While the NFL has been very tough on former Washington Huskies this season – notably Troy Fautanu and Bralen Trice, who were sidelined early in their professional careers due to knee injuries – Roger Rosengarten has done it all for him last Sunday evening.
The 6-foot-5, 316-pound rookie made his first start at right offensive guard for the Baltimore Ravens a memorable one.
On his first offensive play, Rosengarten helped open a huge hole on the right side that running back Derrick Henry squeezed through on his way to an 87-yard touchdown run – the longest in Ravens history – in a 35-10 victory over the previously undefeated Buffalo Bills.
In the fourth quarter, Rosengarten nearly scored, momentarily getting his hands on a Henry fumble in the end zone before teammate Patrick Ricard, a fullback, fell on the ball for the final score of the night.
Rosengarten’s departure came when left guard Andrew Vorhees, a USC recruit, was rendered inactive with an ankle injury and the Ravens shuffled their line to close the gap.
Normal starter Patrick Mekari, a 6-year veteran from California, was moved into Vorhees’ place and Rosengarten stepped in front of Mekari.
If you haven’t noticed, these were all former Pac-12 players who were in and out for Baltimore right out of the gate.
#Crows perfectly execute “Crunch” (Trap + Wham) on the TD run.
Roger Rosengarten and Mark Andrews with key blocks to throw a Baltimore Ravens record 87-yard TD.#RosengangRiseUp #RavensFlock pic.twitter.com/emdW5asbyp
– Cole Jackson (@ColeJacksonFB) September 30, 2024
At the end of the night, Rosengarten ranked first among Ravens offensive linemen with a grade of 75.9, according to Pro Football Focus.
“I have to give credit to the rest of my colleagues on the offensive line,” the ever-modest Rosengarten said in a postgame interview. “These guys played a lot of snaps in the NFL, so I get all the information I can from them. I had my first start and they came to me and they believed in me. They said I had this. And with that 87-yard touchdown, we couldn’t have asked for a better start. Without a doubt.”
It was a marked improvement for him from show season, when Rosengarten was sometimes schooled. He did not play a single play in Baltimore’s regular season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs.
The top of the crows @PFF notes vs invoices:
Offense
🥇QB Lamar Jackson (88.8)
🥈RB Justice Hill (87.2)
🥉FB Pat Ricard (83.0)
running back Derrick Henry (81.5)
RT Roger Rosengarten (75.9)Defense
🥇OLB Kyle Van Noy (93.9)
🥈OLB Odafe Oweh (89.1)
🥉 CB Nate Wiggins (80.9)– Ryan Mink (@ryanmink) September 30, 2024
The Ravens have won two straight games after losing the first two, which bodes well for Rosengarten to continue to play a big role in the future.
“Roger is a guy who’s coming,” Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said after the game. “He’s a great draft pick. He’s a guy we have a lot of expectations for and he did nothing in this match to alleviate that.
THE #Crows deployed a different O-line last night with Andrew Vorhees unavailable. Roger Rosengarten had a full workload at right tackle and held his own.
Will he remain in this role in the future? @kylegoon discussed this and more with Vinny and Hayniehttps://t.co/zqgZa7x0Hf
– 105.7 The Fan (@1057TheFan) September 30, 2024
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