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Undrafted Jay Higgins goes from Iowa to Baltimore Ravens’ 2025 roster as a rookie
Higgins had 15 tackles for Baltimore over three preseason games, as well as an interception and a forced fumble
Aug. 26, 2025 8:50 pm, Updated: Aug. 27, 2025 3:45 pm
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Rookie linebacker Jay Higgins, formerly of Iowa, had a very strong preseason for the Baltimore Ravens.
Fourth-year NFL linebacker Jake Hummel, formerly of Iowa State, didn’t play a down for the Ravens in the preseason,
Hummel has made Baltimore’s 53-player roster. And so has Higgins.
Higgins, an All-America in 2024 for the Hawkeyes, was undrafted after amassing 295 tackles over the last two seasons. He signed with Baltimore and made an instant impact in the preseason. Over three preseason games, Higgins had 15 tackles, a forced fumble and an interception.
Hummel, from West Des Moines, signed with the Los Angeles Rams in 2022 as an undrafted free agent. He played in every game for the Rams last season, making eight special teams tackles and blocking a punt. He played 77 percent of the Rams’ special teams snaps.
Hummel signed with Baltimore in March. Hummel underwent a procedure for his hand, but is slated to return to practice soon.
Higgins was on the bubble because of Baltimore’s linebacker depth, but was still a Raven after the team’s player cuts were finalized Tuesday.
"He's really instinctive and has a high football IQ," Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr said last week. "A lot of linebackers got moved to linebacker late in college. He's been a linebacker basically his whole life. He understands how to read linemen, read pulls, understands zone drops, man drops and spacing in coverage. That's underrated for the linebacker position.
"He was a great player in college. His resume speaks for itself. He should have been drafted, but measurables probably knocked him down. He's definitely athletic enough and fast enough to play at this level. There's no reason why he shouldn't play a long time in this league. He works hard. I am just very pleased with him."
Higgins recently said 53 isn’t a large number. But it wasn’t too small for him, and now we’ll see what he does for one of the NFL’s best teams.
Comments: (319) 398-8440; mike.hlas@thegazette.com
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