OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- The Baltimore Ravens inched closer to finalizing their trade for Jacksonville Jaguars offensive tackle Eugene Monroe.

The defending Super Bowl champions are just unsure when he'll play.

When Eugene Monroe officially joins the Ravens, "it makes us better almost immediately," coach John Harbaugh says. AP Photo/Dave Martin

According to The Baltimore Sun, the Ravens will only have to pay $547,000 of the remaining $2.91 million left on Monroe's $3.8 million base salary for this season. This allows the Ravens, who had only $1.2 million in salary-cap space, to fit Monroe under the cap without having to cut or restructure a contract.

The Florida Times-Union reported earlier Wednesday that the Ravens will send two picks, one in the fourth and fifth rounds of the 2014 draft, to Jacksonville for Monroe. He flew into Baltimore Wednesday night and is scheduled to take a physical on Thursday, the final step to complete the trade.

Coach John Harbaugh said the team's newest left tackle likely won't join the team until Thursday, when he is expected to address the media.

"Obviously we're bringing Eugene in to play. How soon that can happen remains to be seen," Harbaugh said. "The main thing is it makes us better almost immediately in terms of adding a football player of that quality to our team. And we'll just figure it out and fit it together the way we can and use these guys the best way we can."

There is a possibility that the Ravens could sign Monroe to a contract extension later this season and make him the left tackle of the future rather than just the short term.

"He has one year left and we'll see how it shakes out over the next 12 weeks," Harbaugh said.

Many Ravens players said they were surprised by the move, the team's first trade during the regular season in its 18-year history.