The Ravens have lost three starters along their offensive line, but that doesn’t worry Head Coach John Harbaugh.
In a much more peaceful Annual League Meeting for Baltimore Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh than last year, one of the team’s leaders fielded questions numerous questions about the offensive line. And after seeing three of their starters depart, two being in free agency with guards John Simpson and Kevin Zeitler signing elsewhere and the team trading right tackle Morgan Moses to the New York Jets, Harbaugh showed no signs of concern in building the blocking unit for 2024.
“I expect it to be better than last year. … we want to be better than we were last year,” Harbaugh said. “I think [offensive line coach] Joe D’Alesandris has done an amazing job coaching the offensive line and we still have Joe, so that’s a big plus. We were able to bring [left tackle] Ronnie [Stanley] back. [I’m] excited about that. Ronnie regaining his form, really with his health and strength, that’s going to be a big plus for us. Tyler [Linderbaum], to me, I think he’s the best center [in the NFL]. … And we got to find who the next guys are going to be. We got guys in-house. We have free agents that we’ve signed. … I’m confident we’ll have a very good offensive line.”
Among those guys is Andrew Vorhees, whom the Ravens drafted in the seventh round (No. 229 overall) in the 2023 NFL Draft. Vorhees fell so far in the draft due to suffering a torn ACL during the NFL Scouting Combine. Harbaugh announced he’ll be healthy and a full participant when activities resume this offseason.
“He is full go. He’ll be full go when we come back from the offseason,” Harbaugh said.
This goes with Vorhees comments to Baltimoreravens.com’s Ryan Mink, saying he is fully prepared to begin playing again.
“I’m stronger than ever,” Vorhees said. “It’s just scratching days off on the calendar getting ready for OTAs.”
Another starting role that could be replaced with a player already rostered is right tackle, where the 6-foot-8, 380-pound Daniel Faalele could make his mark. Harbaugh shared he wants Faalele eyeing the competition at right tackle, not along the interior.
“I would say let’s focus at tackle right now,” Harbaugh said. “Let’s see if we can get that right tackle thing— give him a chance to win the job.”
Pundits have expressed concern for the Ravens offensive line departures of late. It’s fair to show some concern after the unit produced the best rushing numbers in 2023. But, the depth is there to replace the absences and continue protecting Lamar Jackson and making room for new running back Derrick Henry to go downhill.