With the smoke cleared, the reunion is an obvious one.
It wasn’t always so. The Ravens didn’t add Van Noy in 2023 until Sept. 27, and that was to the practice squad before elevating him days later.
The linebacker repaid the confidence with a career-high nine sacks despite starting just three games, his fewest since the 2015 season. He added two forced fumbles, four passes defensed and 30 tackles on the way to earning the second-highest PFF grade of his career (75.0) for the NFL’s No. 1 scoring defense.
Now 33, he’ll look to keep the spark lit with the Ravens in 2024 as the oldest member of a pass-rushing group that includes burgeoning talent like David Ojabo and Odafe Oweh.
“Those guys know that I’m going to push them, and they know I’m going to help them,” Van Noy said. “I want them to be just as successful as me, if not more. I love winning.”
The Ravens did plenty of winning last year. They paced the league with 13 regular-season victories to earn the AFC’s No. 1 seed, but fell a game short of a Super Bowl berth.
Van Noy, who won a Lombardi twice during his prime with the New England Patriots, is back to help push them over that hurdle. It’s what he hoped for entering free agency, and now the countdown to making his return to Baltimore into a return to the game’s biggest stage begins.
“I knew where I wanted to be and I think the Ravens knew they wanted me back,” Van Noy said. “Why wait? Let’s get something done.”