The Baltimore Ravens are bringing in former Los Angeles Chargers and Seattle Seahawks guard D.J. Fluker. This move comes after the team spent two picks over the 2020 NFL Draft beefing up their offensive line, adding Tyre Phillips and Ben Bredeson. With the recent influx of bodies at guard, the biggest question to be asked with Fluker’s signing is how it impacts everyone else on the offensive line.
The signing of Fluker brings some veteran experience to a Ravens offensive line that lost one of its leaders in Marshal Yanda, who retired this offseason. Ben Powers is tentatively expected to be the first man up to replace Yanda at the right guard spot, but he has very little in the way of experience in the NFL, something Fluker has in spades.
Fluker has played right guard for the bulk of his NFL career, moving there after playing right tackle for his first two years in the league with the Chargers. In total, Fluker has started 88 games and played for 5,833 offensive snaps, significantly more than Powers’ 30 and both Phillips’ and Bredeson’s 0. It’s also worth pointing out Fluker brings valuable versatility. He has some experience playing tackle and currently, Baltimore only has Andre Smith as a backup to both Ronnie Stanley and Orlando Brown Jr.
However, Fluker’s signing may just be a case of the Ravens wanting some veteran depth in the likely event of a truncated offseason. Fluker won’t count against Baltimore’s compensatory pick formula and depending on the price tag, it’s a low-cost move that they can quickly get out of should the youngsters prove up to the task.
