3 surprise cuts the Ravens can make this offseason

1. T Alejandro Villanueva  

In 2019, the Baltimore Ravens set a new NFL record for rushing yards by a team in a season. Led by league MVP Lamar Jackson, a deep running back corps and an efficient offensive line, John Harbaugh’s team parlayed that into the NFL’s best record that year (14-2).

Unfortunately, playoff success eluded the conference’s top seed that year. The Ravens made too many mistakes and couldn’t cool off red-hot Derrick Henry and the upstart Tennessee Titans. A year later, Baltimore once again led the league in rushing yards and won a playoff game at Nashville but fell to the Bills at Orchard Park in the divisional round.

A big part of the team’s success in this area was an offensive led by sturdy right tackle Orlando Brown Jr. He earned two Pro Bowl invitations with the Ravens in 2019 and ’20. That latter year he filled in at left tackle when Ronnie Stanley went down. There was a desire on his part to remain at that coveted position and when he and the team couldn’t agree, he wound up being traded to the Chiefs.

The Ravens replaced him with former Steelers’ two-time Pro Bowler Alejandro Villanueva. He inked a two-year deal and wound up starting at both tackle spots by season’s end. But he certainly had his issues and the club could look elsewhere this offseason.