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Packers OL Jon Runyan, Royce Newman, Josh Myers and Lucas Patrick prepare to enter the field.

The end of training camp has brought some shining moments for Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta, as he has found some diamonds in the rough over the past few seasons. One position he may still want to improve, although it’s not as pressing as it was at the start of the summer, is the interior of the offensive line, and OL Royce Newman of the Green Bay Packers could be a trade option, according to Bleacher Report.

Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report ranked the offensive line as the second position he desperately needs, writing, “Now add: IOL Royce Newman, Green Bay Packers (trade).”

Ballentine explained, “The franchise has a good track record with offensive linemen, but relies on young players like Andrew Vorhees and Daniel Faalele to step in and serve as starting guards with little experience.”

The offensive line, especially the interior, was becoming increasingly concerning to fans as there were many question marks about where the players would line up in front of MVP QB Lamar Jackson.

The Ravens have lost both of their 2023 starting guards, John Simpson and Kevin Zeitler. “Royce Newman has worked his way out of the Green Bay Packers lineup, but he has 24 starts in three seasons,” Ballentine advised.

Baltimore could use some experienced veterans on the interior of the line, as much of the current starting lineup appears untested on the interior.

OL Royce Newman could look for a fresh start elsewhere

That Newman appears to have lost his spot with the Packers is not a good sign, as he is again listed as a reserve in their rankings. The Ravens’ current guards have performed well in training camp and the preseason, so Newman could be used as a backup or as an injury hedge.

Newman was selected in the fourth round of the 2021 draft and was an immediate starter in 16 games as a rookie for the Cheeseheads. Newman played RG and only had a total of 4 penalties against him in his rookie season.

Since then, however, his playing time has decreased over the past two seasons, dropping to 6 games as a starter in 2022 and starting just 2 games in 2023.

The advantage for Baltimore is that he has shown that he can handle a full season’s workload and, at only 27 years old, still has a lot of energy in him.

Newman’s analytics don’t tell a flattering story in Green Bay, as he never topped Pro Football Focus’ 60.0 overall score, reaching his highest as a second-year player in 2022 when he posted a 57.5 overall score.

Part of the problem seems to be that the big man is simply allowing too many sacks. As a rookie, he allowed 6.0 sacks in 16 games, and while you can attribute that to his rookie personality, it hasn’t improved in 2022, when he allowed 4.0 sacks in just 6 games as a starter.

Trading Newman may not be the best idea for DeCosta, but perhaps a change of scenery could give his career a boost.

Coach Harbaugh seems to be close to deciding the starting lineup

The opening game against the Kansas City Chiefs will take place in just under two weeks and head coach John Harbaugh seems confident about the position of his offensive line.

At the post-training line meeting on Monday, August 19, Harbaugh said“I think we’re close. I think we have a pretty good idea of ​​where things are headed in different areas.”

The likely lineup includes Ronnie Stanley, Tyler Linderbaum, Vorhees, Faalele and a combination of Patrick Mekari and Roger Rosengarten at right tackle.

What looked like a question mark and a potential weak point at the beginning of the summer could develop into a strong unit capable of making a run at the Super Bowl.

Harbaugh concluded, “It’s not all set yet, but we’re in a good place right now.”