The Baltimore Ravens held their first full squad practice on Thursday afternoon at the Baltimore Ravens Under Armour Performance Center.
The offensive line, which was already under fire this offseason took a step backwards today when head coach John Harbaugh named right tackle Michael Oher the Ravens new left tackle. “We’re very comfortable with Michael at left tackle,” Harbaugh said. “Until further notice he’s the left tackle.” according to the Baltimore Sun.
The move to left tackle for Oher is due to current Ravens left tackle Bryant McKinnie’s absence from training camp because of a personal issue. “He contacted us through a representative, he’s dealing with an issue right now,” Harbaugh said. “I don’t really want to speak for him on that.” McKinnie was held out of the Ravens mini-camp in June due to conditioning issues and his return is unknown at this time. The Ravens placed McKinnie on the reserve/did not report list.
Oher, who has taken the majority of snaps at left tackle in camp and the Ravens offseason camp has not played on the left side since 2010. “It’s all football and I’m just holding it down until whatever happens,” Oher said after practice according to Baltimore Ravens.com. “I just do whatever they ask me to do. That’s why they brought me here, just to play football and I’m just glad to be part of the team. I’ll just play whatever they want.”
The move for Oher raises the question of who will be the Ravens starting right tackle? The top three candidates for the position are each dealing with injuries. Rookie Kelechi Osemele (back), Ramon Harewood (ankle) and Jah Reid (calf) all missed practice on Thursday.
