{"id":34715,"date":"2025-03-21T02:05:36","date_gmt":"2025-03-21T02:05:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=34715"},"modified":"2025-03-21T02:05:36","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T02:05:36","slug":"breaking-ravens-named-ideal-fit-for-1-of-nfls-best-guards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=34715","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Ravens Named \u2018Ideal\u2019 Fit for 1 of NFL\u2019s \u2018Best\u2019 Guards"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"c-content entry-content\">\n<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"wp-caption \">\n<div class=\"h-responsive\">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive__inner\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/GettyImages-1428037096-e1742511603578.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/GettyImages-1428037096-e1742511603578.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/GettyImages-1428037096-e1742511603578.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/GettyImages-1428037096-e1742511603578.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Will Hernandez\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" data-img-load-time=\"617\" data-dom-ready-time=\"839\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption-credit\">Getty<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"c-post-image-caption-text\">The Baltimore Ravens are an &#8220;ideal&#8221; fit for &#8220;one of the NFL&#8217;s best&#8221; guards, who&#8217;s still available in free agency.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Slotting in a new starter at guard remains on the to-do list for the\u00a0Baltimore Ravens\u00a0during what\u2019s left of 2025 NFL free agency. Fortunately, \u201cone of the league\u2019s best\u201d remains on the veteran market.<\/p>\n<p>The offensive lineman in question is\u00a0Will Hernandez. He\u2019s \u201cquietly emerged\u201d as a formidable force during a career renaissance with the\u00a0Arizona Cardinals\u00a0after flopping as a second-round pick for the\u00a0New York Giants\u00a0in the 2018 NFL draft.<\/p>\n<p>His revival was interrupted by a knee injury last season, according to\u00a0ESPN\u2019s Bill Barnwell. The latter makes a compelling case why the 29-year-old is a good scheme fit for the Ravens.<\/p>\n<p>As Barnwell put it, \u201cat 332 pounds, Hernandez has the size and mean streak that teams that lean heavily into gap schemes on the ground want from their interior offensive linemen. The appetite for those players around the league has grown to be insatiable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Power and mentality aren\u2019t the only reasons the Ravens should check in on Hernandez. He\u2019s also a potential bargain for a team with limited resources under the salary cap, but still needing reinforcements up front.<\/p>\n<h2>Will Hernandez Injury History Presents Bargain Opportunity for Ravens<\/h2>\n<p>The knee injury that ruled Hernandez out for the season in Week 5 presents the Ravens with an opportunity. Specifically, to pick up a standout blocker on the cheap.<\/p>\n<p>Barnwell\u00a0pointed out\u00a0that while Hernandez can\u2019t expect to get paid top dollar, \u201cif he\u2019s healthy after the injury, his acquisition could be a bargain given what even average guards are making on the open market.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s also ample reason for the Ravens to wait before putting a deal in front of Hernandez. In particular, \u201cas a free agent who would qualify for a compensatory pick, teams might be waiting to sign him after June 1, when his medical status should be clearer and he won\u2019t count against his new team\u2019s compensatory formula.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Waiting for the time of year when free agents can be bought on the cheap would suit the Ravens. General manager Eric DeCosta has just $13,057,626 to work with under the cap,\u00a0per Spotrac.com, so some bargain hunting seems inevitable.<\/p>\n<p>DeCosta won\u2019t find a more appropriate value signing than Hernandez. His aggressive playing style and power-based blocking expertise fit what the Ravens do on offense, particularly in a running game led by beefy duo\u00a0Patrick Ricard\u00a0and\u00a0Derrick Henry.<\/p>\n<p>Both would surely enjoy playing behind somebody who blocks through a play as relentlessly as Hernandez did here against the\u00a0Los Angeles Rams\u00a0in Week 2, on a rep highlighted by\u00a0Bleacher Report\u2019s Brandon Thorn.<\/p>\n<p>Hernandez already plays like a Ravens lineman, and the team needs help along the interior.<\/p>\n<h2>Ravens Primed for Replacements at Guard<\/h2>\n<p>Fresh faces are needed after\u00a0Patrick Mekari\u00a0left to join the\u00a0Jacksonville Jaguars\u00a0in free agency. Mekari\u2019s departure created an opening at left guard, although his replacement could already be on the roster.<\/p>\n<p>Third-year pro\u00a0Andrew Vorhees\u00a0might\u00a0take the reins, but Hernandez is a more proven commodity. He\u2019d fit well alongside\u00a0returning All-Pro\u00a0left tackle\u00a0Ronnie Stanley.<\/p>\n<p>Adding Hernandez on the left side would leave Vorhees to challenge right guard\u00a0Daniel Faalele\u00a0for reps. Faalele can be dominant physically at\u00a06-foot-8 and 380 pounds, but he did\u00a0struggle at times\u00a0last season.<\/p>\n<p>Maintaining the strength of the line in front of Henry and star quarterback\u00a0Lamar Jackson is vital for the Ravens. DeCosta started the maintenance work the right way by bringing back Stanley, but he needs to replace Mekari.<\/p>\n<p>Hernandez is an excellent choice, even if a five-time Pro Bowler\u00a0also fits the bill.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getty The Baltimore Ravens are an &#8220;ideal&#8221; fit for &#8220;one of the NFL&#8217;s best&#8221; guards, who&#8217;s still available in free agency. Slotting in a new starter at&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":34716,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BREAKING: Ravens Named \u2018Ideal\u2019 Fit for 1 of NFL\u2019s \u2018Best\u2019 Guards - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=34715\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: Ravens Named \u2018Ideal\u2019 Fit for 1 of NFL\u2019s \u2018Best\u2019 Guards - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Getty The Baltimore Ravens are an &#8220;ideal&#8221; fit for &#8220;one of the NFL&#8217;s best&#8221; guards, who&#8217;s still available in free agency. 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