Things didn't go as planned for Brent Urban last season. The former fourth-round pick joined the Dallas Cowboys as one part of what might've been another notch under the team's belt in an overachieving free agency haul in 2021, looking to help bolster a run defense that was in dire need of it. He'll now hit the reset button on those hopes, but not in Dallas, instead agreeing to terms on a one-year deal with the Baltimore Ravens, as reported by a very reputable source -- his wife, Kate Urban, via Twitter.
The news was confirmed by Urban himself not long thereafter and, on Monday, was made official by the team. It marks a reunion between Urban and the Ravens organization, the latter having given the former the nod in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. The 31-year-old Canadian was also named a second-round pick in the CFL the year prior, before taking his talents south to the Ravens after delivering a strong career for the University of Virginia.
And now, he's back in Baltimore, where his NFL career began. Urban logged 41 games for the Ravens prior to 2019, starting in all 16 games in 2018, before stints with the Chicago Bears, Tennessee Titans and, ultimately, the aforementioned Cowboys.
Urban held out hope of potentially returning to Dallas, but the writing appeared to be on the wall when defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and Co. used a fifth-round pick on defensive tackle John Ridgeway out of Arkansas.
Urban is a massive human being, standing at 6-foot-7 and weighing in at 305 pounds, and his size isn't his only attribute. Prior to suffering injury in 2021, it was clear Urban also knew how to move bodies in the NFL, leading to a PFF run defense grade in 2020 of 83.7 -- third-best in the entire league. He was added to one of the worst run defenses in the NFL when he joined the Cowboys on a one-year deal, expected to be instantly valuable to the club, but it was not to be -- a triceps injury landing him on season-ending injured reserve in November.
He'd go on to log four starts in only six games for the Cowboys, but is no stranger to putting on a Ravens uniform, but is also no stranger to battling injury. If he can remain healthy, count him in as another potential impact piece on an already impressive Baltimore defense.
