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The Baltimore Ravens continue to get ahead of offseason business, reaching a verbal agreement Thursday morning with nose tackle Travis Jones on a three-year, $40.5 million contract extension, per team and league sources.
Jones, a 2022 third-round pick from the University of Connecticut, has developed into one of the better young nose tackles. The two-year starter has been forced to take on an even bigger role this season after the Ravens lost their other top interior guy, Nnamdi Madubuike, to a season-ending neck injury in Week 2.
The 26-year-old has 34 tackles, six tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and a fumble recovery in 12 games this season.
His deal comes a week after the Ravens signed tight end Mark Andrews to a three-year contract extension. The Ravens also extended standout safety Kyle Hamilton in August and reached deals with running back Derrick Henry and wide receiver Rashod Bateman in the spring.
Jones was in a slightly different situation. In his fourth season, it was widely believed that he was entering the final year of his deal before heading to the open market in March. However, that was not necessarily the case.
Because of an issue with the collective bargaining agreement, Jones did not get an accrued season. With only three accredited years, Jones would have been eligible only to be a restricted free agent in March. That would have presumably made it much easier for the Ravens to keep him by using a second-round restricted free-agent tender, which would have cost in the neighborhood of $6 million.
Mom came to celebrate with @bigtrav76 💜 pic.twitter.com/2GAY6RAyZV
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 11, 2025
The NFL Players Association filed a grievance on behalf of Jones against the league and the Ravens. That was expected to be heard Thursday morning. However, Jones’ agent, Jared Fox, and the Ravens hammered out the deal before the hearing, leading the player to drop the grievance.
It was a similar circumstance last year when the Ravens signed Bateman to a short-term contract after he lost an accredited season after starting training camp on the reserve/did not report list. Per the collective bargaining agreement, any player who “failed to report to the club’s preseason training camp on that player’s mandatory reporting date” loses an accrued season.
The Ravens agreed to a deal with Bateman ahead of his “restricted free agent” year and then signed him to a more representative extension a year later.
Meanwhile, Jones gets his deal a few months before he would have qualified as either a restricted or unrestricted free agent under the grievance ruling.
Regardless, this is a key signing for general manager Eric DeCosta and the Ravens, as Jones, given his age and skill set, would have likely been coveted if he reached the open market. With uncertainty about Madubuike’s status in the future, the Ravens couldn’t afford to be without both of their key interior cogs.
It is also another significant piece checked off of DeCosta’s offseason to-do list. Still, the Ravens will likely have to address quarterback Lamar Jackson’s contract, whose salary-cap number rises to $74.5 million this offseason. The Ravens also have several key pending free agents, including center Tyler Linderbaum, tight end Isaiah Likely, fullback Patrick Ricard, punter Jordan Stout and trade acquisitions Alohi Gilman and Dre’Mont Jones.
Before Thursday’s deal, Jones and Linderbaum were probably considered the team’s two biggest free agents.
