Ravens send former 3rd-round pick to waiver wire, he is very familiar to Chargers

The Los Angeles Chargers are facing the Denver Broncos in week 18 but will be sending their backups in to face the 2025 AFC West champions. Head coach Jim Harbaugh announced to start the week that quarterback Justin Herbert and other starters will rest in preparation for the wildcard round of the playoffs.

The Chargers have dealt with a dramatic onslaught of injuries to the offensive line all year. The left guard and center positions are the only ones along the front that have been consistent, while the other three have featured a revolving door of different linemen.

Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz has been managing a tightrope act trying to find players capable of seeing the field. Hortiz was came up through the Baltimore Ravens organization and was with the franchise through the 2023 season before he was hired in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles has leaned heavily on Jim Harbaugh's connections in Baltimore aside from his brother John being the head coach. Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman was with the franchise through the 2022 season. Defensive coordinator Jesse Minter was with the Ravens as an assistant from 2017-2020. Assistant general manager Chad Alexander rose through the ranks alongside Joe Hortiz in the Ravens organization as well.

The Ravens release offensive guard Ben Cleveland

The Baltimore Ravens have released their former third-round pick from the 2021 draft, offensive guard Ben Cleveland. Cleveland has been a career backup and has struggled to make an impact playing his most snaps as a rookie with 376 snaps at left guard.

Cleveland is a massive human being, measuring in at 6'6 357lbs. He was expected to take a step forward in a power run blocking scheme but has failed to develop much outside of a backup role.

Why the Chargers may be interested

Baltimore Ravens guard Ben Cleveland — Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The Chargers have limited available backups on their offensive line. The front office is familiar with Cleveland, given Joe Hortiz was the Ravens director of player personnel when Cleveland was drafted. The Ravens fully expected Cleveland to be their starting left guard as a rookie based on what Hortiz mentioned when answering questions about the 2021 rookie class.

Cleveland played in Greg Roman's offense for the first two years of his career and started out as a rookie playing next to Chargers center Bradley Bozeman. At this time of year, finding a backup capable of stepping in quickly with so much familiarity with the offense and other players is rare.

If starting right guard Mehki Becton, who has not played well lately, is too injured to play, the Chargers would have to plug in Trevor Penning into the starting lineup. That would leave Los Angeles with no backup capable of stepping in at either guard spot to play meaningful snaps. Cleveland may be capable of stepping in right away.

Why the Chargers may pass

Ben Cleveland has not been a good player so far in his career. His physical limitations have been glaring in terms of his lack of lateral agility and his lumbering presence, however enormous he may be.

Cleveland has also faced some off-field trouble. He was arrested earlier this year for driving under the influence and pleaded guilty in November. His guilty plea lead to a three-game suspension from the NFL. He is eligible to come off that suspension this week and the Ravens chose to release him.

The timing of Ben Cleveland's release gives teams around the NFL a difficult choice so close to week 18 and the playoffs, where every roster spot is valuable. If the Chargers deem their offensive line banged up and in need of another capable body, Cleveland would make sense despite the Chargers franchise historical avoidance of players with off-field question marks.

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