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Ravens veteran safety Chuck Clark indicated Thursday that he requested a trade earlier this offseason but is content with his situation heading into Saturday’s preseason finale against the Washington Commanders.
After the Ravens signed free-agent safety Marcus Williams to a five-year, $70 million deal and picked Notre Dame star Kyle Hamilton No. 14 overall in the first round of the NFL draft, there was uncertainty about how the team would utilize Clark, a 2017 sixth-round draft pick who started at least 12 games each of the past three seasons.
“I just felt the situation that I was in [and] how things were going, I did ask, ‘Can I get it out of here?’” Clark said after practice in his first news conference since the end of last season. “I felt like that didn’t happen and I wasn’t just going to give away my spot. If I’m not going to be a starter, it’s going to have to be taken from me.”
Clark, who signed a three-year contract extension worth $16 million in 2020, acknowledged that he was surprised that the Ravens selected Hamilton in April and didn’t know what would happen moving forward.
“Whatever was going to come with that was going to come,” he said. “But now that I’m here, I’m locked in. They’re going to get what I’ve got.”
Clark, 27, has 283 tackles, five interceptions, four forced fumbles and 28 pass deflections in 79 games (46 starts). In 2021, he recorded 80 tackles, 12 pass deflections and a pair of picks.
The former Virginia Tech star has been very durable throughout his career, as he hasn’t missed a defensive snap over the past two seasons. He has also been a leader in the locker room and a valuable on-field communicator, wearing the green dot as the defense’s signal-caller.
Despite the added depth in the secondary, Clark doesn’t feel his role has changed. He has been impressed with Williams, as they have picked each other’s brains, and he called Hamilton a “big body who can cover a lot of ground.”
“[Hamilton] is young right now, but he’s going to be good come later this season,” Clark said.
After the Ravens’ 16-13 overtime loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Jan. 9, which ended an 8-9 season that kept Baltimore out of the playoffs for the first time since 2017, Clark told reporters “watch how we bounce back” before walking away from the podium.
“When I said that I honestly didn’t feel like talking,” Clark joked. “But I felt that was the best answer I could give. Anybody that gets sent home, no matter what sport it is, can’t wait to get their turn. We had a down year, but when it comes back around for our turn, we will be ready.”
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