4 Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman who control their destiny this preseason

The Baltimore Ravens are now less than a week away from the preseason. While the offensive line is starting to sort itself out, we know that the three weeks or so until the season starts can change things dramatically. Who are four players on the Ravens offensive line that could change their destiny in the coming weeks?

4. Will John Simpson lock down a starting job for the Baltimore Ravens this week?

This is going to be one of the biggest weeks of John Simpson's career. The former fourth-round pick has had chances to start with the Raiders throughout his first three seasons. Now, he is one year away from needing a contract, and that will either be worth starter money or backup money, depending on what he does this season.

Early into training camp, Simpson has been the backup left guard behind Sala Aumavae-Laulu. However, SAL is a rookie sixth-round pick, and while he is obviously ahead of schedule to be at this point in the competition, he has not won anything by any means.

In fact, John Harbaugh said that the plan all along was to give Aumavae-Lalu the first week and then give Simpson week two with the starters to see how they compare.

"John Simpson, you know, same thing. He's had a great camp, and next week, we'll flip it. He will go with the Ones and 'Sala' will go with the Twos, so two weeks in, we'll have it kind of … both guys, and we'll look at both guys with both groups of guys. So, that's how we set it up."
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- John Harbaugh

So, fans are reading into SAL with the ones, but that may not mean nearly as much as they think. If Simpson plays better this week with the starters, he may never look back.

Simpson may be at an advantage because he knows what he needs to do to beat SAL, while there was no barometer set last week. Still, even the player who starts in the preseason will not be deemed a winner. The coming weeks will decide that.