After Kevin Zeitler and John Simpson departed in free agency, finding replacements at both guard spots was a key offseason priority for the Ravens. The team was quiet on the open market up front, a sign of confidence in the holdovers from the 2023 lineup.
Andrew Vorhees missed his rookie campaign while rehabbing an ACL tear, but the 2023 seventh-rounder has logged starting reps at left guard throughout training camp. Daniel Faalele — selected as a tackle in the fourth round of the 2022 draft — has likewise received a long look at right guard. With two preseason games in the books, both players appear to have a first-team role locked up.
“I think we’re close,” head coach John Harbaugh said, via Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic, when asked about a final call being made at the guard positions (subscription required). “I think we have a pretty good idea and what way it’s trending in different areas. It’s not altogether solidified, but we’re in a good place right now.”
As Zrebiec notes, Vorhees and Faalele got the start during both of Baltimore’s exhibition contests, and the final week of training camp would mark a rather late point in the offseason to experiment with new combinations up front.
Free-agent pickup Josh Jones has experience at tackle and guard, but his versatility could be put to use as a fill-in option in the event of injuries. 2021 third-rounder Ben Cleveland has seen time at tackle and center this offseason, but he has made only seven starts in his career and appears to be headed for backup duties again in 2024.
Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu — who was added in the sixth round of last year’s draft and did not see the field as a rookie — represented another potential competitor for a guard spot.
Zrebiec writes that the Oregon alum finds himself on the roster bubble as cutdown season approaches, however. That is another sign Vorhees and Faalele should find themselves working on either side of Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum come the start of the regular season.
Vorhees, 25, won the Morris Trophy in his final college season as the Pac-12’s top offensive lineman. He was also a first-team All-American in 2022, so he will face high expectations this year assuming he returns to full health after the ACL tear.
Faalele, by contrast, was added as a long-term project. The 6-foot-8, 380-pound Australian has logged only 356 offensive snaps in two years, and he has not drawn strong PFF reviews concerning pass protection or run blocking to date. A move inside could help lead to needed development at the NFL level as he enters the final two seasons of his rookie contract.
The Ravens will be without longtime offensive line coach Joe D’Alessandris for the foreseeable future due to an unspecified illness. As the team prepares to move forward without him in place, along with Simpson or Zeitler (the latter of whom earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2023) along the interior, the play of the replacements will be a key factor in determining the offense’s success. While changes could be made between now and Week 1, Baltimore’s new-look guard tandem appears to be set.
