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One of the Baltimore Ravens remaining needs this offseason is the center position of the offensive line. The Ravens traded Jeremy Zuttah, the man who started at the position for the last three years, to the San Francisco 49ers back on March 15th. John Urschel looks to be currently slated to start after the Ravens didn't address the position in the draft, but as we know, Baltimore had former Pro Bowler Nick Mangold in for a visit early last month. Reports that came out said the visit went well and that the Ravens wanted to check to see how Mangold was doing after he missed eight games in 2016 with an ankle injury.
On Tuesday, Mangold was a guest on SiriusXM NFL Radio and talked about how the rehab from his injury was going
.@nickmangold on recovery from injury: We've been making the right progress, but it's been a slow grind...Taken a lot longer than I'd like.
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) May 9, 2017
When you hear this from Mangold and consider the fact that he is 33-years old, you have to wonder if this will linger into the season, no matter what team signs him. Teams, like the Ravens, will take extra caution on Mangold if they do want to bring him on board, and for Baltimore, Mangold is the best available option they can possibly go with at center. As there are still questions surrounding Urschel and other in-house players.
Mangold would go on to say that he wants to play in 2017 and is "weighing all options" that are out there. Other than the Ravens, the only team to reportedly have any interest in Mangold's services has been the New York Giants. The Ravens however, have been the only team that Mangold has visited with in free agency. The Baltimore Sun's Jeff Zrebiec answered a fans question about the former New York Jet on Twitter shortly after the Ravens re-signed Lardarius Webb, saying that they were talking to Mangold's agent.
@Fordcards122 Haven't heard much more on Magnold. Know they are still talking to his agent.
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiecsun) April 8, 2017
With Mangold revealing that his rehab from the ankle injury that hampered him a year ago is moving slowly, it explains why the former Pro Bowler has had a relatively quiet market and only one visit during this process. General Manager Ozzie Newsome will be careful in making a decision on signing Mangold, even though it is very tempting to bring him in and be a much needed veteran presence along an offensive line that probably needs it.
The good news is that there is still a ways to go before the start of training camp. If Mangold feels 100% recovered from his injury, Newsome would love to bring him in to see if he can pass a physical and sign him on the dotted line. Baltimore will surely hope that he feels ready to go at somepoint, because the Ravens and quarterback Joe Flacco might need Mangold more than he needs them.