For the first four seasons of his NFL career, Brandon Stephens had been a scapegoat for the Baltimore Ravens.

As a former third-round pick out of SMU, Stephens built a reputation for being a hard-working player in the secondary. In his last season with the Ravens, though, the 27-year-old was heavily targeted by opposing quarterbacks and Ravens fans alike. His inability to track the ball or get his head around on deep passes was a detriment to Baltimore’s championship hopes.

Since signing a three-year deal with the New York Jets, though, Stephens has improved his game in many key areas.

As he and the Jets prepare for a Week 12 contest in the city he called home for four years, Stephens isn’t looking to his past struggles. He’s focusing on the future.

Stephens keeps it professional

After the first few weeks of the season, it seemed like Stephens’ three-year, $36 million contract was a colossal mistake for the Jets. Since then, though, the SMU product has looked like an above-average starting cornerback.

Stephens has earned a 73.1 overall grade at Pro Football Focus through 10 games with the Jets, ranking 12th-best among 107 qualified cornerbacks (min. 200 snaps). His production highlights his status as one of the Jets’ better free agent signings in recent memory.

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As he prepares for his return to Baltimore, Stephens is just happy that he gets the chance to continue to compete at a high level for Gang Green.

“Honestly, I haven’t thought too much about playing there,” Stephens said. “It’s just been mainly focusing on the game plan and whatnot. It’ll be a good opportunity for all of us.”

While some numbers surrounding Stephens haven’t been pretty – including a career-high five touchdowns given up and a 117.1 passer rating – he has been targeted much less frequently than in Baltimore.

Per PFF, Stephens is seeing just 4.6 targets per game in 2025, compared to 6.2 over the last two seasons. He’s also allowing only 29 yards per game compared to 45.8 from 2023 to 2024.

New York will be tested in many ways on Sunday against a two-time MVP in Lamar Jackson. With Stephens leading the way on defense, the Jets are hoping to pull off one of the bigger upsets this season.