Orlando Brown Wants to be Traded, Only Adds to a Challenging Offseason for Ravens

When Orlando Brown Jr. tweeted that he was a left tackle, it wasn't clear how immediate that would be an issue for the Baltimore Ravens. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, he has in fact asked to be traded, which is a challenging situation for the Ravens, who already have issues to deal with this offseason.

Sources: #Ravens OT Orlando Brown wants to be traded. After tweeting his desire to only play left tackle – he filled in there for Ronnie Stanley and shined this season – Brown will only play for a team that will play him at his preferred spot. Baltimore would need a major haul.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 10, 2021

The Ravens would insist on a significant return in the deal, but they would really prefer not to have to trade him. The Ravens have Ronnie Stanley coming back from injury, who will be back at left tackle, the reason Browns wants to be moved. Other than that, it's unclear what the Ravens have up front that's actually really effective.

Matt Skura, their center, suffered a significant knee injury in November, tearing the ACL, MCL, PCL and dislocating his kneecap. He came back really quickly and it stands to reason he was compromised all year. He might come back far better in 2021, but he's a free agent.

Their guards are pretty ordinary after losing Marshal Yanda to retirement. Brown was doing a good amount of heavy lifting at right tackle. When Stanley went down, he flipped over to the other side, where he played at Oklahoma, and he would like to stay there. That won't happen with the Ravens, which is why he's asking for the trade.

The real issue is the fact Brown is scheduled to earn just $1.136 million in 2021. For a Ravens team that has been pushed a significant amount of chips in to try to win a Super Bowl in 2020, that is an enormous value and the best bang for their buck on the entire roster. Getting a good starter for practically nothing is incredibly important, enabling them to add Calais Campbell and trading for Yannick Ngakoue.

That financial strain is all the more real for the Ravens. Both Matthew Judon, who was on the franchise tag and Ngakoue are free agents. Jaylon Ferguson is the next man up on the edge at this point.

If the Ravens can get a decent haul in the form of draft picks for Brown if and when they trade him, combined with the fact they are getting a third round compensatory pick this year for the hire of David Culley by the Houston Texans, they will have a sizable amount of draft capital to operate. Obviously, the Ravens want proven players that can help them win right now as opposed to a bunch of rookies, but they may not have a choice.

The Ravens will be the team best equipped to compete with the Browns for the AFC North crown in 2021, but it's quite possible they missed their window to win the Super Bowl. They won't fall off the way the Pittsburgh Steelers have where it's a complete rebuild, but they may take a step or two back as they reload before they are ready to make another serious push as a contender.