During his pre-free press conference for the agency this week, DeCosta said there are “many different scenarios” at stake for Brown, who said he has not yet decided what he would do if the Ravens were unable to find a business partner.
“We will do what is best for Orlando and we will do what is best for the Ravens,” said DeCosta.
For Brown, deciphering whether it was better for him to play for the left tackle or for the Ravens was a difficult process.
On the one hand, he started his career in the NFL with the organization he grew up in, the one that hired his father as a non-hired free agent in 1993, while he was still known as the Cleveland Browns and kept Brown Sr. during the move. to Baltimore, where he ended up spending six of the ten NFL seasons he played. Brown Sr. died suddenly in 2011 as a result of a diabetic complication.
On the other hand, Ronnie Stanley had blocked the left side before Brown arrived in Baltimore. But in week 4 of the 2020 season, Stanley was considered inactive with a shoulder injury, opening the door for Brown’s return to the left tackle for the first time since the Rose Bowl in January 2018.
“I played a lot of important games in Baltimore, but that game was very special for me,” said Brown. “I remember being a 13 year old boy setting a goal and a dream growing up here in Baltimore to be the Ravens’ starting left striker and, one day, to be able to do what Jonathan Ogden did.
“For me, having that opportunity against the Washington Football Team in the left tackle was one of the most special moments of my NFL career for me personally.”
Stanley regained his position the following week, sliding Brown back to the right. The sixth overall choice in the 2016 NFL Draft, Stanley has arguably become the best in the league in his position. Stanley’s on-site control was further tightened when he signed a $ 98.75 million five-year contract in October. Coincidentally, Stanley suffered a broken ankle at the end of the season a few days later.
Brown said it was a small adjustment to go back to the left side in the middle of a season. Footwork is different, movements are different and your brain had to remember your body to do things the opposite way on that side of the line. In addition, the Ravens’ heavy racing scheme generally requires racing to the right side, which means that the responsibilities tend to be different for the left tackle at the back of the play.
That said, Brown quickly found a level of comfort. And while some evaluators wondered if he could play the left tackle in the NFL after his shaky pre-draft training (which included a 5.85-second 40-yard run), Brown felt at home. He said he would be even more comfortable if he had a chance to train on the left side during this year’s training camp.
Filling in the place of the injured Stanley reaffirmed the belief of Brown and his father: the left side is where he belongs.
“It was, ‘left tackle, left tackle, that’s all you play.’ And that’s all we work for, “said Brown of his father’s advice and tutelage.” I’m better at left attack; it’s what I’ve dreamed of being my whole life. We all have dreams and we are all put in positions where we have the opportunity to improve. That’s it for me.
“It is much more emotional or spiritual for me, I think you could say, playing the left tackle.”