Saturday afternoon brings the last meaningful opportunity for the Ravens’ roster hopefuls to make a lasting impression as cutdown day arrives next week.
However, the reality is most decisions have already been made at this late stage of the summer. If a player has waited until now to make his strongest 53-man roster push rather than putting together a consistent profile throughout training camp, a big day against Washington probably isn’t going to change his fate.
“You factor in both. The body of work in practice is important because there’s so much of it, and it does give you a really good foundation,” head coach John Harbaugh said. “I think the games are kind of like the front porch and the yard. The games are the final piece. You want to put it all together and see guys do it under the lights as well, so it ties together that way probably.”
To no surprise, the Ravens will again rest most starters and some veteran reserves. That group obviously includes two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson, who had an injury scare Wednesday when a teammate stepped on his foot in the pocket during an 11-on-11 period. Jackson walked off the practice field with a trainer after taking a few more reps.
Jackson sat out practice Thursday, but a negative X-ray prompted exhales throughout the Baltimore area.
“There’s no damage or anything like that,” Harbaugh said after Thursday’s workout. “I’m sure it’s a little sore today, so we just kept him inside, but he’s fine. He’s going to be good.”
Saturday marks the 16th time these NFL neighbors have met in the preseason with the Ravens leading 11-4 in the all-time summer series. Baltimore topped the Commanders in a 30-23 final at M&T Bank Stadium last October to improve to 5-3 in the all-time regular-season series.
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Unofficial (and speculative) injury report
The Ravens are not required to put out an injury report like they do for regular-season games, so I’ve offered my best guess of what one would look like if it were to be released ahead of Saturday’s game.
The players estimated to be out will come as little surprise, but the status of some could remain in question. Of course, this list does not include the many healthy players who will be held out by the coaching staff.
Below is the unofficial injury report:
OUT: CB Jaire Alexander (knee), CB Chidobe Awuzie, FB Patrick Ricard, LB William Kwenkeu, TE Isaiah Likely (foot), OLB Adisa Isaac (elbow), OT Emery Jones Jr. (shoulder), S Ar’Darius Washington (Achilles tendon)
QUESTIONABLE: WR DeAndre Hopkins (knee), QB Lamar Jackson (foot), RB Keaton Mitchell (hamstring), OLB Kyle Van Noy
Five bubble players to watch Saturday afternoon
S Beau Brade
8One of the most interesting takeaways from the second preseason game was evidence of Reuben Lowery passing Brade on the depth chart as the undrafted rookie saw time at safety long before the latter entered the game on defense. Brade has seen more reps as a nickel and dime option recently, but his roster status remains tied to a prominent role on special teams. The University of Maryland product leads Baltimore in special-teams snaps this preseason and saw over 200 snaps on special teams in 11 games as a rookie. Considering how unproven the Ravens are at safety beyond two-time Pro Bowl selection Kyle Hamilton, they may want to err on the side of having more options at the position.
RB Rasheen Ali
Harbaugh said last week that the Ravens intend to keep four running backs, but he also acknowledged plans can change and mentioned earlier this week that they view the practice squad as “making the team.” With those caveats in mind, does Ali bring enough special-teams value and upside as a No. 4 running back over retaining another depth piece at a different position? While Mitchell’s injury history is a factor to consider, Ali also missed game action with injuries last season. The 2024 fifth-round pick out of Marshall would fortify his chances with a good showing against Washington, especially with veterans D’Ernest Johnson and Myles Gaskin likely to see plenty of action as well.
CB Keyon Martin
While Lowery has received more attention than any other undrafted rookie this summer, Martin has taken advantage of season-ending knee injuries to sixth-round picks Bilhal Kone and Robert Longerbeam to quietly work his way up the depth chart and into the roster conversation. With multiple veteran cornerbacks missing practice time recently, the University of Louisiana product has even seen occasional first-team nickel reps. One would assume the Ravens would prefer passing Martin through waivers and to the practice squad, but if the 5-foot-9, 170-pound defensive back has another highlight showing like he did against Dallas, other corner-needy teams will take notice.
G Garrett Dellinger
Some within the organization believed getting the LSU offensive lineman in the seventh round was a steal, but Dellinger hasn’t really stood out as someone seriously pushing for a 53-man roster spot if you take away name recognition and his draft standing. And while the 6-foot-5, 320-pound guard did receive a long look against the Cowboys last Saturday, he’s been stuck practicing on the third-string offensive line all spring and summer. With fifth-round offensive tackle Carson Vinson already representing one developmental option not close to being ready for regular-season action, can the Ravens devote another 53-man roster spot to someone else who doesn’t look like viable 2025 depth? Of course, quality reserve linemen aren’t readily available this time of year, so you don’t know if Dellinger would make it through waivers to re-sign to the practice squad.
ILB Chandler Martin
Fellow undrafted inside linebacker Jay Higgins has received more attention, but don’t sleep on Chandler Martin, who has also played well on defense and seen more action on special teams through the first two preseason games. The last couple inside linebackers on the roster are special-teams spots more than defensive depth, so that could work in the Memphis product’s favor even if Higgins has a slight edge as a defensive talent. The long-term elbow injury to outside linebacker Adisa Isaac opens up what was likely to be a pretty expansive special-teams role, so it’s difficult to say whether those snaps will simply be redistributed among roster locks like Trenton Simpson, Teddye Buchanan, and Jake Hummel or will now need to go to an additional linebacker.
