Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman Ben Cleveland probably isn’t in the team’s future plans, so they could trade him to a team hoping to get something more out of the former third-round pick. A Georgia product, the Ravens selected Cleveland in the 2021 NFL Draft hoping he could develop into a reliable starter on one of the league’s stronger offensive lines. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened, as he spent most of his first three seasons in a backup role.
The Ravens lost starting guards John Simpson and Kevin Zeitler in free agency, allowing Cleveland to win a starting job entering the final year of his rookie deal. However, he couldn’t beat out 2023 seventh-round pick Andrew Vorhees and 2022 fourth-round pick Daniel Faalele, so he will begin the year on the bench. Rather than spending the year as a backup, Alex Kay of Bleacher Report suggests the Ravens could trade Ben Cleveland to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for a seventh-round pick.
Ravens, Buccaneers Could Agree to A Ben Cleveland Trade
Nobody expected the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to make a deep playoff run last year. After losing Tom Brady, Baker Mayfield and company surprised the world by winning the NFC South and making it all the way to the NFC Divisional Round before narrowly losing to the Detroit Lions. With most of the pieces back for another run, Tampa Bay should remain a threat in the conference. However, if they want to set their sights on a Super Bowl, they could try to bolster their interior offensive line with a Ben Cleveland trade.
Tampa Bay has one of the league’s better tackle duos in superstar Tristan Wirfs and Luke Goedeke. However, they could use some help with the interior. First-round pick Graham Barton will be the Week 1 center, but Cody Mauch and Ben Bredeson finished 2023 as the PFF’s 74th and 75th-best guards, respectively. Ben Cleveland might never live up to his draft capital, but a trade could provide Tampa with much-needed competition along their interior offensive line.
Would Baltimore Agree to This?
Given his lack of success with the Ravens, there is a strong chance the homegrown guard will not re-sign with Baltimore at the end of the season. However, that doesn’t mean the team is actively looking to trade Ben Cleveland. While he didn’t earn a Week 1 starting job, he’s still the top backup at guard and center. The NFL is a physical, injury-filled game, so there’s a solid chance the Ravens will need Cleveland to step in at some point.
Baltimore is in the midst of their Super Bowl window and could use all the help they can get to take down the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, and Cincinnati Bengals in their quest for conference supremacy. Ben Cleveland probably won’t be the difference between winning and losing any given matchup, but the Ravens need a better incentive to trade their top backup. A future seventh-round pick won’t help them win in 2024, and it probably won’t help them win in 2025 and beyond, either.
Main Photo: Corey Perrine – USA Today Sports
