Ravens Rookie OL Could See More Playing Time

Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman Emery Jones Jr. is getting a chance to showcase his talents.

Jones finally made his NFL debut in the Ravens' 32-14 loss against the Cincinnati Bengals on Thanksgiving Day. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh spoke about Jones' debut and what to expect moving forward.

"I thought [Emery Jones Jr.] played hard and showed some athleticism, some fight and some gusto. [He] played like a rookie in a lot of ways," Harbaugh said.

"There are a lot of things to clean up, for sure. I think he'll be the first to tell you that. But, you can't really start making those improvements until you play. You have to play in games to start growing in that direction, and he got a chance to do that, which was really positive. We'll just have to see going forward how much we want to continue that as we go."

LSU Tigers offensive lineman Emery Jones Jr. lines up during the second quarter against the Texas A&M Aggies. | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Jones Gets Chance to Play For Ravens

Jones was out for the first 6 games of the season as he was recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. He was placed on the Non-Football Injury (NFI) list and wasn't activated until Week 8 against the Chicago Bears.

Jones didn't see any action for his first 5 games on the 53-man roster, but that changed against the Bengals. The third-round pick out of LSU played 16 offensive snaps late in the loss, so there wasn't much of a chance to see him against starters, but the Ravens still had a lot to take away from the performance.

Jones lined up on the left side against the Bengals, but Harbaugh thinks there's a chance that he could play on the right side as well in the future.

"It's possible, but it's hard to do. We've had that conversation – it's a good question. It's the same question that I asked and that we asked – how viable is that? But you take a rookie and put him on both sides, you compound the curve quite a bit," Harbaugh said.

The Ravens used a Day 2 pick on Jones, so it's clear they value him tremendously. He's had a rough start to his NFL career, but that doesn't mean it has to stay that way.

It remains to be seen whether Jones will get more reps later in the season, but the Ravens definitely have an option to work with once he is fully healthy and in rhythm.

Make sure you bookmark Baltimore Ravens On SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!