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Eugene Monroe is a priority for the Ravens this offseason.
Wait.
Let me rephrase that: It's possible Eugene Monroe was a priority for the Ravens this offseason.
According to the Baltimore Sun's Aaron Wilson, it looks like the door is closing on Monroe returning to the Ravens for the 2014 season. The two sides have been unable to make any steps in getting a deal done since negotiations started.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Nothing new on Eugene Monroe for past several days, per sources, sides remain far apart, he'll go to free agency and see what's out there.</p>— Aaron Wilson (@RavensInsider) <a href="https://twitter.com/RavensInsider/statuses/442006955725688832">March 7, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>With the divide contractually and the money that other NFL teams are expected to pay for Eugene Monroe, unlikely he returns at this point</p>— Aaron Wilson (@RavensInsider) <a href="https://twitter.com/RavensInsider/statuses/442007119920132096">March 7, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Assuming Monroe is all but gone at this point, here are the Ravens' options moving forward:
1) Focus the time, money and energy that was spent on Monroe and put the attention on Michael Oher. Oher can then either move to left tackle or stick at right tackle. If he sticks on the right side, a competition between Kelechi Osemele and a potential draft pick can battle it out at left tackle.
2) If Oher leaves too, then the Ravens may be forced to find a tackle in free agency, with the likelihood of drafting a tackle in the first two rounds increasing substantially. Rick Wagner would then enter the conversation as a competitor for the right tackle spot. Osemele would be a contender for left tackle with a draft pick as well.
3) Keep Osemele at guard and build both tackle positions from the ground up in the draft, with Wagner being in the mix too.
Fortunately for the Ravens, the tackle position is deep this year in the draft. Options do exist for the Ravens to rebuild at the position faster than it would be in previous years.