Rodney Hudson:
From here on out, we take a look at dream scenarios that fans would love to see the Ravens make before the trade deadline kicks in. Dipping back into the Oakland Raiders well, this time Baltimore makes what would be the smartest trade deadline move for the team in adding Pro Bowl center Rodney Hudson. Unfortunately, this move would not come cheap on multiple fronts.
For starters, the move wouldn’t be cheap in a very literal sense, as Hudson only has one year remaining on his contract and is due for a cap hit of over $10 million. That’s a lot of dough for a center who will be 30-years old at the start of 2019. This is especially more troublesome considering the Ravens continuously find themselves with their backs against the wall when it comes to managing the salary cap.
However, focusing entirely on 2018, adding Hudson would completely reinvigorate the team’s offensive line. With injuries mounting week-by-week along the line, Hudson would provide not only stability, but a massive upgrade over anything the Ravens have had all season-long. Lining up Hudson next to Marshal Yanda with Ronnie Stanley and Orlando Brown outside at the tackle spots would give Baltimore a fantastic front and could perhaps help jump-start their pathetic run-game.
Offensive lines are built from the interior out and a center will make-or-break how well a unit plays. The Ravens haven’t seen a center as good as Hudson since the days of Matt Birk. Adding Hudson would be such a good trade, but finding a way to keep him in Baltimore past 2018 would be difficult.