a dominant 70% snap share through the first five games.
The opportunity for Oweh in Los Angeles will be vital not only to put his money where his mouth is that the Ravens didn’t give him the chance to showcase his ability, but also to ensure that he’s got a robust market waiting for him on the other side of this season. His rookie contract runs out after the year.
And with how things were going in Baltimore, Oweh may look back and consider the trade to have been a favor when it’s all said and done — especially if he proves his words yesterday right and he balls out with the Chargers.
Baltimore Ravens News
The most telling thing about the Baltimore Ravens’ trade of Odafe Oweh to the Chargers isn’t the move itself, but what it says about their defense
The Ravens stayed true to their colors with this one.
