Rosengarten Passes Ravens' Rookie Regular Season Test, Playoffs Next

Before Baltimore Ravens star quarterback Lamar Jackson takes the field Saturday night for the seventh playoff game of his career he made sure to shoutout rookie right tackle Roger Rosengarten. 

It was just a simple photo of Jackson standing cool, calm and collected in the pocket at practice as the 2024 second-round pick out of Washington pancaked a defensive lineman into the ground at the bottom right of the picture while Jackson delivered a pass. 

However, after ending the regular season with a 7-3 record over the final 10 games —in which Rosengarten allowed just one sack and 14 pressures — it's more of a symbolic gesture ahead of the rookies playoff debut against the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

Rosengarten, a 6-foot-5, 316-pound native of Highlands Ranch, Colorado, will be in his element dating back to his high school days with a 65-percent chance of snow and a high of 36-degrees at M&T Bank Stadium Saturday night, perfect weather for an offensive lineman. 

The No. 62 overall pick in last April's draft earned the Ravens' starting right tackle job coming into the regular season but struggled initially to get his feet wet, surrendering three sacks over his first six games. 

But when it came time to measure up against one of the premier edge rushers in the NFL, Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett, Rosengarten more than held his own in both meetings. 

After the Ravens' 35-10 victory over the Browns last weekend Garrett gave props to Rosengarten, who approached the 2017 No. 1 overall pick out of Texas A&M to ask for his jersey after the regular season finale. 

NFL Films captured the former UW lineman asking Garrett, "I know I'm a nobody, but if I could get that jersey after?" 

Garrett, just like Jackson did quietly on social media, quickly made clear the rookie had the wrong assessment of himself, responding "Hey, you're in the league. Y'all winning games. Y'all looking great. You ain't never a nobody. I got you."

The Browns' lineman won't be the last elite pass rusher Rosengarten lines up against, however. 

He's got a third test facing Steelers' star T.J. Watt in the Wild Card on Saturday.