Ravens' Needs: Baltimore Has 'Not Much' Outside Of Tyler Linderbaum On O-Line?
Lamar Jackson won the second MVP of his career in 2023, and a large part of that was due to a solid offensive line that paced the best rushing attack in the league.
Will Baltimore keep that unit together for next season?
Tyler Linderbaum.
USA Today Sports
Even if Baltimore manages to re-sign Kevin Zeitler and John Simpson, who are pending free agents, Yahoo Sports has its doubts about the Ravens' offensive line as they head into free agency and next season.
"The Ravens have a long-term piece at center in Tyler Linderbaum, but not much else outside of him," Yahoo Sports writes. "With Kevin Zeitler being a free agent and Ronnie Stanley a potential cut candidate, the Ravens will need to rebuild this group in a hurry."
Linderbaum has lived up to the billing as a first-round center out of Iowa in 2022, as he made his first Pro Bowl and has had back-to-back seasons with a Pro Football Focus grade above 74. He has quickly become a cornerstone on an aging offensive line that needs to be replenished with younger talent.
Yahoo Sports also listed left tackle Ronnie Stanley and right tackle Morgan Moses as potential cut candidates. If Baltimore cuts Stanley and Moses and doesn't re-sign Zeitler or Simpson, it would leave Linderbaum as the lone starter returning on the offensive line from last season.
"Stanley’s play has really fallen off due to injuries, and the Ravens would immediately become cap-compliant by releasing him (a post-June 1 cut would free up $8.3 million in cap space)," Yahoo Sports writes. "Tyus Bowser and Morgan Moses are some of the few cuts that the Ravens can make without incurring big dead cap penalties."
Patrick Mekari saw time at left tackle in the four games Stanley was out, and second-year offensive lineman Daniel Faalele split snaps with Moses at right tackle down the stretch of the season, so Baltimore has capable players at both tackle positions.
While keeping the offensive line together would be ideal, plus taking one or two in the draft, the Ravens' cap situation along with key free agents on defense, including defensive tackle Justin Madubuike, linebacker Patrick Queen and safety Geno Stone, will make that difficult. One player Yahoo Sports noted the Ravens should target in the draft to fill their need on the offensive line is Duke offensive lineman Graham Barton due to his versatility.
Jackson has proven to be one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL in the regular season. The one thing missing for him is a Super Bowl. If Jackson going to finally break through and overcome his playoff woes, keeping the offensive line mostly intact, or adding players through the draft who can step in and play immediately, should be a priority this offseason.
