Ravens: Breaking down newly-signed veteran OL Michael Schofield

The Baltimore Ravens continued to add to their offensive line room on Tuesday with the signing of versatile veteran Michael Schofield.

The Ravens announced that they had signed the 30-year-old Schofield who spent last season with the Carolina Panthers, although the terms of the deal remain unknown.

This comes one day after the team signed injured veteran Ja’Wuan James to a two-year deal. The Ravens are clearly placing am emphasis on adding more depth to their offensive line.

And the signing of Schofield is just the latest indication of that.

Michael Schofield provides further depth to the Ravens offensive line.

A third-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, Schofield spent the first two years of his career with the Denver Broncos. He started 13 games at right tackle during his rookie season and was the team’s starter when they won Super Bowl 50.

He was moved over to right guard in 2016 where he would go on to start all 16 games before being surprisingly released as part of final roster cuts the following fall.

Schofield was quickly claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Chargers and the Michigan product went on to start five games in place of the injured Joe Barksdale at right tackle.

He signed a two-year extension with the team in the offseason after performing well in Barksdale’s absence and earned the starting right guard in the summer — a job he would hold on to for two seasons.

Schofield started all 32 games at right guard for the injury-riddled Chargers in 2018 and 2019 before signing with the Carolina Panthers in 2020.

The Illinois native had been an average-to-below-average starter in Los Angeles which is why it wasn’t a huge surprise to see him take a backseat role in Carolina. Schofield started three games for the Panthers in 2020, mainly filling in for injuries.

Now with the Ravens, Schofield’s versatility and extensive starting experience should provide a major boost to the team’s offensive line depth.

While primarily a guard in recent years, Schofield has experience playing tackle as well and could be a viable swing tackle to compete with the likes of Tyre Phillips and Andre Smith.

He’ll also compete with players like Ben Powers, Patrick Mekari, and Ben Bradeson along the interior offensive line providing even more depth to the team.

The Ravens saw firsthand how important offensive line depth was last year. Now, they’re taking steps to ensure that they’re well prepared heading into 2021.