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Baltimore Ravens: Manti Te’o an intriguing free agent option

By Nicholas Price

NEW ORLEANS, LA - DECEMBER 17: Elijah McGuire #25 of the New Orleans Saints catches the ball as middle linebacker Manti Te'o #51 of the New Orleans Saints defends during the second half of a game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on December 17, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - DECEMBER 17: Elijah McGuire #25 of the New Orleans Saints catches the ball as middle linebacker Manti Te'o #51 of the New Orleans Saints defends during the second half of a game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on December 17, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /
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After making a trio of signings, the Baltimore Ravens could potentially make another to round out their roster. 

The Baltimore Ravens have had an interesting offseason, to say the least. They lost some big names in Terrell Suggs and C.J. Mosley while obtaining others like Earl Thomas. During the 2019 NFL Draft, the Ravens brought in Marquise Brown and Miles Boykin to help fix their depleted receiving corps, as well as finding help for their pass rush and offensive line.

More recently, the Ravens made a splash in the free agency by bringing in pass rushers Pernell McPhee and Shane Ray. They also continued to add depth at wide receiver by bringing in troubled pass-catcher Michael Floyd.

However, there is one glaring on their Ravens roster that could warrant another quick and cheap signing, that is the position of inside linebacker. After failing to address the hole in the draft as well as missing out on free agents like Zach Brown and Jordan Hicks, the Baltimore Ravens might make a move for a player at that position.

The current pool of free-agent inside linebackers isn’t all that inspiring. However, there are a couple of names that could make sense for them. One of them is Manti Te’o. Former Pittsburgh Steeler Jonathan Bostic could also fit here, however, I would personally choose Te’o over him.

I mentioned before that the Baltimore Ravens took some hits this offseason with some their losses, the biggest being inside linebacker C.J. Mosely. Currently, they are fielding Patrick Onwuasor and Kenny Young in the starting lineup, and a litany of UDFA guys behind them. Yikes.

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And while someone could step up in that group, the likelihood of that happening is fairly slim to none. Outside of Onwuasor, Young and maybe Otaro Alaka, I do not see any of the other guys sticking around for the long term.

To bring this back to Te’o, sure he’s had his bout with injuries over the years including a torn Achilles, but he would still be a more than serviceable starter for Baltimore. If not for those injuries, I still think Te’o would have had a pretty good career.

He could always tackle fairly well, which is a must if you a linebacker playing in the AFC North. The best part is, Te’o wouldn’t necessarily need to be the one calling the shots for the front seven, as Onwuasor seems ready to fill that role. While I’m not a big fan of Te’o in coverage, (truthfully Mosely wasn’t that great in coverage either) Onwuasor is more suited to that role so he wouldn’t necessarily have to play on every down.

The point of signing Te’o would be to add a veteran in the starting lineup to play more of a stopgap role until they find someone better. Te’o has experience playing in a 3-4 defense and would be a decent complement to Onwusor. Personally, I would sign him to a one year “prove it” deal, anything longer than that would be silly.

Related Story. Ravens: 3 UDFAs who could make an immediate impact. light

While the Baltimore Ravens could certainly trade for someone before the season starts, if they become desperate enough, I still think signing Te’o for the short team would not be a terrible idea. He won’t be Mosely for them, but no one should really expect him to be.

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