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Baltimore Ravens: 3 reasons they can let Ryan Jensen walk

By Chris Schisler

BALTIMORE, MD - DECEMBER 3: Center Ryan Jensen #66 of the Baltimore Ravens takes the field prior to the game against the Detroit Lions at M&T Bank Stadium on December 3, 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Todd Olszewski/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - DECEMBER 3: Center Ryan Jensen #66 of the Baltimore Ravens takes the field prior to the game against the Detroit Lions at M&T Bank Stadium on December 3, 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Todd Olszewski/Getty Images) /
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BALTIMORE, MD – DECEMBER 27: Cameron Heyward #97 of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Ryan Jensen #66 of the Baltimore Ravens shove one another after a play during the second quarter at M&T Bank Stadium on December 27, 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD – DECEMBER 27: Cameron Heyward #97 of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Ryan Jensen #66 of the Baltimore Ravens shove one another after a play during the second quarter at M&T Bank Stadium on December 27, 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

2. The Ravens may not even need to replace him:

The Ravens getting by with injury after injury on the offensive line should have been a lot tougher. This doesn’t mean that losing Jensen won’t be a big deal. It just means that the Ravens can get by without Jensen. The Ravens should never ignore a position, we’ve seen what happens when they do this (Think wide receivers). However the Ravens should theoretically have more tools on the offensive line with or without Jensen.

Matt Skura got some playing time this past season and he played surprisingly well. Skura came into the NFL as a center. Skura proved to be incredibly helpful to the Ravens rushing attack in 2017 filling in at the guard. Would the Ravens be better off with Jensen? Yes. However it would be far from shocking if Skura ended up taking the job and run blocking with it (see what I did there?). In all seriousness the Ravens may have found another affordable replacement to an offensive lineman.

In theory the Ravens could convert a player to the center position. Nico Siragusa and Alex Lewis would both be candidates for the transformation. The Ravens got by without John Urschel, Siragusa, Lewis and Yanda in 2017. In 2018 they will have all of those players back except for the retired Urschel. The offensive line isn’t that needy.

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