Position Battles to Watch in Ravens Preseason Finale

The Baltimore Ravens still have a few key position battles to figure out before the regular season begins.

Aug 9, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens running back Owen Wright (36) runs after a catch during the first quarter of a preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports / Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

At long last, the Baltimore Ravens' long offseason is coming to an end, with Saturday's preseason finale against the Green Bay Packers serving as a final tune-up before the regular season. In turn, the game will also double as a chance to finally sort out some position battles.

As much as the Ravens would like to have everything sorted out by now, that's sadly not the case. To be fair, every team is still working out the kinks on their rosters, but the point still stands.

With that said, here are a few position battles to watch in Saturday's preseason finale.

No. 3 Running Back

Derrick Henry and Justice Hill are solidified as the Ravens' top two running backs, but with Keaton Mitchell still recovering from a torn ACL he suffered last season, the No. 3 back role seems to be up for grabs. The main contenders for the job are Owen Wright and Rasheen Ali, and it showcases an interesting dilema.

Wright spent the vast majority of his rookie season on the practice squad, but the former undrafted free agent has generally been the more impressive of the two this preseason, even scoring a receiving touchdown in last week's win over the Atlanta Falcons. On the other hand, Ali, a fifth-round rookie out of Marshall, hasn't been as productive and has dealt with a stinger injury for the past couple of weeks, but has the benefit of being a drafted player.

From purely an asset management point of view, Ali makes far more sense to keep around. He can strengthen his case with a strong showing on Saturday, but Wright will not make the decision easy.

Backup Center

There are so many position battles up front that they could make a list of their own, but seeing as how the starting positions have been talked about to death, let's go in a different direction.

With Tyler Linderbaum missing the past few weeks with a soft tissue injury, the Ravens have had a chance to experiment a bit at center. Ben Cleveland, who's also competing for the starting right guard job, has been holding down the fort most of the time, but also had a really bad snap in the Falcons game that head coach John Harbaugh kindly described as "unfortunate." Then there's Nick Samac, a seventh-round rookie out of Michigan State who recently drew praise from Harbaugh.

"[Samac] made a big move this last week; he finally ... I think his ankle is feeling better, finally," Harbaugh said Monday. "He had the ankle injury there, and it probably did hamper him up until now. And he played well in the game. He was stout at the point of attack, and [he] had an opportunity because of Tyler not practicing, and we wanted to get Ben some reps at guard. He had an opportunity to get in there and do some stuff, so I thought he did a good job today, and he did a good job in the game."

Of course, the versatile Patrick Mekari could also slot in if Linderbaum misses time in the regular season, but having a dedicated backup center would be a nice luxury.

Depth Wide Receivers

Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman and Nelson Agholor form a solid top three for the receiving corps. After them, though, the pecking order is anyone's guess.

Many expected fourth-round rookie Devontez Walker to lock down the No. 4 receiver spot, but he's had a very quiet preseason while dealing with a rib injury. That could open the door for other players to take the job for themselves. Newcomer Anthony Miller has been productive almost every day since coming aboard earlier this month, while Tylan Wallace is an impact player on special teams who wants to improve his standing on offense.

With most depth wideouts playing, the one that puts on the best show Saturday could be the one who gets the most playing time.

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