Vacancy #2 – Right Tackle
The Ravens lost last year’s starting right tackle, Rick Wagner, in free agency when Wagner signed with the Lions. So far in OTA’s, James Hurst has been the starting right tackle. If you search “James Hurst” on Twitter, you can look and see how most Ravens fans feel about this possibility:
I swear if James Hurst is our starting lineman like the Ravens last particle projects I will lose respect for the head office
— baltimore1996 (@baltimore1996) May 10, 2017
Hurst is a nice guy, but there is no way that the Ravens can feel comfortable with having him as the starting right tackle this season. Hurst is an okay backup at best. When he has been given playing time, he has gotten consistently beaten by pass rushers, and is responsible for falling onto Joe Flacco’s knee in 2015 that resulted in the quarterback tear his left ACL. With 2017 being his second season removed from his injury, hearing Hurst as the possible starting right tackle has to give Flacco the heebie-jeebies.
Just like the center position, the Ravens could always bring a free agent in. However, as mentioned, the market is getting slimmer by the day. On Monday, free agent tackle King Dunlap, a possible target for the Ravens, retired. With options fading, don’t rule out a trade taking place as late as training camp.
Takeaway Point:
Next: Ravens round table: Players to watch in 2017
Having a mediocre offensive line can kill a team. Ravens fans remember the 2013 season all-too-well, in which Eugene Monroe, A.Q. Shipley, and Gino Gradkowski were three of the five starting lineman. That season, Flacco was sacked a career-high 48 times. The 2013 Ravens rushed just 3.1 yards-per-carry as a team. The Jeremy Maclin signing made the Ravens a better team, but if they are going to be contenders this season, the offensive line still needs some work.