For Matt Skura, Baltimore Ravens future tied to this season

For the 2019 Ravens, the center of their offensive success might very well depend on, yes, the center. All eyes will be on Matt Skura to secure the spot.

Incumbent center Matt Skura is the type of guy most Ravens fans like to root for — once they get past his Duke lineage. He signed as a free-agent rookie in 2016, bounced back and forth between the waiver wire and the practice squad, and ended up starting 12 games at right guard in the stead of injured Marshal Yanda for the Ravens in 2017.

Last year saw Skura claim the starting spot at his natural position of center, and he was out there for all 16 regular season games, as well as the team’s Wild Card game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

For a league that thrives on the concept that a player’s greatest ability is his availability, Matt Skura deserves a nod simply for suiting up each game. He also did a nice job manning the center of the line during the metamorphosis of the team’s offensive scheme upon then-rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson taking over in Week 11.

But he appeared to struggle against some of the stronger, more massive defensive tackles and nose guards lined up in front of him. That is not a problem unique to Skura, mind you, as big, strong men have been a physical problem to anyone who dared stand before them throughout the pages of history, but it’s a little different for an NFL center. If the pressure comes up the middle, everything blows up on offense.

Another year of playing next to Yanda should only help, as should another year of the weight room and working with the Ravens’ offensive coaches. Matt Skura is only 26-years old, and nobody should argue that he already maxed out his potential last season — the needle should be pointing straight up for a 26-year-old in any profession.

But the NFL isn’t any profession. And if a player continues to struggle, and jeopardizes the success of the rest of the team, the franchise will look to make a change. There hasn’t been a lot of talk coming out of training camp that the team is considering a move to Bradley Bozeman, so it appears Matt Skura is going to be given every chance to take the job by the horns and parlay it into a new contract going forward — either with the Ravens or another franchise, as former center Ryan Jensen did two years ago when he moved on to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

It would be hugely beneficial for Matt Skura to show real growth this year manning the middle for the Ravens, and that the two sides were ultimately able to hammer out a new contract going into the future. But a lot of that is going to depend on him. And he basically has one year to show his worth.