At this point the Baltimore Ravens shouldn’t sign Nick Mangold
By Joe Schiller
The Baltimore Ravens still need to fill a the starting center spot, but they are better staying in-house than going after Nick Mangold
Going into training camp later this month, the Baltimore Ravens still have two major positions to fill on the offense line: center and right tackle. This is very concerning from an offensive standpoint. For a team that struggled on the line last season, those same struggles could carry over into this season.
There don’t seem to be many free agent options for right tackle, but there have been options for center. The Ravens have been heavily linked to veteran Nick Mangold since he was released by the Jets back in February. Now with no clear answer to the position right now, he’s still there as an option.
But at this point in the offseason the Ravens are better off without him.
Time Is Telling
Don’t get me wrong, Nick Mangold has had a fantastic career. He’s a 7x Pro-Bowler and has been one of the best centers since he entered the league. But as much as he looks good on paper, time is telling with this one.
Related Story: Baltimore Ravens: A look at the center competition
After months since the start of free agency, Mangold still hasn’t been signed. Now at the age of 33 he has dealt with injuries that limited him to 8 games last season. The biggest red flag is that the two sides left without a deal when Mangold visited back in March. If Mangold he was a fit, Ravens would have pounced, but obviously things were not right to strike a deal at the time. We know Ozzie Newsome knows it best when it comes to signing free agents.
The Ravens also don’t have a ton of cap space left. If Mangold wants to be paid like one of the better centers in the game, it won’t be by the Ravens. They are looking for a bargain and it doesn’t seem to be the case with Mangold.
In-house Options Arguably Better
Unlike right tackle, the Ravens have more depth at center in-house. There is no need for them to be desperate with this one. They currently have a 3-man battle going on between John Urschel, Ryan Jensen and Matt Skura. Right now these options are arguably better than what the Ravens would get with Mangold. All three of these players are much younger and cheaper options to start at center. If the Ravens thought that Mangold was a better option than these 3, he would be on the roster by now.
Realistically, signing Mangold to a 1 or 2 year contract is a short-term solution to a long-term problem. The Ravens are better off developing a younger lineman that can play at the position for years to come.
Next: Baltimore Ravens: In-house options for center
We’ve seen the Ravens struggle with dead money when it comes to cap space. This year 10% of their salary cap will go towards former players. Two of the biggest hits are from former offensive lineman. The last thing the Ravens want to do is make this mistake again.