Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta acknowledged there could be “hiccups” with the team’s remade offensive line, but he stressed its potential when he met with the media at the team’s Under Armour Performance Center in Owings Mills on Aug. 29.
DeCosta traded veteran right tackle Morgan Moses and let veteran guards John Simpson and Kevin Zeitler go in free agency this spring, essentially entrusting 60 percent of the line to younger, unproven players.
The offensive line has been one of the primary concerns this summer, complicated further by a neck injury that has sidelined Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum for most of August. Projected starting left guard Andrew Vorhees and rookie right tackle Roger Rosengarten have never taken an NFL regular-season snap, and projected right guard Daniel Faalele had never played that position before this summer.
Predictably, DeCosta was asked about the line early during his roughly 30-minute news conference, held a week before the Ravens open the season at Kansas City in a rematch of last season’s AFC championship game.
“I think there’s still a little bit of an unknown, because we haven’t played as a unit in games,” DeCosta said. In addition to Linderbaum being sidelined by injury, All-Pro left tackle Ronnie Stanley, like most starters, did not play at all in the three preseason games.
“Unfortunately, with a salary cap league, you just can’t build a team up with veterans at every position,” DeCosta continued. “If you could, that would be great. … You have to develop young players as well, and we have started to do that on the offensive line. [I’m] excited about Roger. I’m excited about Andrew Vorhees. I’m excited for the future. We may have a couple of hiccups along the way, but I think we’ve started to build from the bottom up, and I think a year from now, we’ll be in a great place.”
The more immediate question, given the Ravens’ Super Bowl aspirations with reigning league Most Valuable Player Lamar Jackson, is, will the Ravens be in a good enough place now?
Vorhees, Rosengarten and Faalele were among the few projected starters who saw extensive time in the preseason, understandable given their lack of experience. Super-sub Patrick Mekari also played and could start or alternate series with Rosengarten, much as he did last season with Stanley in a novel approach to line play.
The results for the group were mixed. In the first half of the Ravens’ three preseason games, when those projected starters were playing primarily against backups, the Ravens ran 40 times for 117 yards, an average of just under 3 yards per carry. Granted, Jackson and Derrick Henry didn’t play, but neither did anybody close to what the Ravens will face when they go to Kansas City.
Overall, though, DeCosta has essentially made a big bet on this offensive line group. Beginning next week against the Chiefs, he’ll start to know whether that has paid off.
NOTEBOOK
DECOSTA ‘BULLISH’ ON BATEMAN: The Ravens gave wide receiver Rashod Bateman a contract extension this offseason, and DeCosta said he continues to be “bullish” on the Ravens’ top pick in the 2021 draft, even though Bateman’s career has been marred by injuries and relatively low production.
In three seasons, Bateman has averaged 389 yards, with a total of four touchdowns.
Bateman was signed to a two-year, roughly $12.8 million extension just about a week before the team faced a deadline to pick up his fifth-year option. He’s now under contract through 2026.
“He wants to be good. He has the talent to do it, and he needs the opportunities,” DeCosta said. “And half of that is getting the opportunities, and the other half of that is staying healthy and being the best he can be. I am very bullish on Rashod. I’ve said that repeatedly. It was a no-brainer for us to extend him. … I love having him here in the building. He’s got a great opportunity, and I believe he’s going to show the fans this year what he can be.”
STEPHENS EXTENSION WILL BE A CHALLENGE: Cornerback Brandon Stephens had a breakout season in 2023 and was one of the team’s most consistent players in training camp. He’s also in the final year of his four-year rookie deal, meaning the 2021 third-round pick is set to become a free agent next spring.
Owner Steve Bisciotti has spoken in the past about the value in paying “ascending players,” and Stephens would seem to fit that mold. But DeCosta acknowledged that crafting an extension for Stephens will have its “challenges.”
DeCosta has previously noted that the record-setting deal for Jackson would change how the team could build the roster in the future, and he reiterated that at times in his media session.
“Fundamentally, financially … you can’t have 10 players making $20 million a year. You just can’t do it on a $258 million salary cap,” DeCosta said. “So, you have to look at it and have a strategy. … We try to pay our best players as much as we can, understanding that sometimes we just can’t keep every single player. If we could, the roster would be different. But it’s not, and we understand that.”
Speaking specifically about Stephens, DeCosta said, “He’s a guy that we certainly want to keep here long term. It’s not without challenges. He plays a position where the best players are highly compensated, but we’ll do our best. … He’s made himself one of the best corners in the NFL.”
DECOSTA REBUFFS OFFERS FOR DEFENSIVE BACKS: The secondary might be the deepest group on the team, despite an injury that will keep slot corner Arthur Maulet out until October. DeCosta said as the roster cutdown approached on Aug. 27, he fielded calls from teams looking to trade for some of that Ravens secondary depth.
“My mentality is, ‘If you’re strong, stay strong,'” DeCosta said. “In some years, we’ve traded players, and then you get a couple of injuries and then you look at it and kind of regret it. … We just decided this year that we liked our team and we were going to stand put with the players that we had.”
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