The Baltimore Ravens head into 2026 with one of the biggest questions in the league sitting right in front of Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry: can this offensive line hold up?
Sharp Football Analysis doesn’t sound optimistic. In its offensive line rankings for the season, Baltimore landed 24th, a spot that reflects just how much work still needs to be done before the real games start.
The Ravens did try to patch things up. They brought back John Simpson and spent their first-round pick on Vega Ioane, two moves aimed squarely at fixing a unit that was hard to watch a year ago. But the group also lost Tyler Linderbaum in free agency and still hasn’t found a replacement at center, which leaves a major hole in the middle of the line.
That uncertainty matters because the line has more than one shaky spot. The guard play should be better with Simpson and Ioane, but “better” is a low bar after Daniel Faalele and Andrew Vorhees struggled so badly. Even so, neither new option comes without questions.
Simpson has been around the block and has started 17 games in four of the last five seasons, but his play has not always been steady. Baltimore will be hoping for the version it got during his first stint in Charm City in 2023, when he gave them a solid stretch of work.
Ioane brings a different kind of intrigue. He was billed as one of the best guard prospects since Quenton Nelson, which is a big reason the Ravens were willing to invest a first-round pick in him.
But he’s still a rookie, and rookie guards usually come with growing pains. If the center spot stays unsettled, those growing pains could get even messier.
That center battle is going to be a major camp storyline. Danny Pinter, Jovaughn Gwyn, or even someone not currently on the roster could end up in the job, but Baltimore needs answers quickly. The offense needs that spot stabilized for Jackson and Henry, and Ioane needs a veteran presence next to him to help with the NFL transition.
At tackle, there’s at least one encouraging sign. Roger Rosengarten looks ready to take another step in his third season, and he already stands out as the best player on the five-man front.
The bigger concern is Ronnie Stanley on the left side. He returned to Pro Bowl form in 2024, then slipped back into inconsistency in 2025. Injuries have followed him throughout his career, and now that he’s 32, there’s a real question about whether the decline is starting to show.
New offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford gives the Ravens some reason to believe this group can improve. He’s been praised as one of the best in the league, and the coming months will show how much of a difference he can make. Training camp and preseason should reveal plenty about whether Baltimore’s line is finally turning a corner or still stuck searching for answers.
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The catch is that the supporting cast still looks unfinished in a few important spots, especially up front and at receiver, where the depth chart beyond Zay Flowers remains a real question. Baltimore can still do enough in the regular season to keep stacking wins, but the bigger issue is whether these unresolved offensive concerns will hold up when the games tighten and the stakes rise in January. [Read more 🡒]