Invading the Enemy: Could Ravens Sign Former Steelers Offensive Lineman?
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — One of the Ravens' main priorities this offseason is upgrading the offensive line.
Baltimore already signed free-agent Kevin Zeitler to start at right guard.
Now, the Ravens are hosting former Steelers left tackle Alejandro Villanueva, who is a free agent, according to the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Villanueva is a stout durable player that has not missed a start in the past five seasons.
The addition of Villanueva could give the Ravens more flexibility to trade tackle Orlando Brown Jr, who has requested a trade this offseason. Brown wants to play left tackle full-time but Baltimore has already signed Ronnie Stanley to a long-term deal to stay at that position.
"I'm not going to talk about any ongoing discussions with Orlando, whatever that might be," Baltimore general manager Eric DeCosta said. "There's always a lot of moving parts in any offseason. We're just basically approaching this with how we can build the best possible team to play in September. I'm also not going to comment on any reports of any players visiting or not visiting Baltimore. It doesn't really benefit us to talk about those kind of things, especially this time of year."
Villanueva has been a key player for the Steelers and they'll try and make effort to retain him. However, Baltimore could make him an offer that is hard to refuse and Villanueva would be a huge addition for the team. Villanueva is solid at both run blocking and protecting the quarterback in the pocket, an area where the Ravens struggled last season for Lamar Jackson.
