Three undrafted free agents (UDFAs) made the Baltimore Ravens’ 2025 squad. It’s an incredible feat considering just how stacked the roster was heading into the summer, where the idea of even one making it seemed a long shot.
However, Reuben Lowery, Jay Higgins IV, and Keyon Martin are here to stay. Now, we figure out what they can do to help the team.
To start, there’s a good chance that all three of these guys could be gameday scratches. A team can only dress 48 players each game, meaning five players from a 53-man roster are scratched each game and more if practice squad elevations occur. Injuries and healthy scratches will make up that list.
Rookie offensive tackle Carson Vinson will likely be a healthy scratch for the entire year as a redshirt season, and tight end Isaiah Likley could be a scratch for the first couple of weeks. Other injuries could impact the list as well, such as Jaire Alexander. Howeevr, fans should be ready to see the UDFAs miss multiple games this season.
That being said, the most immediate way that Lowery, Higgins, and Martin can get snaps is on special teams. Just like defensive coordinator Zach Orr when he first joined the Ravens as a UDFA linebacker, you earn snaps on the defensive side of the ball by dominating on special teams. We saw Martin do this in the last preseason game, stonewalling a gunner during a punt coverage.
Reuben Lowery
Lowery was maybe the strongest UDFA of the bunch, with his name being talked about all the way back during rookie minicamp. Many media members mentioned his name for making plays and constantly being around the ball, even getting a shoutout on the Ravens Lounge podcast. He never slowed down, taking the momentum through the summer into training camp and preseason, earning a roster spot, practically kicking last year’s 53-man roster UDFA roster Beau Brade off.
The Ravens have run a ton of three safety sets since Mike Macdonald took over in 2022. That hasn’t changed with Zach Orr as defensive coordinator. As of right now, Sanoussi Kane has the higher possibility of presuming the third safety role, being more of a box player. But Lowery is likely the top backup free safety, with Kane not having much experience as a deep roamer. Lowery will get snaps as a free safety and likely will end the season as the UDFA with most defensive snaps. Lowery also showed a ton of versatility, being praised for playing every position in the secondary during training camp. He’s a potential slot option for the Ravens down the road but another UDFA might get first shot at that.
Because of his versatility, only having four safeties on the roster, and being the top backup free safety option, expect Lowery to be active every game day and get snaps on defense.
Keyon Martin
Martin’s path to playing time will be a little harder than Lowery’s but that’s nothing new. Martin managed to make the team despite an incredibly deep cornerback room, making the Ravens choose him over veteran Jalyn Armour-Davis. Martin’s path has already been wrought with difficulty, getting only one offer, a rookie minicamp tryout, from one team — the Baltimore Ravens. Not even signed as an initial UDFA, Martin managed to make the squad.
Martin’s path to playing time comes in a unique spot. Amongst this incredibly deep corner room, Martin might be the only pure nickel corner they have. Marlon Humphrey will be the obvious starter at the position, but will likely rotate between there and as one of the top outside corners, opposite Nate Wiggins. Kyle Hamilton plays the slot and Kane and Lowery could offer versatility there. Martin, though, who’s been noted as looking a lot like previous starter Arthur Maulet, is the only pure slot corner the team has.
His route to playing time is clear: contribute and dominate on special teams, and earn the role of top backup for that nickel role behind Humphrey. With Jaire Alexander and Chidobe Awuzie’s noted injury histories, there’s going to be games and snaps available when both top backups are sitting.
Martin might be primarily battling T.J. Tampa for playing time. He needs to prove that when a third corner is needed, him in the slot with Humphrey and Wiggins outside is a more productive unit than Humphrey in the slot with Wiggins and Tampa outside. I think there’s a very real chance that Martin in the slot, rotating with Humphrey, and with Humphrey, Wiggins, Alexander, and Awuzie all rotating outside to stay fresh could prove one of the best units in the NFL.
Jay Higgins IV
Higgins’ has the hardest path to playing time and getting activated on game day. The chance of the Ravens dressing all five inside linebackers is small, especially with all six wide receivers looking like they need to be activated on game day. As the only UDFA in the room, Higgins unfortunately has the short stick. He may have to wait for injuries to pile up for gameday scratches to open a spot for him.
Higgins will look to follow in the footsteps of his defensive coordinator Zach Orr. He will have to dominate on special teams in order to win snaps on the field over Trenton Simpson and fellow rookie Teddye Buchanan. The one advantage Higgins has over the rest of the linebacker room is that he’s considered a pure linebacker.
Zach Orr said rookie ILB Jay Higgins should’ve been drafted. His football IQ and nose for the ball have stood out this summer.
“He’s been a linebacker basically his whole life. … There’s no reason he shouldn’t play a long time in this league.”
Higgins is on the roster bubble.
pic.twitter.com/E1DKe4RSF2
— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer)
August 20, 2025
A lot of linebackers in the NFL, like Simpson and Buchanan, played other positions in college (quarterback, running back, safety, pass rusher) before being moved in college to more inside linebackers roles. Their coaches try to capitalize on their athleticism, turning them into chase linebackers, just running after the play to end it. This isn’t to talk down on Simpson or Buchanan, but it means they could still be learning some of the intricacies of the position still.
Higgins knows the position. Orr noted how Higgins had been an inside linebacker his whole life, knowing how to use his hands to shed blocks, diagnose run plays from linemen and pulls, understands the concepts of zone drops and spots for coverage. It’s something that comes with time and feel at the position. Higgins arguably looked like the best pure linebacker on the field for any team in the preseason.
Higgins has the highest floor and ceiling for the UDFAs this season. He may never get the opportunity because of the players in front of him. It will require injury and flashes on special teams for him to get that chance. Because of the way he plays the position, though, don’t be shocked if Higgins is a starter by the end of the season if he gets the opportunity to show off. I’m sure Orr sees a lot of himself in Higgins and could be willing to give him the opportunity.
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