The preseason is all about the players on the edge of the roster being able to grab hold of a spot on the 53-man roster or a starting job. Not many jobs were up for grabs for the Baltimore Ravens, but as always, the preseason has sorted things out. With one week to go, the team should have a strong understanding of who is starting where.
3. Ar'Darius Washington will start in the slot for the Baltimore Ravens
It did not turn into much of a battle, but it did end with a clear winner. Ar'Darius Washington will start for the Baltimore Ravens in the slot, and it is hard to see any other outcome happening at this point. A lot of the reasoning is because no one else is even healthy enough to compete.
Arthur Maulet and Pepe Williams are the two names who were supposed to be competing. Williams has an injury that appears to be serious, and Maulet has missed over two weeks. Maulet is expected to be back soon, but even then, it is hard to see him healthy enough in time to play in the preseason finale but also beat out Washington.
The injuries gave Washington a chance, but he took full advantage. He played nearly a full game in week one and played deep into the second half in week two. He sat for a bit, but injuries had him playing late. Still, he was breaking up passes, blitzing, and making tackles that stopped drives. It was a complete game.
Washington is younger and while he presents an unknown, he also presents the potential for upside. With Maulet, you know what he is. This competition should be over until Washington does something to show he does not deserve to start.
2. John Simpson won the starting left job for the Baltimore Ravens
The starting left guard job really came into focus over the last couple of weeks. Heading into OTAs, many thought that Ben Cleveland was in line to be that guy. However, heading into training camp, it became clear that it was down to John Simpson or Sala Aumavae-Laulu.
Aumavae-Laulu led things off by getting the first repetitions. However, after about a week, the Ravens moved to John Simpson. John Harbaugh said that the switch was planned, as they would both get a shot with the first team. Apparently, Simpson did well because he was not given any chances back to Sala.
Simpson started both preseason games and has taken almost all of the first-team repetitions in practice in-between. It has also been glaringly obvious who is better when you watch the games. Simpson holds his own against the top guys on the field. Then, Aumavae-Laulu gets in against lesser competition, and he looks much worse than Simpson.
It started as a battle, but once the two got onto the field, it was clear that one was on a different level. Now, we will see if Simpson can do anything in the next week or so to potentially lose the job after doing nothing but positive things to win the job all month.
1. Travis Jones is ready to breakout with the Baltimore Ravens
This has not been much of a competition because we have not seen Michael Pierce on the field with a chance to defend himself. However, Pierce is older and is coming off of an injury, so we were not expecting to see him. That is also why this competition was a bit slanted.
In a perfect world, the second-year player and former third-round pick Travis Jones would step up and beat out Michael Pierce, who has age and injury status going against him. This could lead to the best of Pierce, though, because he would not be overworked, and he would be able to show his best on every snap.
So, the last two weeks may have been a win for each side. It looks clear that Travis Jones is ready to take that next step. It could be a bad sign that he was playing at all in a game where so many starters sat. However, he was the best player on the field for the snaps he did play. He was a pocket pusher and looked like he had an extra step this season.
After two weeks it does look like Jones should start and play the majority of the snaps. Pierce can be the backup.