According to Todd Karpovich of Sports Illustrated on Monday, the Baltimore Ravens have signed offensive tackle D.J. Fluker to a one year contract. The financial terms of the contract have not yet been disclosed.
The Ravens become Fluker’s fourth National Football League franchise. He has also played with the San Diego Chargers, New York Giants and Seattle Seahawks.
Fluker was initially selected in the first round, 13th overall, by the Chargers in the 2013 NFL Draft. He would play 31 games, primarily at right tackle, from 2013 to 2014 with San Diego. In Fluker’s rookie season of 2013, he was on the NFL’s All-Rookie Team. He was joined on the All-Rookie Team by Giants tackle Justin Pugh of Holland, Pennsylvania, his future teammate in New York.
In 2015, Fluker moved from right tackle to right guard. While still protecting Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers of Decatur, Alabama, Fluker played 28 games from 2015 to 2016, and had one fumble recovery in a 27-20 Chargers loss to the Green Bay Packers on October 18, 2015.
Fluker then signed a one year deal worth $3 million with the Giants on March 11, 2017 to help protect Giants quarterback Eli Manning of New Orleans, Lousiana. Fluker played nine games and started six contests before suffering a toe injury.
On March 20, 2018, Fluker signed a two-year contract worth $9 million with the Seahawks to protect Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson of Cincinnati, Ohio. Fluker would play 24 games at right guard and start 23 of them. Like in 2015 for the Chargers, Fluker had a fumble recovery for the Seahawks in 2019. However, this time it came in a victory as the Seattle Seahawks beat the Arizona Cardinals 27-10 on September 29.
At 6’5″, 340 pounds, Fluker’s job this season will be to protect Ravens star quarterback Lamar Jackson of Pompano Beach, Florida in the postseason. There is no doubt Jackson will have something to prove in 2020. In the last two seasons, Jackson has been terrific in the regular season as he has posted a record of 19 wins and three losses. However, Jackson has been horrendous in his only two playoff appearances as Baltimore has failed to win their playoff game over the last two years. In 2018, Jackson only completed 14 of 29 passes in a 23-17 Ravens loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Then in 2019, Jackson had two interceptions and only had a quarterback rating of 63.2 in a 28-12 loss to the Tennessee Titans.
