Norris: Eugene Monroe's Future As A Raven Is Unclear
Eugene Monroe by many accounts will not be employed as a left tackle by the Baltimore Ravens this year.
The strongest piece of evidence is that Baltimore selected OT Ronnie Stanley with the sixth pick in this year's NFL draft and if you're a veteran player at any position and you watch your team select someone that plays your position with the sixth pick in the draft, you might just be wearing a different uniform in the fall.
The question in Monroe's case is will he be playing in the NFL at all?
I will be watching closely because he plays arguably the second most important position on the field, as teams are always looking for a blind side pass protector. Monroe has value and should find himself a home if the Ravens indeed release him (they have stated there is room on the roster for both Stanley and Monroe) so if he is not picked up can we assume there is another reason? The reason will not be a character issue because, by all accounts, he is a man of high character and not a potential land mine for any team.
So what's the problem?
Well Eugene Monroe has a website (eugenemonroe.com) where he implores the NFL to fund medical marijuana research as it relates to CTE while reducing what he feels is the over prescribing of opioids in the NFL.
It's a courageous, timely and important stand he has taken, which is exactly what the NFL hates. So, we will see if a left tackle who can certainly help some NFL team protect their quarterback will get a job when he has taken a stand as an activist in the medical marijuana debate while invoking the three letters they hate most...CTE.
