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The end of training camp has led to some shining moments for Baltimore Ravens GM Eric DeCosta as he has found some diamonds in the rough in recent seasons. One position that he may still be looking to improve, although not as urgent as at the beginning of the summer, is in the interior of the offensive line and Green Bay Packers OL Royce Newman could be a trade option according to Bleacher Report.
Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine ranked the interior offensive line as his second position of need and wrote, “Add Now: IOL Royce Newman, Green Bay Packers (trade).”
Ballentine explained, “The franchise has a good track record with offensive linemen, but it’s relying on young players such as Andrew Vorhees and Daniel Faalele to step in and be starting guards with limited experience.”
The offensive line, particularly the interior, was becoming a concern for fans as there were multiple question marks about where players would be lining up in front of MVP QB Lamar Jackson.
The Ravens lost both starting guards from the 2023 season in John Simpson and Kevin Zeitler. “Royce Newman has worked himself out of the Green Bay Packers lineup, but he does have 24 starts in three seasons,” Ballentine advised.
Baltimore could use some veteran experience along the interior of the line as much of the current starting interior looks to be untested.
OL Royce Newman May Look for Fresh Start Elsewhere
It is not a great sign that Newman seems to have lost his spot with the Packers as he again is listed as the back up on their depth chart. The Ravens current guards have looked good in camp and the preseason, so Newman could be brought in as depth or insurance against injury.
Drafted in the fourth round of the 2021 draft, Newman was an immediate 16 game starter as a rookie for the cheeseheads. Newman played RG and only had a total of 4 penalties called against him his rookie season.
However, since then his playing time has decreased over the last two seasons. In 2022, he dropped down to a 6-game starter and only started 2 games in 2023.
The upside for Baltimore is that he has shown he can handle a full season workload and at only 27 years old, he has plenty of legs underneath him.
Newman’s analytics do not tell a flattering story in Green Bay as he has never broken 60.0 overall from Pro Football Focus. His highest was as a second-year player in 2022 when he graded out as 57.5 overall.
Part of the problem appears to be that the big man just allows too many sacks. As a rookie he allowed 6.0 sacks in 16 games and while that could be chalked up to being a rookie, it did not improve in 2022 when he allowed 4.0 sacks in just 6 games as a starter.
It may not be the best idea for DeCosta to trade for Newman, but perhaps a change in scenery could help jump start his career.
Coach Harbaugh Seems Close to Figuring out Starting Line
The opening matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs is just about two weeks away and it appears that head coach John Harbaugh is confident where the offensive line is at.
When discussing the line after practice on Monday, August 19, Harbaugh said, “I think we are close, I think we have a pretty good idea what way it’s trending in different areas.”
The likely lineup involves Ronnie Stanley, Tyler Linderbaum, Vorhees, Faalele and some combination of Patrick Mekari and Roger Rosengarten at right tackle.
What looked to be a question mark and possible area of weakness early on in the summer could be shaping into a strong unit capable of making a run at the Super Bowl.
Harbaugh finished by saying, “It’s not all together solidified but we are in a good place right now.”
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