The Baltimore Ravens made a shocking announcement on Friday ahead of Super Bowl LII, as owner Steve Bisciotti said Ozzie Newsome will step down as the general manager following the 2018 season.
Steve Bisciotti discusses Coach Harbaugh and Ozzie Newsome pic.twitter.com/d3kQY5Ncuv
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) February 2, 2018
The owner announced that Eric DeCosta will take over the control of the roster after next season, however Newsome will remain on the team’s payroll for the foreseeable future.
Steve Bisciotti said Ozzie Newsome will step down as GM after the 2018 season and Eric DeCosta will take over control of the 53-man roster.
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) February 2, 2018
Newsome, a former player, is one of the most respected front office men in the business. He’s been with the Ravens dating all the way back to 1996 and has been responsible for two Super Bowl-winning rosters in Baltimore.
However, Baltimore’s roster has taken some huge hits in recent years as free agent decisions have failed to pan out and injuries have been a big factor. Additionally, the Ravens have struck out on some early draft picks, which were also costly.
Bisciotti lamenting early draft misses. "It costs you. It is significant. We spent a lot of time in Jupiter talking about that and we've come up w/a couple of things that we think are constructive."
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) February 2, 2018
DeCosta has been the assistant general manager under Newsome since 2012 and has obviously been groomed to eventually replace him.
Eric DeCosta has received countless requests for GM interviews. He has often turned them down. Teams felt he would never leave, so he’d eventually be the #Ravens GM. Now, he will be.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 2, 2018