The Ravens selected Alabama tight end Josh Cuevas in the fifth round of the 2026 NFL Draft, and Baltimore just might be the perfect spot for Cuevas to develop.
The 6-foot-3, 245-pound tight end caught 53 passes for 629 yards for the Crimson Tide from 2024-2025 after following head coach Kalen DeBoer from Washington to Alabama after the 2023 season. Now, there’s plenty of opportunity available for Cuevas in Baltimore with Charlie Kolar and Isaiah Likely having departed via free agency.
Cuevas doesn’t have to look very far to find a couple of role models at the team facility in Owings Mills. One is executive vice president Ozzie Newsome, considered the greatest tight end in Alabama history. Newsome caught 102 passes for 2,070 yards and 16 touchdowns for the Crimson Tide from 1974-1977.
Cuevas heard from Newsome when the Ravens drafted him and again once he got to town for rookie minicamp.
“Once I got that call on draft day and Ozzie hopped on the phone, I kind of knew that I was going to be in a good space for myself and my future,” Cuevas said on Glenn Clark Radio May 14. “First off, I had another Alabama guy in the building. Seeing him at that first rookie minicamp practice just out there observing the practice, first thing he says to me is, ‘Roll Tide, man.’ All you can do is give him a ‘Roll Tide’ and shake his hand. ‘Man, it’s so nice to meet you. We’ve talked about you a million times at Alabama.'”
Newsome put together a Pro Football Hall of Fame career with the Cleveland Browns, catching 662 passes for 7,980 yards and 47 touchdowns from 1978-1990. After retiring, Newsome joined the Browns’ front office and quickly rose through the ranks. He became the franchise’s top football decision-maker when the team moved to Baltimore in 1996 and put together two Super Bowl-winning squads.
Eric DeCosta is now the Ravens’ general manager, but Newsome remains a big part of what the Ravens do.
“Having a legend walk around the building, it’s something surreal,” Cuevas said. “Not a lot of programs really have that. I’m grateful that I have Ozzie Newsome around and I’m able to bounce ideas off of him whenever he’s around. He’s an open book.”
Cuevas can also pattern himself after veteran tight end Mark Andrews, who is back in Baltimore for a ninth season with the Ravens. Andrews has caught 484 passes for 5,952 yards and 56 touchdowns throughout his career, all marks tops in team history. He signed a three-year extension last December with free agency was looming for all three of the Ravens’ top tight ends.
The Ravens have had plenty of big-time tight ends throughout their history — including Shannon Sharpe, Todd Heap and Dennis Pitta — but Andrews is the most productive one. Cuevas is looking forward to learning from Andrews.
“He’s a seasoned vet. He knows what it takes to get to a championship, get to that level. Ultimately, that’s what I’m really looking for,” Cuevas said. “Just being a sponge early on and just taking in information and learning the ropes of how to be that NFL tight end. You really can’t ask for anybody to learn under other than Mark Andrews, somebody who’s done it before, somebody who’s teaching you the ins and outs and showing you how to practice and how to play and how to prep your body for practices.”
Between Andrews and Newsome, Cuevas has no shortage of people to lean on in Baltimore.
“Immediately walking into the building, you have all these different role models,” Cuevas said. “You have all these different pictures around the tight end room of all these great tight ends. There’s not a single second that you’re going to forget that tight ends are an invaluable position in this offense. Hopefully it continues to be that way.”
For more from Cuevas, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics Photography