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Baltimore Ravens left tackle Eugene Monroe was officially cleared to practice last week as he was recovering from shoulder surgery and at that point, many thought that Monroe would be ready to go this week for mandatory minicamp. That isn't the case as Monroe was held out of practice today and Ravens head coach John Harbaugh cleared the air during today's press conference as to what is going on with the veteran.
"My understanding right now is that teams are inquiring about Eugene, and when you're in that kind of situation and there's a possibility of those kinds of things happening, you're pretty much obligated to pull back and not practice a guy," Harbaugh noted via BaltimoreRavens.com. "So that's where it's at right now, it's in Ozzie's hands, and we'll just see where it goes."
It will be very very interesting to see what Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome can get for Monroe from a trade. In terms of a draft pick, it is pretty safe to say that if the Ravens can get at least a fourth-round pick or higher, it would be a steal. Despite Monroe's injury issues, quality left tackles are hard to find in this league and when healthy, Monroe is one of the better left tackles in the NFL.
The Ravens could also go the route of trading Monroe for another player but that would also depend on the kind of salary cap number the player in exchange would have. The Ravens, in terms of the overall roster, are in reload mode and not a, 'win now' mode. In this scenario, unless the Ravens get a deal for a player that Newsome can't refuse, stockpiling draft picks looks like the more likely route at this point.