Jermaine Eluemunor is no longer competing to be the Ravens' starting left guard. Instead, he's headed to the New England Patriots.
The Ravens traded Eluemunor to the Patriots on Wednesday for an undisclosed draft pick pending the passing of a physical.
A fifth-round pick in 2017, Eluemunor was one of several players competing for the starting left guard spot that is still open heading into Thursday night's preseason finale against the Washington Redskins.
With Eluemunor no longer in the mix, veteran James Hurst, rookies Ben Powers and Patrick Mekari, and Bradley Bozeman remain as possibilities to be the Week 1 starter. Eluemunor took first-team reps during training camp and started at left guard during the Ravens' first two preseason games.
A British native, Eluemunor played in eight games and started in two as a rookie. He played nine games and started one (at left tackle) last season.
Eluemunor wasn't on the field at the start of camp after reportedly failing his conditioning test, then missed several practices due to injuries. He did not play in last week's preseason game in Philadelphia, and Head Coach John Harbaugh indicated Tuesday that the Week 1 starter wouldn't necessarily earn the right to start all season.
"Oh yeah, it's open still," Harbaugh said. "I talked to a couple of guys this morning about it. My mind is still open. I'm sure there's people in the building, coaches and stuff, that have their opinions. But I'm very open right now.
"It will probably, in all honesty, remain a competition until somebody establishes himself as the established starter. There's a difference between being a starter and an established starter. That person's going to have to continue to earn that by how they play during the regular season."
Harbaugh said all the players involved are good players, but that the coaching staff will be looking to see how the left guard candidates respond.
It's the second trade General Manager Eric DeCosta has executed in training camp. He got a reported fifth-round pick for kicker Kaare Vedvik after the team's first preseason game.
