It is not particularly surprising that all has been quiet on the Nick Mangold front, as it became clear earlier this offseason that the 33-year-old free agent was more likely to be a training camp signing if he elected to continue his football career. But now that training camp is upon us, there are still no new public reports regarding a possible match.
We most recently heard that the Dolphins are not interested in the Ohio State product, and Mike Reiss of ESPN.com scratches another AFC East club off the list of potential suitors. Reiss, in response to a fan question as to whether Mangold could be a fit for the Patriots, says New England is not a likely landing spot at this time because Mangold is looking for a team that needs a starting center; he does not want to be “veteran depth.”
That, of course, is consistent with what we have heard all along. More interesting is Reiss’ report that Mangold was still getting physical therapy on his foot/ankle as of a month ago, which is not going to make teams that have been skeptical about his medicals — and that have considered him as more of a guard or depth option — any more excited about the prospect of signing him.
Reiss suggests that Mangold does not need or want to go through the grind of a training camp at this point in his career, and one camp injury could entirely change a team’s perception of Mangold (although Max Unger‘s injury did not prompt the Saints to check in on Mangold, Unger could be ready for Week 1).
The guess here, though, is that Mangold ends up in Baltimore. The Ravens, who met with Mangold back in May, have two glaring needs along their offensive line, at center and at right tackle. If Mangold can slot in at center, Baltimore would have a potentially excellent center-right guard combo with Mangold and Marshal Yanda. That would make the team much more comfortable in allowing Ryan Jensen, John Urschel, and rookie Nico Siragusa battle for the left guard job — and the losers of that competition would represent fairly strong depth — and it would allow the Ravens to move Alex Lewis out to right tackle, where he would represent a considerable upgrade over James Hurst.
As we heard several months ago, though, retirement is not out of the question for Mangold, so if he does not find an opportunity that suits him, he may simply elect to call it a career.