For Ravens RT Morgan Moses, Baltimore Checked Off Every Box In Free Agency

The Baltimore Ravens have one of the most dynamic running games in the NFL, a dream for any offensive lineman. The game plan allows linemen to become bullies in the trenches and break down defenses, an idea that has offseason addition Morgan Moses fired up for the upcoming season.

Moses, a 6-foot-6, 318-pound right tackle, is entering his ninth season in the NFL and now has the opportunity to bolster the line while playing winning football. The 31-year-old was born in Richmond, Va., and was drafted by Washington in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft out of Virginia. He played there until 2020. He then signed a one-year contract with the New York Jets.

This offseason, Moses signed a three-year deal worth $15 million with the Ravens. He hopes to get back to the playoffs in the near future.

“Being able to go to a quality organization and add winning to it as well, it’s a dream come true,” Moses said on Glenn Clark Radio March 28. “I’m going into Year 9, and now I have the ability to play winning football. Not a lot of guys get that opportunity. So to be able to get that, to go to a family-structured organization and be able to win football games, that’s all you can ask for.”

When asked about the opportunity to play in a run-first offense, Moses explained how impressed he has been by the team’s offensive production in recent years. In 2019, Baltimore posted the most rushing yards ever by a team with 3,296. In 2020, the Ravens again piled up the most rushing yards in the league with 3,071. They finished third in 2021 with 2,479 despite missing their two top running backs, J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards, who combined for 1,528 rushing yards in 2020.

Moses noted that the Ravens’ run-heavy offense is a great opportunity for any offensive lineman. Since the Ravens are able to consistently move the ball down the field with the run game, they can impose their will on the opposition.

“It’s demoralizing to a defense to have people run the same play down your throat every play, and you get 3, 4 yards and you can’t stop it,” Moses said. “Because not only do you have a running quarterback, but you have a three-headed monster in the backfield as well, so when you have that capability to structure an offense like that and then when Lamar steps back up there off the play action and throws it deep to Hollywood Brown, I mean, it’s unstoppable.”

The Jackson-Brown connection is one that is very popular in the Moses household. He has three sons who are 3, 6 and 7 years old, all of whom are huge fans of Baltimore’s most explosive offensive players.

“They already had Lamar’s jersey, so ever since we signed, they’ve been wearing their Lamar Jackson jerseys to their football practices,” Moses said. “… My 3-year-old, he likes Hollywood Brown and Lamar Jackson, so [if] you ask him who his favorite football player is right now, he’ll say Jackson Brown.”

The Ravens missed the playoffs last season with an 8-9 record due in part to an unusually high number of injuries throughout the season. Missing time for injuries is something that Moses is not used to. In his first season, he missed time because of injury, but since then he has not missed a single game.

Moses’ toughness is something he takes pride in. Offensive linemen will always accumulate bumps and bruises throughout the season, but Moses is someone who will push through almost anything. The veteran recounted the 2015 season, when he tore his adductor off the bone early in the season but managed to push through it and play the rest of the season. Washington ended up winning the NFC East that season before eventually losing in the first round of the playoffs.

After being a consistent starter for his first eight seasons in the NFL, now Moses is looking forward to getting back to playing meaningful games. Entering his ninth season, he is excited to get to work and do anything he can to help the Ravens win games.

“When you have the opportunity to play meaningful games in Year 9, 10, 11, those years and stuff like that, it makes it a lot easier,” Moses said. “Because you can go out there and just focus on like, ‘Hey man, I need to do my job,’ I don’t want to be that part of the team that lacks and bites our success in the foot.”

For more from Moses, listen to the full interview here:

Photo Credit: Shawn Hubbard/Baltimore Ravens