Baltimore Ravens Encouraged To Sign Center Released By Division Rival

The Baltimore Ravens need to address their lack of a center going into the new season, and they could look to a division rival to fill that hole.

Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox noted that J.C. Tretter of the Cleveland Browns is still on the free-agent market after the franchise decided to cut him in mid-March in order to save $8.2 million against the salary cap.

“At 31 years old, (J.C.) Tretter still has plenty left in the tank and can be either a short-term replacement or a long-term starting option,” Knox wrote.

After spending three seasons with the Green Bay Packers, Tretter found success as a center on the Browns, only allowing six sacks on 3,327 pass-block snaps since 2017.

The Ravens lost Bradley Bozeman, their 215th overall draft pick in the 2018 draft, to the Carolina Panthers this offseason after they offered him a one-year deal worth $2.8 million plus a $1 million signing bonus to pry him away.

In late March, Jeff Zriebec of The Athletic reported that it may have been the Ravens who decided to let Bozeman walk after not being able to come to terms in December 2021.

Their need for a center far outweighs their other needs upfront right now as they are in need of a powerful big man that is capable of holding up the pocket in order to allow quarterback Lamar Jackson all the time he needs to make a play.

Tretter would be the ideal center to replace Bozeman as he has never missed a game since joining the Browns in 2017, except for one and that was due to being on the COVID-19 reserve list.

Among the centers still available, the Cornell University product has the strongest resume and can provide an instant impact on the Ravens who are aspiring for a Super Bowl appearance this season.

It was reported last week that the Ravens were not looking to draft a center with their 14th overall pick in the upcoming NFL draft and potentially signing Tretter just might be the reason why they would choose to do so.

Should the Ravens get Tretter, they can use it to get an edge rusher to help sort out their lack of an effective pass rusher or someone else to help out their depth on the offensive line, particularly in the offensive tackle spot.