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."John Harbaugh
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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.
3. Sala Aumavae-Laulu has a chance to earn starting snaps
This one is pretty obvious. Still, it needs to be stated that just as much Simpson has a chance to win the job, Sala Aumavae-Laulu has a real chance to start the week despite his rookie and draft status. As we noted, Simpson has been his top competitor, and while he may grab the job and never look back, he also does not have the career on paper to bet on that.
Aumavae-Laulu is in for a huge week as well. Even though he is losing first-team repetitions, he may get the chance to lock down a starting job with a strong week. That could come in two ways. One, Simpson could fail with the starters this week and open the runway. At the same time, if Aumavae-Laulu excels with the second-team, he may just force the Baltimore Ravens to go back to him with the starters.
While Simpson could blow the coaches away, the odds are that Aumavae-Laulu will get at least one more chance with the starters for a long look. That will be his chance to show that he hit his chances, he learned, and he got better. That will be the day to look forward to.
2. Ben Cleveland still has plenty of chances for the Baltimore Ravens
The talk at left guard has been about a two-person race. John Simpson gets this week, Aumavae-Laulu got last week, and during the preseason, they will be one and two in that regard. Still, while the odds are stacking against him, Cleveland actually now has three paths to sticking around.
First, his best path is finding a way into the left guard competition. If he excels this week and plays better in the preseason, he may get some reps at left guard next week. However, beyond that, he has seen work at both positions on the right side of the ball.
Cleveland has been working second-team, right guard, for the most part, but he even has slid into right tackle for work with the second and third teams. The amount of work that Cleveland is getting at right tackle may speak to the idea that he is out of the running on the left side. Still, when you look at the age and contract status of Kevin Zeitler and Morgan Moses, it is easy to think that Cleveland has a real shot to start at either spot on the right side in 2024 if he puts in the work. At the same time, he could be in the Ravens' dog house. It is up to him.
1. What progress has Daniel Faalele made in year two with the Baltimore Ravens?
While Ben Cleveland has been the competition, and he has at least pushed Daniel Faalele as the backup right tackle, Faalele has held that spot down for the most part. As noted, the contract situation with Moses may open a starting spot at right tackle last season. Cleveland could push Faalele into taking that spot, or showing that neither deserves that spot.
Or, Faalee could show the Ravens that he is ready to start at right tackle when week one comes around next season. We always viewed Faalele as a project type of player who would not get work in years one or two. So, you could argue that he is about on track.
At the same time, he has to show more than where his progress was last season. Faalele has also been getting work at right and left guard. So, he is in the mix for the 2024 starting job at both right side spots, just like Cleveland. He also may have a better claim to the left guard spot than Cleveland at this point. Needless to say, there will be plenty to watch this preseason.