Ravens young offensive linemen are excited to be in contention for starting spots

One of the top objectives for the Baltimore Ravens this offseason was rebuilding their offensive line.

Instead of trying to plug the holes with salary cap casualties or explore a bevy of other cheap veteran options, they only added one outside free agent in Josh Jones and are committed to getting both younger and cheaper in the offensive trenches. After inking franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson to a then-market-setting deal last offseason before his second career MVP-winning season in 2023, general manager Eric DeCosta has to be more judicious when it comes to the allocation of resources as it pertains to roster building moving forward.

Two young linemen who were recently drafted in the last year and are in contention to fill one of the three vacancies on the Ravens’ starting blocking unit are rookie Roger Rosengarten and second-year pro Andrew Vorhees.

Rosengarten was selected by the Ravens in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft at No. 62 overall out of the University of Washington. He is in competition with third-year pro Daniel Faalele to replace Morgan Moses at right tackle and is both grateful for the chance to do so right out of college and doesn’t plan on letting it go to waste.

“It’s a great opportunity, for sure,” Rosengarten said. “I don’t try to focus on the end goal too much, but every day, like you said, [I’m] grinding in and out. I just want to play hard and compete with the best of the best, so I just come [here] every day ready to work and keep stacking days.”

While some rookies feel like they’re drinking through a firehose when they first get into the league, Rosengarten’s time playing for a premier program in a pro-style offense that emphasizes being detail-oriented has made his transition more seamless and without a steep learning curve.

“I remember the last staff I was just with at school; everything was super nitpicky with the details when it came to practice, off the field stuff [and] weight room stuff, and everything translated the exact same as what I expected from coming into an organization like this,” Rosengarten said. Not much has changed when it comes to that kind of stuff and the small details, but yes, it’s been great and a very smooth transition.”

The Ravens traded back into the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft to select Vorhees at No. 229 overall out of USC despite knowing he’d miss his entire rookie season while recovering from a torn ACL he suffered at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine. DeCosta was both elated to have been able to pull off the move and effusive that the former projected Day 2 pick would be contributing in the near for them in the near future. The time has officially arrived and Vorhees is excited to be back on the field first and foremost.

“Yes, [it’s the] first time I get to be a football player in quite some time,” Vorhees said. “The last time I stepped on the field was back in the fall of 2022, so as you could imagine, [it’s] just [a] long time coming. So, [I’m] super thrilled to be back out there. It’s just been so much to just be a part of the team atmosphere.

“It’s really what is such a privilege [about] playing a team sport like this; you just get to go out there and be a part of something that’s way bigger than yourself, and you just get to count on other guys and rely on other guys to put in the effort, the time, the discipline that it takes to be great football players. So, all that combined, it’s just … [I] can’t state it enough – how much of a privilege it is to be back out there again and just how thankful I am for everyone who kind of helped get me back to being back out on the field.”

Vorhees is among a handful of players who are competing to replace four-year veteran John Simpson who signed with the New York Jets in free agency. The other top candidates include 2023 sixth-rounder Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu, Jones and potentially utility lineman Patrick Mekari if no other creams rise to the crop. Heading into his first real mandatory minicamp and training camp since entering the league as a medical redshirt a year ago, Vorhees is determined to be the best version of himself he can be by continually improving every step of the way.

“I just think to go out to practice every day and just try to be the best football player that I can become,” Vorhees said. “We’ll let everything else take care of itself. I know these gentlemen upstairs have quite the job to decide who’s going to play at the end of the day. But as an individual, it’s up to us to become the best football players we can become and just make their jobs easier.”

Both Rosengarten and Vorhees are ideal fits for the Ravens offense heading into the second year of having offensive coordinator Todd Monken drawing up and calling plays. They both are athletic blockers who excelled playing in more spread systems in college where they got out in space a lot as members of blocking convoys on screens and pullers on power and gap scheme runs. They will each be getting ample opportunities to prove themselves come late July when training camp the pads come on as well as the preseason when each of them will be hitting the field against an opposing team for the first time as a pro.