The Ravens will sign former former Raiders offensive tackle Austin Howard, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Howard was released by Oakland one week ago.
It’s a three-year deal worth$16MM, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. The deal includes team options after each year with $5.5MM coming to him in the first season. At the end, Howard was down to the Ravens and Texans after also visiting Houston. 
The deal marks something of a homecoming for Howard, who once was a part of the Ravens’ practice squad. He can expected to compete with James Hurst for the starting right tackle job. If he falls short, he can be used as a swingman off of the bench to bolster the depth on both the interior and exterior of the line. Then again, with a contract like this, the Ravens are probably anticipating that he’ll be with the first unit.
Howard was slowed by an ankle injury in 2016 and is coming off of a down year in terms of performance. Still, he offers far more experience than Hurst and could be a decent starter if he’s healthy. Hurst has just 16 career starts versus Howard’s 72 starts in 76 career appearances.
Overall, this hasn’t been a great offseason for the Ravens’ offensive line. The team lost right tackle Ricky Wagner to free agency, center John Urschel to retirement, and guard Nico Siragusa to a season-ending knee injury. Baltimore hopes that the addition of Howard will help offset its major losses.