The Ravens cut down their roster to 53 players on Aug. 30, and while the process bore little of the suspense or surprises of some previous years, the team’s activity did indicate that significant questions remain less than two weeks before the 2022 season begins.
The Ravens kept just two quarterbacks, as expected, and general manager Eric DeCosta didn’t execute any 11th-hour trades as he has done leading up to the final cutdown in recent years. But reports surfaced that the team was close to signing running back Kenyan Drake, who was not included on the initial 53-man roster, which suggests that the Ravens still have lingering concerns about the health of J.K. Dobbins and the running game overall.
The Ravens kept 11 offensive linemen, and questions remain about the health of All-Pro left tackle Ronnie Stanley. The team announced last week that Stanley had passed his physical, but he has yet to return to practice, so his availability for Week 1 seems like a long-shot at best. Rookie tackle Daniel Faalele also has been sidelined with a knee injury.
While heavy on the offensive line and at tight end — they kept five — the Ravens have just three outside linebackers on the initial 53-man roster, and one of those, rookie David Ojabo, is headed to injured reserve as he recovers from a torn Achilles.
The Ravens also figure to place tight end Charlie Kolar (sports hernia) on IR, which would open another roster spot in a couple of days. By keeping Ojabo and Kolar on the initial 53-man roster, they are eligible to return later in the season; players placed on IR before the initial cutdown to 53 are out for the year.
The Ravens released seven vested veterans as part of the cutdown, and since they aren’t exposed to waivers, a few could be re-signed once roster spots open up via IR moves. That group includes defensive lineman Brent Urban, linebacker Steven Means, safety Tony Jefferson, cornerbacks Daryl Worley and Kevon Seymour, and offensive linemen Kahlil McKenzie and David Sharpe.
The Ravens kept an undrafted rookie for the second straight year and 18th time in the past 19 years, with Michigan inside linebacker Josh Ross earning a roster spot.
Cut players who are not vested veterans are now exposed to waivers until noon on Aug. 31, and then the Ravens can begin building their 16-man practice squad.
The Ravens open the 2022 season at the New York Jets on Sept. 11.
Here is a breakdown of the Ravens’ initial 53-man roster:
QUARTERBACK (2): Lamar Jackson, Tyler Huntley
Jackson’s contract status and preseason game status have been sources of speculation this summer, but there is no surprise that just two quarterbacks land on the 53-man roster. Expect the team to re-sign Anthony Brown to the practice squad if he clears waivers.
Jackson, incidentally, has said he wouldn’t negotiate on a contract extension once the regular season begins, so that deadline is fast approaching.
RUNNING BACK (3): J.K. Dobbins, Mike Davis, Justice Hill
This group remains far more unsettled than the Ravens had hoped, as evidenced by Kenyan Drake’s workout this week, and a potential deal with Drake might have burst rookie Tyler Badie’s bubble. The rookie sixth-round draft pick out of Missouri, who spent part of his childhood at Friends School in Baltimore, was released alongside Nate McCrary.
Gus Edwards has been placed on the reserve/PUP list, which sidelines him for four games, and head coach John Harbaugh has sounded far less certain that J.K. Dobbins will be ready for Week 1 than Dobbins has.
TIGHT END/FULLBACK (6): Mark Andrews, Nick Boyle, Josh Oliver, Isaiah Likely, Charlie Kolar, Patrick Ricard (FB)
Kolar, the rookie tight end taken 11 spots before Likely, is still recovering from sports hernia surgery and will be destined for short-term injured reserve. With Nick Boyle still ramping up to full speed as he recovers from a major knee injury that cost him much of the 2020 season and limited him in 2021, the Ravens opted to keep an extra healthy tight end in Oliver, a three-year veteran who played in 14 games for the Ravens last year.
Whenever Kolar finally gets on the field, he will have a lot of ground to make up on Likely, the breakout star of training camp who has quickly developed into a top target. The All-Pro Andrews has appeared to be in top form all summer, while Ricard, who has made the Pro Bowl three straight years, should again be a battering ram blocker and occasional receiver.
WIDE RECEIVER (5): Rashod Bateman, Devin Duvernay, Demarcus Robinson, James Proche, Tylan Wallace
The arrival of the veteran Robinson — who had four catches for 135 yards in his Ravens preseason debut after signing with the team last week — essentially slammed the door on either undrafted rookie Makai Polk or Shemar Bridges squeezing onto the roster. The Ravens could look to sign Polk back to the practice squad; Bridges, the star of the preseason opener who was relatively quiet thereafter, was waived with an injury designation, meaning he will revert to IR if he clears waivers.
Proche and Wallace both missed extensive training camp time with injuries. Wallace is a proven special teams player when he’s healthy, and that probably saved his roster spot. He has been dealing with a knee injury suffered in the preseason opener, and after returning to practice last week, he missed the preseason finale against Washington. He and Proche, sidelined for a couple of weeks with a soft-tissue injury, were back on the practice field on Aug. 30. Proche again this summer showed some of the best hands in camp when healthy, and now the Ravens hope that can translate to game action.
OFFENSIVE LINE (11): Ronnie Stanley, Ben Powers, Tyler Linderbaum, Kevin Zeitler, Morgan Moses, Patrick Mekari, Tyre Phillips, Ja’Wuan James, Ben Cleveland, Daniel Faalele, Trystan Colon
Stanley’s health is story No. 1 with the season opener looming; the team has been clear it doesn’t want to rush him back after seeing him play just one game last year before landing back in the operating room for his injured ankle. James appears in line to be the Week 1 starter in Stanley’s place.
The inclusion of Colon, the third-year center, registers as a moderate surprise considering the Ravens have first-round pick Linderbaum, super utility lineman Mekari and Powers as possible centers. But Powers appears to have won the starting left guard job, and Mekari could be the swing tackle with Stanley and Faalele hobbled. Expect some moves here, because it’s highly unlikely that the 53-man roster will feature 11 linemen when the team heads to New York to face the Jets in Week 1.
DEFENSIVE LINE (5): Calais Campbell, Justin Madubuike, Michael Pierce, Broderick Washington, Travis Jones
Veteran Brent Urban was cut, but with rookie third-round pick Travis Jones (knee) sidelined a few more weeks, there’s a good chance that Urban — a vested veteran who is not exposed to waivers — will be right back in the building as soon as the Ravens move a couple of players to injured reserve.
The defensive line group might have been the most consistent throughout training camp, and Aaron Crawford was a dark horse to make the 53-man roster before suffering a potentially serious groin injury in the preseason finale at Washington. He was waived with an injury designation. The Ravens would like to bring Isaiah Mack back to the practice squad, though he put a lot of good plays on tape this summer and might get claimed.
INSIDE LINEBACKER (5): Patrick Queen, Josh Bynes, Malik Harrison, Kristian Welch, Josh Ross
Welch or Ross? How about both? They were considered to be competing for one inside linebacker spot, but ultimately the Ravens found room for both, and Ross becomes the one undrafted rookie to make this year’s initial 53-man roster.
Ross, who played at Michigan last year under new Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, was among the highest-rated rookies in the preseason according to Pro Football Focus. Welch, meanwhile, has been a top Ravens special teams player for the past two years, and that always factors in competition for the final roster spots.
Another factor working in favor of both: Malik Harrison could get more looks at outside linebacker, where depth is a major concern.
OUTSIDE LINEBACKER (3): Justin Houston, Odafe Oweh, David Ojabo
Change will certainly be coming to this group. Ojabo (Achilles) is destined for injured reserve, and that leaves just two healthy outside linebackers, since second-year linebacker Daelin Hayes was a surprise cut, with an injury designation. Hayes, who played in just one game last year before landing on IR, had flashed at times in spring OTA workouts, but that didn’t continue consistently during training camp and he has been sidelined recently by an undisclosed injury.
Tyus Bowser has been placed on the reserve/PUP list, meaning he is out for at least four games, and Ojabo is probably out until midseason at least as he recovers from a torn Achilles suffered in March. This comes after the Ravens already placed Vince Biegel and Trent Harris on injured reserve.
Steven Means was cut, but there’s a good chance the veteran will be re-signed once Ojabo moves to IR. The Ravens could look at inside linebacker Malik Harrison on the outside, as they did at times last year, but they almost certainly will need to add to this group, at the very least until Bowser returns.
CORNERBACK (6): Marlon Humphrey, Marcus Peters, Kyle Fuller, Brandon Stephens, Pepe Williams, Jalyn Armour-Davis
Kevon Seymour appeared to be working into the argument to keep seven cornerbacks, but the ankle injury he suffered in the preseason finale ended that discussion. Stephens, who was drafted with the expectation that he would play safety in the NFL, has been primarily a cornerback this summer.
Humphrey and Peters return as Pro Bowl anchors of a group that is determined to create more turnovers, and Peters increasingly looks like he is returning to form after missing all of last season with a torn ACL.
SAFETY (4): Marcus Williams, Chuck Clark, Kyle Hamilton, Geno Stone
Williams, the team’s top free-agent acquisition, and Hamilton, the team’s top draft pick, transformed this group this summer, but Hamilton has been limited lately dealing with an unspecified injury, so veteran Chuck Clark, who acknowledged that he asked to be traded this offseason, could yet be a Week 1 starter. Stone shined at times in the preseason and should be a top special teams player.
Veteran Tony Jefferson lands on the wrong side of the roster bubble, but as a vested veteran, he is not exposed to waivers and is a candidate to be re-signed. Jefferson, though, might also look for a 53-man opportunity elsewhere. Ar’Darius Washington, another safety on the roster bubble, could not make up enough ground to make the team after missing essentially the first month of camp recovering from a foot injury that cost him the end of last season.
SPECIALISTS (3): Justin Tucker, Jordan Stout, Nick Moore
The suspense here ended when Sam Koch officially announced his retirement in the spring, handing the jobs of punter and holder to Stout, the fourth-round pick who has looked the part all summer.
UPDATE: The Ravens claimed linebacker Del’Shawn Phillips from the Jets and cut offensive lineman Tyre Phillips on Aug. 31.
Photo Credit: Colin Murphy/PressBox
