| Baltimore Ravens | |||
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| Position: | Executive vice president andgeneral manager | ||
| Personal information | |||
| Born: | (1971-04-10)April 10, 1971 (age 53) Taunton, Massachusetts, U.S. | ||
| Career information | |||
| High school: | Taunton (MA) | ||
| College: | Colby College &Trinity College | ||
| Career history | |||
As a staff member / executive: | |||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Eric DeCosta (born April 10, 1971) is an American professionalfootball executive who is the executive vice president andgeneral manager of theBaltimore Ravens of theNational Football League (NFL).[1][2]
DeCosta has been with the Ravens organization since 1996 and previously served as assistant general manager underOzzie Newsome from 2012 to 2018.
DeCosta attended high school atTaunton High School (Taunton, Massachusetts) and playedcollege football atColby College, where he served as team captain in 1992 under head coach, Tom Austin. A Dean's List student who graduated with honors, DeCosta earned bachelor of art's degrees in English and Classical Civilizations in 1993. In 1996, DeCosta received a master's degree in English fromTrinity College, Hartford.[3]
DeCosta has been a member of the Board of Trustees at Colby College since 2021.[4]
Prior to his stint in the NFL, DeCosta worked at Trinity College (1993–1996) as a Graduate Fellow, coaching football in the Athletic Department.
In April 2008, DeCosta and the Ravens traded the eighth pick in the 2008 Draft to theJacksonville Jaguars for the 26th pick in the first round and other picks.[5] The Ravens then traded the 26th overall pick and their third round pick to theHouston Texans for the 18th pick, where the Ravens then selected 2008 Diet Pepsi Rookie of the Year winner, QBJoe Flacco from theUniversity of Delaware.[6] In his first season as Ravens starting quarterback, Flacco led the Ravens to the AFC Championship Game, where they lost to the eventual Super Bowl ChampionPittsburgh Steelers.
The next year, in April 2009, DeCosta and Newsome traded the 26th pick in the 2009 Draft and another pick to theNew England Patriots for the 23rd pick in the first round.[7] The Ravens then selected 2009 Offensive Rookie of the Year runner-upMichael Oher, OT, from Ole Miss.[8] Oher was featured inMichael Lewis' acclaimed book,The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game which was alsomade into a movie starringSandra Bullock.
In January 2010, after reportedly being a finalist for theSeattle Seahawks general manager position,[9] DeCosta removed his name from consideration prior to interviewing for the post.[10]
One year later in March 2011, in an interview at the annual Owners' Meetings in New Orleans, Louisiana, Ravens ownerSteve Bisciotti referred to DeCosta as general manager Ozzie Newsome's eventual successor.[11]
In January 2012, DeCosta signed a new contract with Baltimore that would make him one of the highest paid executives in the NFL.[12] On February 2, 2018, the Ravens announced that DeCosta would take over as general manager forOzzie Newsome following the 2018 season. That year, the Ravens made news on draft day by trading their second round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft to the Eagles in exchange for Philadelphia's 2018 first round pick, the last pick of the round. Newsome and DeCosta used that pick to select QBLamar Jackson from Louisville. Jackson finished the 2018 season as the starting quarterback for the Ravens, leading the Ravens over the last seven games to a 6-1 record and an AFC North championship. The Ravens played a home playoff game vs the Los Angeles Chargers on January 5, losing to the Chargers and being eliminated from the playoffs in the process. Jackson was the youngest quarterback to ever start a playoff game.
DeCosta's first off-season (2019) as general manager was defined by a series of moves that were controversial at the outset[13] DeCosta's first move was trading QBJoe Flacco to the Denver Broncos for a 4th round draft pick in the 2019 NFL Draft (later used to select RBJustice Hill). The Ravens reached a long-term contracts withNick Boyle, from Delaware, regarded as being one of the better blocking tight ends in the league, andTavon Young, a CB who played at Temple and was a fourth-round pick in 2017. At the start of the new league year, DeCosta allowed four starters from the 2018 Ravens defense to test the free-agency market, Pro Bowl linebackerC.J. Mosley, outside linebackerZa'Darius Smith, Pro Bowl outside linebackerTerrell Suggs, and Pro Bowl safetyEric Weddle. All four players subsequently reached lucrative deals with other teams, creating major voids on the Ravens roster.
In response, the Ravens and DeCosta surprised the NFL and reached a four-year agreement with All-Pro safetyEarl Thomas and a three-year contract with running back Mark Ingram. They also extended Pro Bowl kickerJustin Tucker and selected WRMarquise Brown, OLBJaylon Ferguson, WRMiles Boykin, RBJustice Hill, and OGBen Powers among others in the 2019 NFL Selection Draft.
DeCosta made three training-camp trades with other teams that fortified the roster and accumulated additional draft picks for the 2020 Draft. The Ravens traded OG Alex Lewis to the NY Jets for a 7th round draft pick (later used to select safetyGeno Stone out of Iowa). Also, the Ravens got a 5th round pick from the Minnesota Vikings forKaare Vedvik, an undrafted punter/kicker who was not going to make the 53-man roster due toJustin Tucker andSam Koch. Vedvik was cut by the Vikings prior to week 1 of the regular season. Lastly, the Ravens traded OG/OTJermaine Eluemunor and a 6th round pick to the New England Patriots for their 4th round pick (later used to select LBMalik Harrison from Ohio State in the 2020 NFL Draft).
The Ravens started the season 2-2 before winning their remaining twelve regular season games and finishing with the best record in the NFL (14-2) in the2019 season. Along the way, just before the trade deadline, DeCosta made a season-changing trade by dealing a 5th round pick and LBKenny Young to the Los Angeles Rams for CBMarcus Peters, a move that seemingly fortified the Ravens defense. DeCosta also reached extensions with Pro Bowl fullbackPatrick Ricard and veteran wide receiverWillie Snead during the 2019 season.
Ravens players and coaches accumulated many accolades after the 2019 season, including thirteen Pro Bowl players, Coach of the YearJohn Harbaugh, andNFL MVPLamar Jackson. In May 2020, DeCosta was named NFL Executive of the Year bySporting News.
In 2020, DeCosta drafted three players who would eventually become Pro Bowlers in Baltimore, linebackerPatrick Queen fromLouisiana State University, defensive tackleJustin Madubuike fromTexas A&M and kick returnerDevin Duvernay fromthe University of Texas at Austin.[14]
On April 28, 2022, DeCosta and the Ravens traded DeCosta's first career first-round pick made as General Manager in 2019,Marquise Brown and a third-round draft-pick to the Arizona Cardinals, reuniting Brown with his college quarterback,Kyler Murray.[15] The Ravens received the 23rd pick in the 2022 NFL Draft which DeCosta then traded to the Buffalo Bills for the 25th pick in the first-round and pick 130 in the fourth-round.[16] DeCosta drafted All-Pro safetyKyle Hamilton out ofNotre Dame University with the fourteenth pick in the first round, selected Pro-BowlerTyler Linderbaum fromUniversity of Iowa with the 25th pick acquired from Buffalo and punterJordan Stout, a punter out ofPenn State University with the extra pick 130 also received from the Bills.[17]
On April 27, 2023, after a lengthy two-year negotiation, DeCosta reached a five-year agreement with superstar QBLamar Jackson on a five-year, 260 million contract that made him the highest-paid player in the NFL.[18] During the negotiation, Jackson represented himself, eschewing an agent, and at one point had demanded a trade.[19] Jackson won the MVP award following the 2023 season for a second time in five-seasons.[20] The Ravens under DeCosta and HC John Harbaugh's leadership, finished with the best record in the NFL for the second time since 2019.[21]
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