ExtremeRavens Posted Tuesday at 09:00 PM Posted Tuesday at 09:00 PM Ravens second-year right tackle Roger Rosengarten doesn’t consider himself a “nobody” anymore. “I think last year ‘nobody’ was kind of a harsh word for myself,” he said Tuesday in Owings Mills. “I’d much rather [have said], ‘I know I’m a rookie.'” It was amid last season’s Week 18 rout of the Cleveland Browns at M&T Bank Stadium that Baltimore’s second-round draft pick out of Washington introduced himself to one of the game’s premier pass rushers, Myles Garrett. Between plays, he sought a jersey after the game from the four-time All-Pro and 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Garrett replied in the affirmative, but then heaped praise on the rookie starter. “Hey, you’re in the league,” he said in a moment that NFL Films captured for “Hard Knocks: In Season With the AFC North.” “Y’all winning games. Y’all looking great. You ain’t never a nobody. I got you.” Just over a week later, Garrett lived up to his word. Quarterback Lamar Jackson delivered an autographed jersey to Rosengarten in the Ravens’ locker room. It was a cool moment for the first-year starter. It was also telling of just how far he’d come in a short time. On Rosengarten’s first play in Week 1 against the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, defensive tackle Chris Jones made the rookie go viral for a different reason. The three-time All-Pro shot past him and strip-sacked Jackson. The turnover led to a go-ahead touchdown for the Chiefs, who never relinquished the lead. Later that week, Rosengarten acknowledged that he’d gotten the “rookie yips” in what was his “welcome-to-the-NFL moment.” “My first play was not how you want it to go,” he said Tuesday. “I wanted to build off that.” That he did. Two weeks later, it was Rosengarten’s block (along with one by tight end Mark Andrews) that helped spring Derrick Henry for an 87-yard touchdown run on Baltimore’s first offensive play in a blowout of the Buffalo Bills in Baltimore. He continued to progress and by midseason was a largely dependable blocker in the pass and run game. Rosengarten allowed just four sacks and 36 pressures on 548 pass blocking snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. That included not giving up any against Garrett, who finished the year with 14 sacks, in that finale. And despite opening the season with PFF grades of 31.0 in pass blocking and 48.2 in run blocking, he finished the year with a total grade of 70 in the former and 60.7 in the latter — good marks in a division replete with elite pass rushers, including Pittsburgh Steelers standout T.J. Watt and Cincinnati Bengals star Trey Hendrickson, who led the NFL with 17 1/2 sacks last season. Still, there is much to work on, offensive line coach George Warhop said. Rosengarten also said that he’s his own toughest critic. There isn’t one specific area he’s trying to improve on — there are “about 10 or 11.” “Too many to list,” he said. “I’m super critical of myself.” Roger Rosengarten said he's "super critical of myself." (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) One thing that should help is the return of left tackle Ronnie Stanley. A Pro Bowl selection last season and All-Pro in 2021, Stanley was due to hit free agency this offseason but instead signed a three-year, $60 million extension to remain in Baltimore. Before that, there had been talk about the possibility of moving Rosengarten to the left side should Stanley bolt. Along the way, Rosengarten, who was one of the players Stanley routinely tutored after practice last season, wrangled some of his fellow offensive linemen to encourage the veteran to stick around with regular text messages about how good the left side of the line could be with Stanley returning. Once the deal was done, the message was “finally.” It was an important one, too. Though the Ravens have some potential questions about their two guard spots with Daniel Faalele returning on the right side and Andrew Vorhees hoping to regain his spot on the left side after suffering an ankle injury an being replaced by the since-departed Patrick Mekari, they are in good shape elsewhere with Stanley, Rosengarten and Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum. “I thought we had a really good dynamic duo of me and him and just bouncing off each other from left to right,” Rosengarten said of his relationship with Stanley. “I think it all played out at the end of the day. “Going into this year, I’m gonna play with way more confidence.” Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. View the full article Quote
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