Ravens OC Greg Roman ‘really proud’ of OL Patrick Mekari

The Baltimore Ravens have already had to shuffle multiple positions on their roster over the course of the 2021 season due to injuries. One of the positional groups that has been hit hard has been on the offensive line, where multiple changes have had to be made.

After a woeful performance from the offensive line in Week 1 against the Las Vegas Radiers, changes were made due to the health status of multiple players. Versatile lineman Tyre Phillips suffered a knee injury and was placed on injured reserve, while All-Pro tackle Ronnie Stanley suddenly stopped practicing due to a serious ankle injury that he suffered during the 2020 season.

In place of Phillips, guards Ben Powers and Ben Cleveland formed a rotation at left guard. To deal with the loss of Stanley, offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva moved to the left tackle position while another versatile lineman in Patrick Mekari slid in at right tackle. Mekari played extremely well in Week 2 against the Kansas City Chiefs, and when offensive coordinator Greg Roman was asked about the do-it-all lineman, he said that he was “really proud” of Mekari.

“You know, Pat [Mekari] is a special kind of guy. He is as diligent as it gets, from the moment he got here. [He’s] very intelligent, very tough-minded, and he can figure things out instinctively. Once he does something, he can figure out how to fix it. So, you can get a lot of mileage out of that – that skillset and that profile. So, I’m really proud of the way he played the other night. Midway through the week, stepping into that role, we’ve had quite a bit of that this season so far. God willing and the creek don’t rise, things can settle down a little bit and guys can settle in a little bit.”

Roman mentioned that hopefully things can settle down and guys can settle in, but it will be interesting to see what the team does with both Mekari and Villanueva once Stanley returns, especially if both keep playing at a high level. There’s no doubt that Stanley will take back his spot at left tackle, but one of Villanueva or Mekari would most likely have to go back to the bench when that time comes.

With all of the injuries that the Ravens have suffered in 2021, having players like Mekari step up in a big spot is exactly what the team needs while everyone gets healthy. He’ll look to continue to build on his performance in the coming weeks and months as the Baltimore offensive line continues to gel with the pieces that they have.