Andrew

Vorhees

Ali opened the year on injured reserve after suffering a neck injury ahead of Week 1. He was a full participant in Friday’s practice, suggesting he has a good chance of suiting up this week. His return would give the Ravens another backup option behind Derrick Henry. Guard Andrew Vorhees is listed as questionable but appears likely to play versus the Bengals.

Vorhees was listed as doubtful for Week 4 on Friday and got ruled out with inactives before kickoff. His return to practice suggests the second-year guard will be back on the field this week.

Linderbaum was a full participant in Friday’s practice and should be good to go. Right tackle Patrick Mekari is also good to go despite dealing with a minor neck injury. Left guard Andrew Vorhees, on the other hand, is doubtful. Though losing Vorhees isn’t ideal, getting two of the three banged up linemen on the field this week is a good outcome for Lamar Jackson and the Ravens.

Linderbaum and fellow lineman Patrick Mekari (neck) both returned to practice after being DNPs on Wednesday. Left guard Andrew Vorhees, however, remained sidelined. Barring any setbacks, it appears safe to say Linderbaum and Mekari will both be good to go for Sunday’s contest against the Bills. Vorhees’ availability remains TBD.

RT Patrick Mekari (neck) and LG Andrew Vorhees (ankle) were also unable to practice on Wednesday. The Ravens face a Bills pass rush that ranks seventh among NFL teams in pass-rush win rate (50.4%). All three players will be needed for an AFC showdown with playoff implications.

Translation: Expect the 2023 season to be spent on IR for the USC guard after he tore his ACL at the NFL Combine. The Ravens will use this as a redshirt year for the guard and hope he can compete for a roster spot in 2024.

A five-year denizen of University Park, Vorhees (6'6/310) started 13 games as a true freshman in 2017 before injuries and ineffectiveness took hold for a time. He returned to the starting lineup for good in 2020, eventually earning AP All-American honors as a fifth-year senior at left guard. Unfortunately, Vorhees then tore his ACL at the Combine and will likely miss all of 2023. We would assume the Ravens will try to stash him on the practice squad before attempting to take advantage of his size and experience in 2024.

Vorhees (6'6/332) is among the most highly-touted offensive linemen in the nation ahead of the 2022 college football season, and it wouldn’t be at all out of the picture for him to be selected in the first round. Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report has him going to the Buffalo Bills with the No. 32 overall pick: “The USC protector has experience playing both guard and tackle. So if Spencer Brown figures things out at right tackle, Vorhees could become a starting guard right away or bump out to tackle if Brown doesn’t develop in 2022.”

Vorhees (6'6/332) has distinguished himself from the rest of the upcoming class at his position ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft. That showed last season as he allowed just one sacks and made himself the only active offensive lineman to have seasons with 90+ grades on both run blocking and pass blocking. It’s because of things like this that he was ranked as the No. 1 interior offensive lineman by Anthony Treash of Pro Football Focus, finishing just ahead of Jarrett Patterson.

Vorhees (6'6/332) provided staunch protection and was a big part of helping open up opportunities to run the ball in 2021. And he’s been outdoing his counterparts -- according to Pro Football Focus, Vorhees is one of the only offensive lineman to have seasons with 90+ grades in both run and pass blocking -- his occurred in 2021. This bodes well for his NFL career and he’ll be one to watch in about 11 months when teams are back on the clock.