Matt Skura’s return is a big deal for the Baltimore Ravens

It has been reported out of Ravens training camp that Matt Skura passed his physical and is about to start practicing. This is a big deal:

Matt Skura is trying to return from the injuries he sustained against the Los Angeles Rams in late November. According to baltimoreravens.com, Skura is most likely going to practice on Monday. This is a huge development for the Ravens. The Ravens have their starting center back.

Uncertainty is never something you want to have anywhere but that is most true about the offensive line. The best possible starting lineup for the Ravens includes Skura. He’s worked his way up to being a starter. With Skura available, the Ravens really just have to decide who plays at right guard. They don’t need to do a shuffle. Stanley is a stud. Orlando Brown Jr. is a stud. Bradley Bozeman proved himself last season. Skura offers a little bit more than Patrick Mekari does.

The Ravens can still shake some things up on the offensive line, but they don’t have to. Baltimore can essentially come back with the same offensive line minus Marshal Yanda. Yanda isn’t going to be perfectly replaced but the Ravens can find a quality starter. The Ravens now have a rather large selection of players to chose from. There’s D.J. Fluker, Ben Powers, Ben Bredeson and Tyre Phillips all as options.

The Ravens don’t have their eggs in one basket and they only need to fill one position. As far as replacing future Hall of Fame players, the Ravens are in a good spot here. One thing that we should point out here is that the Ravens have some experience moving on from once in a generation talent.

When Ray Lewis and Ed Reed were done in Baltimore, it was a big change for the franchise. John Harbaugh knows he’ll never have another player like Yanda, and his experience from past legends leaving will help him keep the team on track.

Mekari goes back to being a back up presumably. The Ravens have a perfect understudy here. They have a player they know they can throw into the action, if they need to. Skura is a more polished player. He should get the starting job back and it’s hard to see that really being in doubt. The Ravens could theoretically put Bradley Bozman at center if they wanted to, but there is no reason for a shake up. He stays at left guard.

The Ravens want to do what they did last year. They want to dominate up front the way they were last season. This isn’t a team that wants to reinvent the wheel. This is a team that wants to pick up where they left off. The least amount of shake up for their offensive line the better.

The Bottom Line:

What do you call it when you have four out of five answers for the offensive line? You call it good news. The Ravens don’t have a lot to figure out on the offensive line if they stay healthy. Having more options than they may end up needing on the inside of the offensive line isn’t a bad thing. Quality depth is a great thing.

The Ravens having their starting center in time for a battle with the Cleveland Browns? That’s what you want to how you want to start the season. This is big news for the Ravens. It gets them closer to what they had last year. This news is as good as news can get at this point of training camp.