Patrick Vahe signs with the Baltimore Ravens

Hopes of an NFL career are still in play for former Texas Longhorns offensive guard Patrick Vahe, who signed a contract with the Baltimore Ravens following a successful tryout at rookie minicamp:

A 6’3, 325-pounder who started 45 games at Texas over his four-year career, Vahe has now cleared the first hurdle — staying in contention for a spot on the 90-man roster, which isn’t an easy task for undrafted free agents who have to try out first.

If Vahe survives the next round of roster cuts, he will have a chance to go through training camp in mid-July to earn a spot on the 53-man roster or one of the 10 practice squad openings. For the last 15 straight years, at least one undrafted free agent has made the Ravens roster.

However, that won’t be an easy task — Vahe started a lot of games at Texas, but he peaked quickly and then never developed into a player with clear NFL ability.

“The biggest question mark for Vahe at the next level remains to be his lack of lateral movement and down-the-field mobility,” BON’s Anthony Rizzo wrote during the pre-draft process. “With pulling guard counter and power run plays becoming a major trend in pro-style offenses, Vahe will have to work at becoming more agile and quick with his feet, especially with the amount of emerging versatile defensive linemen there are in this year’s class.”

Vahe also struggled acquiring targets while pulling, adjusting to and picking up defensive line games like twists, and recognizing and stopping blitzers.

Still, he’s already overcome the odds to make it this far.