With the preseason now in the books, general manager Eric DeCosta must form the Ravens’ initial 53-man roster by 4 p.m. Tuesday.
It’s important to remember the roster formulated on Tuesday probably won’t look exactly the same as the one that travels to Buffalo for the Sept. 7 opener. In addition to potential trades, waiver claims, or free-agent signings, Baltimore may place up to two players on injured reserve on final cutdown day to designate to return after a minimum of four games. The desire to retain as many good young players as possible also leads to occasional roster gymnastics involving vested veterans who aren’t subject to waivers. In other words, DeCosta — who is no stranger to taking advantage of roster rules — won’t be afraid to think outside the box if he believes it provides a potential edge now or later in the season.
Teams are permitted to return a maximum of eight players from IR during the regular season and two more for the postseason. Any individual player is permitted to be designated to return from IR twice per season.
Below is a look at my final projection of the initial 53-man roster:
QUARTERBACKS (2)
IN: Lamar Jackson, Cooper Rush
OUT: Devin Leary
Skinny: The only question in this group is whether Baltimore re-signs Leary to the practice squad or looks at other quarterback options that shake loose this week.
RUNNING BACKS (4)
IN: Derrick Henry, Justice Hill, Keaton Mitchell, Rasheen Ali
OUT: Myles Gaskin, D’Ernest Johnson
Skinny: After the preseason finale, John Harbaugh reiterated the prominent role Ali plays on special teams, so if he isn’t on the 53-man roster, it tells you DeCosta didn’t view the roster in the same way.
TIGHT ENDS & FULLBACKS (4)
IN: Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, Charlie Kolar, Patrick Ricard
OUT: Zaire Mitchell-Paden, Scotty Washington, Baylor Cupp, Lucas Scott
Skinny: Unless the organization has undersold the timetable for Likely’s recovery from foot surgery and he has no chance of playing before October, you expect him to remain on the 53-man roster and to not go on IR, which would otherwise sideline him for the first four games.
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WIDE RECEIVERS (6)
IN: Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, DeAndre Hopkins, Tylan Wallace, Devontez Walker, LaJohntay Wester
OUT: Dayton Wade, Anthony Miller, Keith Kirkwood, Malik Cunningham, Jahmal Banks, Xavier Guillory
Skinny: While the top six receivers have been set for quite some time, a shoulder injury to Wade could complicate his status as one of the top candidates to be signed to the practice squad. Miller and Kirkwood are also logical choices to stick on the practice squad as veteran depth.
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (9)
IN: Ronnie Stanley, Andrew Vorhees, Tyler Linderbaum, Daniel Faalele, Roger Rosengarten, Joseph Noteboom, Ben Cleveland, Corey Bullock, Carson Vinson
OUT: Garrett Dellinger, Nick Samac, Darrian Dalcourt, Gerad Lichtenhan, Jared Penning, Reid Holskey
NON-FOOTBALL INJURY LIST: Emery Jones Jr.
Skinny: Bullock was the summer surprise on the offensive line by winning the backup center job. Dellinger was a seventh-round pick, but the Ravens already have one developmental lineman set for the 53-man roster in Vinson, making it likely that they try to get Dellinger through waivers and to the practice squad. Dalcourt remains another logical practice-squad candidate after starting and not playing a ton against Washington on Saturday.
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (5)
IN: Nnamdi Madubuike, Travis Jones, Broderick Washington, Aeneas Peebles, John Jenkins
OUT: Brent Urban, C.J. Ravenell, C.J. Okoye, Adedayo Odeleye, Jayson Jones
Skinny: The bet here is Urban being re-signed to the practice squad to serve as a candidate to be elevated for certain early-season matchups, but the Ravens could also use some roster gymnastics with the 36-year-old Jenkins, especially if they don’t want to guarantee his full salary for the season. Ravenell and Okoye should be priority signings for the practice squad.
INSIDE LINEBACKERS (4)
IN: Roquan Smith, Trenton Simpson, Teddye Buchanan, Jake Hummel
OUT: Jay Higgins, Chandler Martin, William Kwenkeu
Skinny: Higgins and Martin both turned some heads as undrafted rookies this summer, but DeCosta could take a calculated risk that at least one will make it through waivers and sign to the practice squad.
OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS (5)
IN: Odafe Oweh, Kyle Van Noy, Tavius Robinson, Mike Green, David Ojabo
OUT: Malik Hamm, Kaimon Rucker
INJURED RESERVE DESIGNATED TO RETURN: Adisa Isaac
Skinny: The long-term elbow injury to Isaac likely saves Ojabo’s place on the roster, but a No. 5 outside linebacker with little presence on special teams remains vulnerable to being inactive on game days and replaced if a depth outside linebacker with special-teams chops becomes available in the days ahead.
CORNERBACKS (7)
IN: Marlon Humphrey, Nate Wiggins, Jaire Alexander, Chidobe Awuzie, Jalyn Armour-Davis, T.J. Tampa, Keyon Martin
OUT: Marquise Robinson, M.J. Devonshire, Thomas Graham
SEASON-ENDING INJURED RESERVE: Bilhal Kone, Robert Longerbeam
Skinny: Martin’s 5-foot-9, 170-pound frame doesn’t make him the ideal special-teams contributor you’d prefer at the back of the roster, but his playmaking ability reminded too much of Tavon Young and Ar’Darius Washington to think other teams haven’t noticed the undrafted rookie the last couple weeks.
SAFETIES (4)
IN: Kyle Hamilton, Malaki Starks, Sanoussi Kane, Reuben Lowery
OUT: Beau Brade, Desmond Igbinosun, Keondre Jackson
PHYSICALLY UNABLE TO PERFORM LIST: Ar’Darius Washington
Skinny: Lowery seems to be as close to a lock as an unheralded rookie free agent can be after an excellent summer that included moving into the No. 4 safety spot. Brade remains a solid special-teams player, but he never made a serious push for a wide-open No. 3 safety job and now appears in danger of essentially being pushed off the 53-man roster by a pair of undrafted rookie defensive backs.
SPECIALISTS (3)
IN: Jordan Stout, Nick Moore, Tyler Loop
OUT: none
Skinny: Loop went 9-for-11 with five makes beyond 50 yards in three summer games and has looked the part as much as anyone can possibly tell before the real pressure of the regular season arrives.
