With their 11-man 2025 draft class being one of the largest in franchise history, the Ravens keeping even one rookie free agent on the 53-man roster seemed questionable as recently as a few weeks ago.
Not only did Baltimore keep one on its Week 1 roster for the 21st time in the last 22 years, but general manager Eric DeCosta managed to retain three in safety Reuben Lowery, cornerback Keyon Martin, and inside linebacker Jay Higgins. The trio made a number of splash plays in preseason games and showed steady improvement in training camp to work their way up the depth chart and onto the right side of the bubble by Tuesday afternoon’s roster cutdown.
Lowery — a 5-foot-9, 204-pound defensive back out of Chattanooga — began flashing his playmaking ability during spring workouts and never relented, moving up to the No. 4 safety spot by the second preseason game. That led to the consensus belief that he was much closer to being a roster lock than on the bubble by the end of the preseason.
“Consistency. Every single day, you knew exactly what you were going to get, and he’s one of those guys that’s first in the building, last to leave,” said secondary coach and senior defensive assistant Chuck Pagano about Lowery. “From Day 1, he was asking all the right questions. He takes care of himself; he takes care of his body. He’s not going to be one of those guys that walks out on the field and is not prepared and doesn’t know what he’s going to do. He’s just been a model of consistency since he’s been there, and that preparation shows up.”
Beyond the three undrafted rookies, the best story of the summer might have been former University of Maryland offensive lineman Corey Bullock for earning a 53-man roster spot after spending last season on the practice squad as an undrafted rookie. Regarded as a roster long shot entering training camp, Bullock earned the backup center job and is one of four reserve offensive linemen.
Of course, there’s always the flip side to the surprise players making the team as fourth-year cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis and second-year safety Beau Brade headlined the long list of roster cuts. A 2022 fourth-round pick out of Alabama, Armour-Davis being waived came as a surprise to many after his strong preseason, but a backup being in the final year of his rookie deal and having a history of struggling to stay healthy will always be vulnerable. Brade was expected to compete with Sanoussi Kane for the No. 3 safety spot, but he was instead passed by Lowery in the pecking order and began working more at the nickel spot late in training camp.
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The most notable veteran release was defensive end Brent Urban, who re-signed with the Ravens in early August and landed on the wrong side of the bubble as many had anticipated. However, the 34-year-old remains a candidate to join the practice squad and still be a game-day factor for the Ravens.
Three members of the 2025 draft class landed on reserve lists with offensive tackle Emery Jones Jr. (shoulder surgery) going on the non-football injury list — which will sideline him for at least the first four games — and cornerbacks Bilhal Kone (knee) and Robert Longerbeam (knee) being placed on season-ending injured reserve earlier this month. Seventh-round rookie offensive lineman Garrett Dellinger was the only member of the draft class not to make the 53-man roster due to performance after not rising above the third-string offensive line all summer.
As expected, outside linebacker Adisa Isaac (elbow surgery) was placed on IR with a designation to return later in the season, but tight end Isaiah Likely (foot surgery) was not placed on IR, which would have guaranteed his absence for at least the first four games of the regular season. The Ravens haven’t yet ruled out Likely for the Sept. 7 opener at Buffalo, but he has yet to resume practicing since suffering a fracture in his foot on July 29 and undergoing surgery a few days later.
The Ravens also placed safety Ar’Darius Washington on the reserve physically unable to perform list as he continues to recover from a spring Achilles tendon injury that’s expected to keep him out until at least November or December.
Below is the full list of transactions made by the Ravens on Tuesday:
8WAIVED
CB Jalyn Armour-Davis
WR Jahmal Banks
S Beau Brade
WR Malik Cunningham
G Darrian Dalcourt
OL Garrett Dellinger
OLB Malik Hamm
S Desmond Igbinosun
S Keondre Jackson
DL Jayson Jones
QB Devin Leary
OT Gerad Lichtenhan
ILB Chandler Martin
TE Zaire Mitchell-Paden
DL Adedayo Odeleye
DL C.J. Okoye
G Jared Penning
DL C.J. Ravenell
CB Marquise Robinson
OLB Kaimon Rucker
C Nick Samac
FB Lucas Scott
TE Scotty Washington
RELEASED
RB Myles Gaskin
CB Thomas Graham Jr.
RB D’Ernest Johnson
WR Keith Kirkwood
WR Anthony Miller
DL Brent Urban
WAIVED (with injury settlement)
WR Xavier Guillory
LB William Kwenkeu
PLACED ON INJURED RESERVE
OLB Adisa Isaac (designated to return)
WR Dayton Wade
PLACED ON RESERVE NON-FOOTBALL INJURY
OT Emery Jones Jr.
PLACED ON RESERVE PHYSICALLY UNABLE TO PERFORM
S Ar’Darius Washington
