Baltimore Ravens really want to re-sign Eugene Monroe
Eugene Monroe (75) in play during the game against the Buffalo Bills. Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
The Baltimore Ravens saw that they were in need of a significant upgrade on the offensive line in early October, and they also saw that Bryant McKinnie wasn’t getting the job done at left tackle and was once again becoming a distraction. The rebuilding Jacksonville Jaguars used the No. 2 pick in the draft on Texas A&M standout Luke Joeckel and were thus willing to part ways with standout left tackle Eugene Monroe for the right price.
That price was a fourth and fifth-round pick from the Ravens, and Monroe has given them stability at the left tackle position ever since. The Ravens are hoping that Monroe can bring them that sort of stability for the foreseeable future, as CBS Sports’s Jason La Canfora reports that the Ravens are hoping to re-sign the 26-year-old Virginia product.
Per La Canfora, the Ravens would like to give Monroe a contract extension before he officially becomes a free agent, and getting a deal done with Monroe would make the trade to acquire him from the Jaguars definitely worth it. I also wonder if the Ravens would still be in the playoff hunt if McKinnie- and not Monroe- was starting at left tackle for this team, since there’s a clear drop-off between the two.
How interested is Monroe? Well, La Canfora reports that Monroe “is very open” to re-signing with the Ravens, and it will be interesting to see what kind of a deal he gets from Ozzie Newsome. Since Monroe is one of the league’s better tackles and is also quite young, he should net himself a large contract, particularly with how valuable LTs are. Meanwhile, mediocre right tackle Michael Oher is, per La Canfora, unlikely to be re-signed by the Ravens.