The Baltimore Ravens have signed veteran offensive guard Laken Tomlinson to the practice squad, per a team announcement.
Tomlinson, 33, is an 11-year veteran with 162 starts for five different teams, including seven with the Texans this season. He has almost exclusively played left guard in the NFL, including full seasons for the 49ers (2017, 2019-2021), Jets (2022-2023), and Seahawks (2024). He has just one regular season start and 124 snaps (including the preseason) at right guard in his career.
The signing f0llows another poor performance from the offensive line in Sunday’s loss to the Steelers. Lamar Jackson was under pressure for much of the afternoon and took two sacks while escaping several others. Both Andrew Vorhees and Daniel Faalele have been significant weaknesses this season who have held back the rushing and passing games. Tomlinson’s arrival also comes after backup guard Ben Cleveland was hit with a three-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
If – and this is a big if – the Ravens signed Tomlinson to rotate in or even start at guard, he would likely replace Vorhees on the left side, though Faalele seems to be a much bigger liability. That would also raise questions about rookie Emery Jones, who got a handful of LG snaps in Week 13 but did not perform well enough (in the coaching staff’s eyes, at least) to stay in the rotation in Week 14.
The Ravens have stuck with their guard duo thus far believing that they did not have any better options on the roster. However, Tomlinson only became available last week and the situation is dire enough that Baltimore might be forced to make a change.
This, of course, could all be wishful thinking. We will not have any idea if Tomlinson will actually have a role until at least Saturday, when practice squad elevations are announced. Even then, the Ravens will not tip a change to their starting offensive line until pregame warmups or even their first offensive drive.