Ravens begin trimming roster down to league-mandated 53

Less than 24 hours after their final preseason game in Atlanta, the Ravens continued reducing their roster ahead of Saturday’s 4 p.m. deadline by waiving five players.
Wide receivers Daniel Brown and Tom Nelson, cornerback Quinton Pointer, inside linebacker Andrew Bose, and offensive lineman Blaine Clausell were the first cuts announced by Baltimore on Friday afternoon. Those moves leave the active roster with 70 players, meaning 17 more moves must be made to get down to the league-mandated 53 players.
A punt block and a touchdown catch in Thursday’s loss to the Falcons weren’t enough to land the 6-foot-5 Brown a roster spot, but head coach John Harbaugh said after the game that the James Madison product had made a good case for a role on the practice squad. Nelson, a former NFL safety, had been in the mix as a returner, but he never distinguished himself as an option at wide receiver.
Pointer stood out during spring workouts and the early part of training camp, but the 5-foot-9 defensive back faded after that, making it apparent that he wasn’t going to be in strong contention to make the team.