OWINGS MILLS — Ravens offensive lineman Ben Powers picked a good time to have the best season of his career. He also might have played his way out of Baltimore with that performance,
Powers, a fourth-round pick from Oklahoma in 2019, started all 17 games and the one postseason matchup last season. He also helped anchor one of the league's top offensive lines.
Now, Powers is a free agent and Ravens' general manager Eric DeCosta acknowledged he could get lucrative offers from other teams that might exceed Baltimore's ability to match.
"Ben has probably improved as much as anybody on our team," DeCosta said. "He had a phenomenal season this year – started every game. I don’t even know if he missed a snap. And Ben is a guy who we’d love to keep. My feeling is Ben is probably going to be sought after in free agency, based on the way he played this year. We would never close the door on a player like Ben. We would always want to keep as many good players as we can. We’ll have discussions at some point with Ben."
The Ravens have some internal options to replace Powers. Ben Cleveland, a third-round pick in the 2021 draft from Georgia is second on the depth chart but he still needs to prove he can be a consistent starter in the NFL.
DeCosta could also look to the draft, but the Ravens have only five picks and have pressing needs at wide receiver, cornerback, and perhaps a quarterback depending on what happens with Lamar Jackson's contract situation.
DeCosta acknowledged that Powers will be hard to replace.
"I’m just really happy and proud of Ben for the way that he played and the way that he’s really come on and matured over his time with us," DeCosta said. "I’m very happy for him and his family. They put themselves in a great position, and he’s a player that I think is going to do really well.”
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