Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Roger Rosengarten has come quite a long way in a short amount of time.
A second-round rookie from Washington, Rosengarten began his NFL career in just about the worst way possible, allowing a strip sack against Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro defensive lineman Chris Jones. Since then, though, he’s steadily grown throughout the season, and has become an anchor up front in recent weeks.
As a sign of how far he’s come, Rosengarten held his own against one of the league’s very best pass-rushers in Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, and in turn, received some well-earned respect from the All-Pro.
Tuesday’s episode of “Hard Knocks,” which is following the entire AFC North late in the regular season and into the postseason, showed Rosengarten asking Garrett for a simple request during Saturday’s game.
Garrett clearly wasn’t having any of that self-depreciating talk. Not only did he agree to the jersey swap, but gave the rookie some words of encouragement as well.
Garrett and the Browns had a forgettable season to say the least, finishing 3-14 and contending for the No. 1 overall pick. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year has never been afraid to speak his mind, so seeing him lift up a rival even as a tough season came to a close is pretty wholesome.
