Are Baltimore Ravens prepared to lose Ben Powers?

The Baltimore Ravens have a tough decision to make with Ben Powers. The two have been able to come together on a deal, and all accounts are that he is going to test free agency. On the surface, this is tough for the team.

Will Baltimore Ravens lose Ben Powers in free agency?

You never want to lose a player who is 26 years old, and coming off some of his best play. He has 36 starts, and the combination of youth, talent, and experience is going to get him paid on the free-agent market.

It is easy to knock the Ravens, but after two seasons he was not locked into his starting role, and his third season led to an injury.  Because of that, he wanted to prove himself in year four. Now that he has bet on himself, he has the chance to cash in.

One drawback to the Ravens not being able to extend Lamar Jackson is that they cannot give him a signing bonus to lower his salary cap hit. It will limit what the Ravens do in free agency, and it will hurt them when teams start bidding for Ben Powers.

The team may as well kiss Powers goodbye. Still, they do have a solid option already in Ben Cleveland. Cleveland started the four games that Powers missed in 2021, He also started week 18 at right guard. Still, he has just 462 snaps in two years.

Entering year three, the Baltimore Ravens have to be prepared for him to step up. To be honest, he probably was going to be asked to start anyways.

If the team extends Ben Powers, they almost have to cut Kevin Zeitler. They may do this anyways, but there is no shot they are keeping both Zietler and Powers. So, either Cleveland was going to replace Zeitler on the right side, or they will be asking him to step into the left guard role this season.

Given the salary and age of Zietler, the team should definitely be looking to draft another guard. Still, it may be smart to ease that guard in by keeping Zeitler and having him back up the veteran and Cleveland.