We knew entering training camp that the Baltimore Ravens were going to have to break in three new starters on the offensive line. Coach John Harbaugh previously indicated that he had hoped to have the starting offensive line settled by the preseason opener against the Philadelphia Eagles.
However, he also implied that if that goal wasn’t reached, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. Which is good because the head coach has now admitted that the starting offensive line we’ll see Friday night is not the same as the eventual first choice OL once the games start to count.
Harbaugh said we’ll continue to see a rotation of players throughout the preseason.
“We’ll see most of those guys out there,” Harbaugh clarified.
“I don’t know about this game if every one of those guys will be out there. I’m not sure about the offensive line completely, yet. But, they probably won’t be out there with Lamar.
“But as far as the rest of the guys—we’re pretty young. It’s not like we have a ton of guys not playing over the course of the preseason.
“So, we’ll see all the guys we need to and it will be quite a few guys.”
Reading in between the lines, it appears that the starting o-line will play together at some point this preseason, but we already know that it can’t possibly happen until the preseason finale against the Green Bay Packers.
That’s because one of the two returning starters, center Tyler Linderbaum, is out until then, due to injury.
And given the current timeline for his injury recovery and return, he could face a late fitness test in order to be cleared for that game.
The other returning starter in the group is left tackle Ronnie Stanley. Both guard positions and the right tackle slot are up for grabs.
