[Baltimore Sun] Ravens OL Ben Cleveland responds after coach John Harbaugh’s blunt assessment
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John Harbaugh spent all offseason speaking about his offensive line behind a thinly veiled smokescreen. He sounded optimistic but rarely volunteered much detail about a position group that lost three starters. When probed about a potential change at right guard earlier this week, the Ravens coach was as forward as he had been in months.
“If Ben [Cleveland] had earned the job at right guard, he’d be the starting right guard,” Harbaugh said.
Baltimore drafted Cleveland in the third round in 2021 out of Georgia. He’s started seven games the past three years but hasn’t played a snap yet this season, with first-time starter Daniel Faleele handling right guard duties. Last year, Cleveland took the field sporadically with a high of 13 snaps through 15 games.
He was suddenly thrust into the starting position for Baltimore’s final two regular-season games because of an injury to Kevin Zeitler. Cleveland knows as well as anybody that “at any given second, anybody can become a starter.”
Cleveland totaled 64 pass-blocking snaps in those two games, allowing two pressures without a sack, per Pro Football Focus. He wasn’t a complete revelation but at the start of training camp, he was thought to be a natural replacement when the Ravens let Zeitler walk in free agency.
It didn’t pan out that way.
When Tyler Linderbaum missed time in camp with a neck injury, Harbaugh slid Cleveland over to center. Meanwhile, Faleele, who took reps at right tackle down the stretch last season while Morgan Moses nursed a biceps injury, moved over to right guard.
He beat out Cleveland for the starting job, Harbaugh said, “just a fact, straight up, matter of fact,” based on what they’ve seen on tape.
But Cleveland is eager for an opportunity — there or elsewhere on the line — if the opportunity presents itself.
“There weren’t a whole lot of right guard reps taken by me during camp just because of injury and all the above,” Cleveland told The Baltimore Sun, “so just staying ready for when my number gets called to go in and play.”
“I feel like I’ve been my most consistent and most proactive throughout camp,” Ben Cleveland, left, said. (Kevin Richardson/Staff)
Harbaugh made his declaration clear (with the amendment that things can change). So, how would Cleveland evaluate his play this summer and through the infancy of the season?
“I feel like I’ve been my most consistent and most proactive throughout camp,” Cleveland told The Sun. “It’s been a struggle having to move around positions with injuries and stuff like that. But as far as adapting to other positions and just playing where I’m asked, I feel like I’ve been extremely consistent and competitive.”
Baltimore’s offensive line has been a lowlight through its maddening first two games.
One of their most costly gaffes came late in Sunday’s game against the Raiders in a tie game. On first-and-10 from the Ravens’ 30-yard line, star defensive end Maxx Crosby careened toward the inside, blowing past Faleele and sacking Lamar Jackson for a 9-yard loss.
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Holistically, it was a half-step forward from Week 1 when, according to PFF, four out of five Ravens linemen graded 55 or worse on run blocking (left tackle Ronnie Stanley being the outlier).
“We did some things a lot better this past game than we did in Week 1,” Cleveland said. “It’s just gonna take us working together and grinding through the bad plays, the good plays and just keep on rolling with it.”
Harbaugh could still make a change along the offensive line. If not a one-for-one with Cleveland and Faleele, the Ravens could shuffle Faleele out for rookie Roger Rosengarten or veteran Patrick Mekari, who have been sharing snaps at right tackle.
“Ben knows what he needs to do,” Harbaugh said. “If he wants playing time, he knows how he needs to play, and he knows how he needs to practice when he gets that chance.”
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