Ravens Prepared to Overhaul, Invest Heavily in Offensive Line
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta wants a strong, physical offensive line that can help run the ball effectively and protect the quarterback.
He overhauled Baltimore's o-line prior to last season, but injuries and inconsistent play hampered their performance.
Now, DeCosta is ready to go back to the drawing board to build an offensive line that can maul opponents.
"One of, probably, the points of emphasis this year is the offensive line," DeCosta said. "How do we improve and how can we get better? Certainly, the Draft will be one resource; there will be other ways as well. Some of that is going to be guys we have on campus and them getting better with an offseason – some of these young guys maturing and developing into the players we expected them to be when we drafted them.
"So, the burden is on them. We have a couple of other guys that we brought in this past year that we’re excited about. We haven’t really seen them play yet, tackles, but we’re excited about what these guys might have a chance to do."
The Ravens signed guard Kevin Zeitler and tackle Andrew Villanueva as free agents last season. Baltimore selected guard Ben Cleveland in the third round of the 2021 draft. Bradley Bozeman took over his natural position at center and there was optimism that left tackle Ronnie Stanley would bounce back from offseason ankle surgery.
However, the season did not play out as expected.
Stanley lasted just one game before aggravating the ankle injury. Villanueva moved from right to left tackle and was inconsistent, which could lead to him being a salary-cap casualty.
Injuries to Tyre Phillips and Ben Powers hurt the team's depth. Bozeman is a free agent this offseason.
So, there is plenty of work ahead of DeCosta to make sure the offensive line is strong next season.
It's definitely a point of emphasis.
Look for the Ravens to scour the free-agent market for players and to add a player or two in the draft.
"I think just in general, what we do know is for us to be the very best offense we can be, we have to have a strong, commanding offensive line that can control people at the point of attack,” DeCosta said.
