Tony Jefferson worked as a scout for the Baltimore Ravens last season. In 2024, he might be playing for them. Jefferson is unretiring and plans to play football this season, according to Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz.
Jefferson, 32, has appeared in 113 games, starting 67 of them. A healthy portion of his career came with the Ravens, spending 2017-2019 and part of the 2021 season with the team. In a 2019 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, he suffered a torn ACL and was released the following February before being brought back in late 2021.
For Baltimore, he started 35 games, recording 174 tackles, 4.5 sacks, two interceptions, and two forced fumbles. He served as a quality dime defender and sub-package player. Undrafted in 2013, Jefferson has a career stat line of 492 tackles, 9.5 sacks, eight forced fumbles, and four interceptions.
His most recent NFL stop came in 2022 with the New York Giants, making 23 tackles across nine games. In May 2023, Tony Jefferson announced he was retiring to join the Ravens as a scouting intern.
“I would always love to become a GM, but I know how hard it is to get in that position and I know it takes a lot of hard work, too,” Jefferson said via the Ravens’ website in 2022. “Scouting is something I really like doing. I see myself scouting even when I’m coaching my son’s [youth] team.”
Now, he has the itch to get back into football. It’s not clear if he’ll sign with the Ravens, a team that could use safety depth after losing Geno Stone to the Cincinnati Bengals during free agency. Baltimore recently hosted Jamal Adams for a visit but hasn’t signed him.
The Steelers seem to have enough depth at the position, signing one ex-Raven in DeShon Elliott to serve as a starting strong safety opposite Minkah Fitzpatrick. Jefferson will look to latch on with a team prior to training camp.
