The Steelers will get to face another familiar face when they face the Ravens twice in 2021.
That's because Alejandro Villanueva signed with the Ravens Tuesday morning on a two-year contract for $14 million, with $8 million fully guaranteed, per Adam Schefter and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN:
Baltimore is giving former Steelers’ Alejandro Villanueva a two-year, $14 million deal that includes $8M fully guaranteed, per source. https://t.co/8lIWLsTVLL
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 4, 2021
This comes as no surprise, as reports were swirling in April that the Ravens would sign Villanueva after the NFL Draft once they traded away Orlando Brown to the Chiefs. They just wanted to wait until after the draft so that signing Villanueva wouldn't impact their compensatory pick values for 2022, or help the Steelers' picks.
Villanueva was on the Steelers' roster for seven seasons after being signed in 2014. He became a starter in 2015, and would start every game at left tackle for five seasons between 2016-2020, earning Pro Bowl bids in 2017 and 2018.
After going undrafted, the former captain and recipient of a Bronze Star in the U.S. Army became Ben Roethlisberger's best blindside protector in the 2010s, lining up at left tackle to face top edge rushers like the Ravens' Terrell Suggs and the Browns' Myles Garrett.
During that time, Roethlisberger's average sacks per game of 2.6 between 2004-2014 dropped to just 1.3 sacks per game between 2015-2020, effectively cutting it half. While Todd Haley creating a quicker passing offensive scheme played a big role in this, Villanueva's arrival on the offensive line shouldn't be overlooked as a contribution to that effort.
But after 2020, the Steelers' focus to become a better rushing offense didn't fit the 32-year old tackle's skillset, as he was much better a pass protector than a mauling run blocker in his later years. Now, Villanueva will get to pair with Ravens tackle Ronnie Stanley to protect Lamar Jackson, meaning he'll have to do so against T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith next season.