The Ravens will sign Alejandro Villanueva to a two-year deal, according to a source who spoke with ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler (Twitter link). The contract is worth up to $14M with $8M fully guaranteed (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport).
Villanueva will replace Orlando Brown Jr. following their huge draft week trade. Once Ronnie Stanley is healthy, the Ravens will slot the former Steeler at right tackle.
The Ravens have long been connected to Villanueva. Trading Brown to the Chiefs pretty much sealed the deal, but the Ravens waited until after May 3 to avoid losing ground in the compensatory pick formula. Now, they’re still projected to earn a pair of fourth-round comp picks in 2022 for losing Matthew Judon and Yannick Ngakoue in free agency.
Villanueva was never considered an elite left tackle, but he usually did an okay job of protecting Ben Roethlisberger‘s blindside. He’s also been durable, starting all 16 games in each of the past five seasons. He’ll be a key part of the Ravens’ O-Line moving forward, especially since they did not select any linemen in last week’s draft.
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