History suggests Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta is very likely to make tweaks to the roster before the Sept. 5 opener in Kansas City, but below is a breakdown of the initial 53-man squad for the 2024 season:
QUARTERBACKS (2) — Lamar Jackson, Josh Johnson
Skinny: News that the NFL Players Association vetoed the No. 3 emergency quarterback rule change didn’t prompt Baltimore to keep rookie Devin Leary on the roster, making one wonder if another addition could be made at some point.
RUNNING BACKS (3) — Derrick Henry, Justice Hill, Rasheen Ali
Skinny: With Ali still being in the concussion protocol as of Monday, the Ravens may need some short-term help here, but that could come in the form of a practice-squad elevation for Week 1.
WIDE RECEIVERS (6) — Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, Nelson Agholor, Tylan Wallace, Devontez Walker, Deonte Harty
Skinny: The rookie Walker didn’t look like someone ready to contribute and Harty didn’t exactly stand out as a return specialist in the preseason, so their roles will be worth monitoring early on.
TIGHT ENDS & FULLBACKS (4) — Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, Charlie Kolar, Patrick Ricard
Skinny: Kolar didn’t look the part of a primary blocking tight end this summer, so Ricard figures to continue receiving snaps in that capacity when he’s not lining up as a traditional fullback in front of Henry.
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (10) — Ronnie Stanley, Andrew Vorhees, Tyler Linderbaum, Daniel Faalele, Roger Rosengarten, Patrick Mekari, Josh Jones, Ben Cleveland, Nick Samac, Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu
Skinny: Whether talking about the starting five or reliable backups, this group still has plenty of questions and concerns, so you’d expect DeCosta and the personnel department to explore outside options to try to improve the depth at the very least.
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (5) — Justin Madubuike, Michael Pierce, Travis Jones, Broderick Washington, Brent Urban
Skinny: After being released in handshake agreements for the 2022 and 2023 cutdown days and ultimately re-signing, the 33-year-old Urban made the initial roster this time around.
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INSIDE LINEBACKERS (4) — Roquan Smith, Trenton Simpson, Malik Harrison, Chris Board
Skinny: Harrison is the top backup inside linebacker and also expected to play “Sam” linebacker in early-down situations, so this is a position group where practice-squad elevations could still be used for game-day depth and special-teams contributions.
OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS (5) — Odafe Oweh, Kyle Van Noy, David Ojabo, Tavius Robinson, Adisa Isaac
Skinny: New defensive coordinator Zach Orr is really counting on Ojabo and Robinson — Isaac is currently dealing with a hamstring injury — to provide impact depth behind Oweh and Van Noy, so the edge rush remains a fair question entering the regular season.
CORNERBACKS (5) — Marlon Humphrey, Brandon Stephens, Nate Wiggins, Jalyn Armour-Davis, T.J. Tampa
Skinny: It will be interesting seeing how much the talented first-round rookie Wiggins plays early in the season, and there’s good overall depth here with safeties Kyle Hamilton and Ar’Darius Washington expected to be heavily involved at the nickel spot.
SAFETIES (6) — Kyle Hamilton, Marcus Williams, Eddie Jackson, Ar’Darius Washington, Beau Brade, Sanoussi Kane
Skinny: Jackson should be a steady replacement for Geno Stone in three-safety packages while Brade and Kane are likely to see extensive time on special teams as rookies.
SPECIALISTS (3) — Justin Tucker, Jordan Stout, Nick Moore
Skinny: With Moore showing no lingering effects from last year’s Achilles injury, this group is expected to excel with Stout aiming to take the next step in his third season as the punter.
