Eric Winston thought heโd be vacationing with his wife this week.
Instead, the free-agent right tackle is looking for a new home after surprisingly being cut by the Houston Texans on Monday after six productive seasons. The 28-year-old is scheduled to meet with the Ravens on Friday after visiting Miami on Wednesday and Kansas City on Thursday. Winston will also reportedly meet with Detroit and St. Louis.
After tasting success with his first playoff appearance and an AFC South championship last season, Winston is looking for the best landing spot to give him an opportunity to win the Super Bowl, making Baltimore an attractive destination.
โThatโs what you shoot for,โ Winston said in an interview with AM 1570 WNST on Thursday. โThatโs what you want. Iโd be hard-pressed to go back to another rebuilding project.โ
Blindsided by the Texansโ decision to dump him, Winston is now making the best out of being a free agent and trying to find the best possible fit for him and his family. The process reminds him of when he made visits with teams as a draft prospect, only he gets to ask more questions this time around.
A 2006 third-round pick from the University of Miami, Winston acknowledges the bond he feels with former Hurricanes such as Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, and Bryant McKinnie, even though they played in Coral Gables before his time. He even joked that Lewis was like his grandfather and Reed his father in talking about Miami lore.
โThose guys were just such great examples of what it meant to play there and the intensity and just the passion that you play with at the U,โ Winston said. โOf course, you can still look at them now and say thatโs the way youโre supposed to play in the NFL.โ
Winston hasnโt missed a game since his rookie season, starting all 16 regular-season games for the Texans in each of the last five years. He hadnโt been contacted by former Houston teammates and current Ravens Vonta Leach and Bernard Pollard as of Thursday afternoon, but Winston expressed affection for each player.
โThose are great teammates,โ said Winston, who joked that he called Pollard โBennyโ to irritate him in the Houston locker room. โThose were guys Iโll always remember because of the people and players they are.โ
Putting aside the money needed to sign Winston, the Ravens would be in a curious position should they get him to agree to terms. Current right tackle Michael Oher has two years remaining on his original rookie deal, so thereโs no reason to think his roster spot would be in jeopardy. However, veteran left tackle Bryant McKinnie is owed a $500,000 bonus on Saturday and is scheduled to make a $2 million base salary in the final year of his contract, meaning the Ravens could release the 32-year-old to save cap room.
Itโs difficult envisioning the Ravens signing Winston and asking him to play left tackle, a position he hasnโt played since his rookie season when he did it on a very limited basis. Baltimore could move Oher back to the left side, but he has clearly performed better on the right side over his three-year career.
With the Ravens needing a left guard to fill the void left behind by Ben Grubbs โ free-agent guard Evan Mathis visited with the team in Owings Mills on Thursday โ a more radical idea would be to sign Winston and shift Oher to left guard, a position he hasnโt played since his first year at Ole Miss. Tackles can generally move inside without as much difficulty as interior linemen trying to shift outside, but it would be an unconventional move to say the least.
Of course, this is nothing more than speculation beyond Winston being scheduled to visit with the Ravens on Friday. With the number of teams interested in the right tackle, the Ravens will have a difficult time landing the former Texans tackle at a suitable price, but thereโs no disputing his talent.
To hear Winstonโs entire interview with WNST.netโs Glenn Clark on Thursday afternoon, click HERE.
Looking for winning fit, free-agent tackle Winston will visit Ravens on Friday
Luke Jones
Luke Jones is the Ravens and Orioles beat reporter for WNST BaltimorePositive.com and is a PFWA member. His mind is consumed with useless sports knowledge, pro wrestling promos, and movie quotes, but he often forgets where he put his phone. Luke's favorite sports memories include being one of the thousands of kids who waited for Cal Ripken's autograph after Orioles games in the summer of 1995, attending the Super Bowl XXXV victory parade with his dad in the pouring rain, and watching the Terps advance to the Final Four at the Carrier Dome in 2002. Follow him on social media @BaltimoreLuke or email him at Luke@wnst.net.
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