Emery Jones

Ravens To Hold LG Competition

May 26th, 2025 at 12:09pm CST by Adam La Rose

Four of the five starters from the Ravens’ 2024 offensive line are still in place for the coming campaign. As expected, though, Patrick Mekari departed in free agency.

The former UDFA – who saw time at all five O-line spots over the course of his Baltimore tenure – helped his value with a strong left guard showing last year. As a result, he secured a three-year Jaguars contract which includes $22.5MM in guarantees. The Ravens thus enter OTAs with a first-team vacancy up front.

During free agency (in which veteran swingman Josh Jones also departed) the Ravens were quiet with respect to additions along the offensive line. That leaves Baltimore’s incumbent blockers as well as the members of the team’s rookie class to compete to replace Mekari. To no surprise, Baltimore’s preferred option from last season looks to have the early lead.

Andrew Vorhees finds himself as the frontrunner for the 2025 starting gig at this point, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic writes (subscription required). The former seventh-rounder’s draft stock took a hit when he suffered an ACL tear during the 2023 Combine, an injury which sidelined him for his entire rookie campaign. Vorhees was healthy by this time last year, however, and he saw plenty of first-team reps at left guard through the summer. In Week 1, he joined Daniel Faalele as a starting guard.

An ankle injury suffered in Week 3 took Vorhees out of the lineup, though, and he never returned. The ailment led to Mekari moving inside after rotating with Roger Rosengarten at right tackle; the latter handled RT duties on a full-time basis after the Vorhees injury. That can be expected to continue in 2025, and Faalele’s performance on the inside (after starting his career as a tackle) has earned him an extended look as a starter.

Given Vorhees’ lack of experience – 268 regular season snaps on offense – he is far from certain to land another Week 1 gig. Baltimore also has Ben Cleveland in place after he re-signed on a one-year deal. The 26-year-old has made 54 appearances with the Ravens, but that total only includes seven starts (none of which came in 2024). Cleveland will nonetheless receive another opportunity to secure a starting spot this summer.

Three of the Ravens’ 11 draft picks from last month were used on offensive linemen. Carson Vinson is in position to compete for the swing tackle role, but third-rounder Emery Jones could (when healthy) look to start at left guard as a rookie. One of Jones’ LSU teammates – Garrett Dellinger – was drafted by Baltimore in the seventh round, although a depth or practice squad spot is of course a more realistic expectation in his case. Nevertheless, several in-house candidates will be in place to replace Mekari atop the depth chart.

Ravens Notes: Green, Pierce, Bowser, Jones

May 13th, 2025 at 11:55am CST by Adam La Rose

One of the main talking points from the Ravens’ draft was the team’s decision to select Mike Green in the second round. The Marshall edge rusher was widely regarded as a first-round talent, but he lasted until pick No. 59.

A key reason why that was the case was the view taken by a number of potential suitors of Green’s sexual assault allegations. Green faces accusations from an incident while he was in high school as well as another during his time at Virginia. The 21-year-old left the Cavaliers in 2022 following a suspension, paving the way for his highly productive tenure at Marshall.

A standout performance at the Senior Bowl helped establish Green as one of the top edge rushers in the 2025 class, but his off-the-field situation hurt his stock. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports multiple teams took him off their draft boards, an indication of their discomfort with his allegations and response to them. Baltimore – a team which has parted ways with kicker Justin Tucker against the backdrop of an investigation into allegations of inappropriate conduct – was obviously comfortable selecting Green and thus making him a key factor along the edge for 2025 and beyond.

Here are some more Ravens notes:

Michael Pierce‘s second stint with the team came to an end in March when the 32-year-old nose tackle announced his retirement. In the wake of that move, team and player have agreed to a procedural restructure of the remainder of his contract. Brian McFarland of Russell Street Report notes Pierce’s retirement will be processed as a post-June 1 transaction, with a $2MM roster bonus as well as his workout bonus being removed. $745K in immediate cap space was created by the move, and the Ravens will see an additional $1.26MM in space after June 1.
In other cap-related news, The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec reports edge rusher Tyus Bowser has withdrawn his grievance against the team. The $4.5MM grievance had been filed in response to the team’s handling of a knee injury which kept him sidelined for the entire 2023 season. Bowser spent his first seven years in Baltimore, but he split his time between the Seahawks and Dolphins in 2024. With the grievance being withdrawn, the Ravens will receive a $1.8MM cap credit.
Three of the Ravens’ 11 picks in this year’s draft were used on offensive linemen. The first of those was Emery Jones, selected in the third round. The LSU product could carve out a role as the Ravens’ swing tackle or compete for playing time at guard, but in either case he will not be on the field over the coming weeks. Head coach John Harbaugh said (via Fowler’s colleague Jamison Hensley) Jones is currently dealing with a shoulder injury. He may be sidelined until training camp as a result.
Sam Koch spent his entire 16-year career with the Ravens as their punter, and upon retiring in 2022 he joined the team’s coaching staff. After working closely with current punter Jordan Stout, though, Zrebiec reports Koch is no longer with the team (subscription required). Meanwhile, Baltimore has retained Anthony Levine as an assistant special teams coach. The 38-year-old played 152 combined regular and postseason games in his career, all with Baltimore. Levine’s post-playing days included a brief spell on the Titans’ staff, but he returned to Baltimore last offseason.

Ravens Sign 9 Of 11 2025 Draft Picks

May 3rd, 2025 at 1:01pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Ravens have officially signed nine of their league-high 11 selections in the 2025 NFL Draft, per a team announcement.

Today’s signings include third-rounder Emery Jones, fourth-rounder Teddye Buchanan, fifth-rounder Carson Vinson, and seventh-rounder Garrett Dellinger. The team also signed all five of their sixth-round picks: Bilhal Kone, Tyler Loop, LaJohntay Wester, Aeneas Peebles, and Robert Longerbeam.

As prescribed by the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement, all nine players have four years on their first contracts. With escalating cap hits for key players in the next few years, the Ravens are hoping that several members of their rookie class can play significant roles in the team’s future.

Jones and Dellinger both started for LSU’s stellar offensive line across the last three years at right tackle and left guard, respectively. Jones’ best fit might be at guard, where he could compete for a starting job as a rookie. He’ll also provide valuable depth behind Roger Rosengarten at right tackle, though he’ll have to make significant strides to have a chance at replacing Ronnie Stanley on the blindside at the end of his rookie deal. Dellinger will be fighting for a roster spot before he gets a shot at a starting job, but he brings a high-floor as a backup guard, the likes of which the Ravens have consistently turned into starters in recent years.

The Ravens prized Buchanan’s athleticism and intangibles enough to prioritize him on Day 3, but predictions of him supplanting Trenton Simpson in the starting lineup may be premature. After just one year at the FBS level, Buchanan face another, more significant jump to the speed of the NFL, which is especially significant at the linebacker position. He’ll likely be a core special teams contributor as a rookie, but his passing down abilities in coverage and as a blitzer will give him a strong chance at long-term playing time.

Baltimore double-dipped on Day 3 cornerbacks when they had 11 picks in 2022, taking a boundary corner in Jalyn Armour-Davis and a prospective nickel in Damarion Williams. They did so again this year with the long, speedy Kone and a likely slot-convert in Longerbeam. The Ravens have plenty of defensive back depth after signing Chidobie Awuzie and drafting Starks, so their Day 3 DBs will likely begin on special teams as they acclimate to their new defense and train to battle for starting roles in the future.

General manager Eric DeCosta values all of his draft picks, so using one on Loop is a clear sign that the team is seriously considering replacing Justin Tucker this year. Loop was widely considered the most powerful kicker in the draft, but he made less than 80% of his field goal attempts in his last two years at Arizona. He’ll need to quickly take to the tutelage of special teams coach Randy Brown to win a roster spot.

Head coach John Harbaugh said before the draft that the team wanted to add a punt returner, and they found one in Wester. He returned 66 punts for 740 yards (11.2 yards per return) in college and could take over a similar role right away in Baltimore. The Colorado product will be blocked on the offensive depth chart at first, but he was very productive in college and could develop into a rotational contributor out of the slot.

The Ravens surprised many by waiting until the end of Day 3 to address the interior of their defensive line after the retirement of Michael Pierce this offseason. Peebles is too undersized to fill Pierce’s role as a behemoth, space-eating nose tackle, but his pass-rushing chops could help him carve out a situational role as a rookie. While he may never be big enough to anchor the defensive line against the run, his athleticism and active hands give him three-down potential in the long-term.

The Ravens still have to sign their first two picks – first-round safety Malaki Starks and second-round edge rusher Mike Green. Starks’ fully-guaranteed contract should be a formality, but Green may wait for players drafted ahead of him to sign to ensure he gets a commensurate guarantee structure.

Here is a full list of Baltimore’s 2025 draft class:

Round 1, No. 27: Malaki Starks (S, Georgia)
Round 2, No. 59: Mike Green (OLB, Marshall)
Round 3, No. 91: Emery Jones (T, LSU) (signed)
Round 4, No. 129: Teddye Buchanan (LB, Cal) (signed)
Round 5, No. 141* (from Titans): Carson Vinson (T, Alabama A&M) (signed)
Round 6, No. 178 (from Titans): Bilhal Kone (CB, Western Michigan) (signed)
Round 6, No. 186 (from Jets): Tyler Loop (K, Arizona) (signed)
Round 6, No. 203: LaJohntay Wester (WR, Colorado) (signed)
Round 6, No. 210*: Aeneas Peebles (DT, Virginia Tech) (signed)
Round 6, No. 212*: Robert Longerbeam (CB, Rutgers) (signed)
Round 7, No. 243: Garrett Dellinger (G, LSU) (signed)