Oniel Cousins in line to step in for Jared Gaither

WESTMINSTER, Md. -- Oniel Cousins would be the Baltimore Ravens’ starting right offensive tackle if the regular season began today, according to offensive coordinator Cam Cameron.

With Jared Gaither sidelined for as much as six weeks with a small tear in his back that’s causing him back spasms, the Ravens are prepared to go with Cousins on the right side instead of shifting right guard Marshal Yanda over to tackle again.

Cameron didn’t entirely rule out the idea of moving Yanda again, but it’s not his preference.

“Absolutely,” Cameron said when asked if Yanda at right tackle is a possibility. “But you can’t move guys around too much. I think Marshal Yanda can be as good a right guard as there is in the league. I believe that. To keep bouncing him around from guard to tackle, guard to tackle, really doesn’t help that.”

As long as Gaither is out, it’s likely to be Cousins’ job to lose. He ranks ahead of rookie Ramon Harewood as well as Joe Reitz and Tony Moll.

“That would be the logical choice because that’s the way we did it last year,” Cameron said. “We want competition all the way up until the final cut, and then it’ll be pretty obvious what direction we’ll go. But that would be the logical direction.”

Cousins was out for the first week of training camp after having a noncancerous cyst removed from his esophagus this offseason.

Cousins has nearly gotten back up to his playing weight of 320 pounds after getting down to 290 pounds due to the illness. He needs to continue to refine his pass-blocking techniques.

“He’s not 100 percent yet, but his effort is 100 percent,” Cameron said. “One thing I like about ‘Cous’ is you know exactly what you’re getting. He’s not one guy one day and another guy the next day. He shows up. He’s there every day. He’s where he’s supposed to be, he gives you his best effort.

“Sometimes, he doesn’t execute the play like he would like or we would like, but his effort is consistent. Pretty much, a play-caller can deal with a guy like that. To me, it’s easy to call plays when he’s in there because I know I’m going to get a great effort.”

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