With the 2020 NFL Draft wrapped up and the second wave of free agency winding down, the Baltimore Ravens have their 90-man roster set. Though small tweaks are to be expected, the Ravens look to be pretty happy with how they’re sitting as they head towards training camp.
Now is as good of a time to take a closer look at Baltimore’s roster position by position to see what competitions might be brewing and where everyone stands before the Ravens begin thinking of trimming the roster down to 53 players.
We’ll start off with the most important position on any NFL roster: the quarterback.
Quarterbacks:
Lamar Jackson, Robert Griffin III, Trace McSorley, Tyler Huntley
Jackson is the unquestioned leader of this unit and the team as a whole. As Baltimore’s franchise quarterback, that was guaranteed, but an MVP award last season only further cemented Jackson’s place at the top of the roster.
Jackson has quite a bit of pressure on him heading into his third season. Not only is he expected to repeat his MVP-caliber performance from last season, but many are also looking for even further improvement as a passer. As if that wasn’t enough, Ravens fans and Jackson’s biggest critics will have all their eyes focused on the playoffs to see if he can finally get over the hump and win a postseason game.
Behind Jackson is Griffin, who returns for his third season in Baltimore as well. Though Griffin has been a part of trade speculation in the past, it appears as though the Ravens like having Griffin helping mentor Jackson while providing valuable experience in case he needs to step up into the starting role. While Griffin has served admirably in that role, his lone start last season in Week 17 against the Pittsburgh Steelers was pretty disappointing considering how dominant the rest of the team was. I’d expect Griffin to remain as the primary backup, but Baltimore would be wise to groom a third quarterback to step up into the backup role as early as next season.
Which turns us to McSorley and Huntley, who will be competing for that third quarterback spot, if the Ravens even keep three quarterbacks this season.
McSorley was kept on the 53-man roster last season even though he was only active for one game and got exactly one offensive snap. It appears as though Baltimore didn’t want to risk McSorley heading to the practice squad where he could more easily get poached by another team. But roster space is valuable and it would be surprising if the Ravens let him claim an important spot without offering some production on the field. Baltimore gave him some opportunities on special teams in training camp last year and could look for him to actually suit up in that role if he makes the cut.
But we shouldn’t forget about Huntley, who is extraordinarily accurate when throwing the ball and offers plus athleticism as well. Though there hasn’t been any talk about special teams play and Huntley is expected to just be a camp arm, I wouldn’t discount the idea of him impressing enough to earn consideration for the final spot on the depth chart over McSorley.
Even though there isn’t a high profile battle going on at this position like some others, Jackson’s growth as a passer will continue to be one of the top storylines in Baltimore. With a potential battle for the third and final spot on the depth chart as well, the quarterbacks will have even more eyes on them than usual this year.
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