{"id":767263,"date":"2026-02-21T18:26:24","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T18:26:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/767263\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T18:26:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T18:26:24","slug":"eric-decosta-makes-bold-2026-claim-regarding-ravens-guard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/767263\/","title":{"rendered":"Eric DeCosta Makes Bold 2026 Claim Regarding Ravens Guard"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6a\">One massive question about the Baltimore Ravens entering the 2026 offseason is what will happen with the interior offensive line.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6d\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/ravens\/onsi\/news\/baltimore-ravens-eric-decosta-update-tyler-linderbaum-contract-situation\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum<\/a> and the team are trying to get a new contract worked out before he enters free agency next month, and starting right guard Daniel Faalele is a free agent with a low chance of coming back. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6g\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vp2bJA8rziA\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">On &#8220;The Inner Circle&#8221; podcast<\/a>, Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta addressed his feelings about the offensive line and mentioned an intriguing name who could be a starter in 2026.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6j\">\u201cEmery Jones is a guy we drafted last year in the third round. We feel really strongly about him being a guy who is going to come in and win a spot for us at the guard spot.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Eric DeCosta gives his vote of confidence to Emery Jones Jr.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6p\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/ravens\/onsi\/news\/baltimore-ravens-emery-jones-sees-first-action-ugly-thanksgiving-loss\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jones started the year injured<\/a> as he missed the first two-plus months of the NFL season. The Ravens then started easing him onto the offensive line, rotating him in games; he appeared in five contests, with 48 snaps on offense and nine on special teams.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/01kj08htnhz5jcd1n8h5.jpg\" alt=\"Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry and Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Emery Jones Jr.  \" title=\"Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry and Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Emery Jones Jr.  \" width=\"3481\" height=\"2320\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"6z\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry and Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Emery Jones Jr.  | James Lang-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"73\">During his 24 pass blocking snaps, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pff.com\/nfl\/players\/emery-jones\/157117\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">according to Pro Football Focus<\/a>, Jones allowed one quarterback hit and did not allow a sack. He was called for just one penalty in those 48 snaps.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"76\">As of right now, Andrew Vorhees appears to be in line to start for the Ravens at left guard, which could mean that, with Faalele a free agent, Jones might step in at right guard. There is the possibility that Baltimore selects a guard in the 2026 NFL Draft, as many mock drafts have the Ravens selecting one in the first round.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"79\">Jones has shown promise in his limited NFL snaps, with more progress as a pass blocker. When the Ravens ran the ball to his side, he struggled to stay on his blocks consistently, so that will have to be an aspect of his game he must improve upon in the offseason if he wants to win that starting job.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7c\">It is a very telling sign that DeCosta is confident in Jones, suggesting how the Ravens will attack the offseason. The expectation is that the Ravens will either re-sign Linderbaum or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/ravens\/onsi\/news\/insider-troubling-baltimore-ravens-tyler-linderbaum-contract-update\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">sign Buffalo Bills center Connor McGovern<\/a> in free agency to cover the center position. At guard, it&#8217;s most likely the draft in addressing that position, as they have other needs to take care of.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7f\">Even if the Ravens go guard in the first round, it seems as though Jones has the edge at right guard for now, but he will have to earn his spot in the lineup during training camp.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7i\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/ravens\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Make sure you bookmark Baltimore Ravens On SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One massive question about the Baltimore Ravens entering the 2026 offseason is what will happen with the interior&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":767264,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2052],"tags":[184,117,2282,7,6,169],"class_list":{"0":"post-767263","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-baltimore-ravens","8":"tag-baltimore","9":"tag-baltimore-ravens","10":"tag-baltimoreravens","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-ravens"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116110032196187597","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/767263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=767263"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/767263\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/767264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=767263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=767263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=767263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}