Ravens move McClain, Lewis-Moore to reserve lists to trim roster to 75 players

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OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Needing to trim their roster to the required 75 players by Tuesday’s 4 p.m. deadline, the Ravens placed linebacker Jameel McClain and defensive end Kapron Lewis-Moore to reserve lists for the start of the regular season.
As expected, McClain was moved to the reserve physically unable to perform list as he continues to recover from a spinal cord contusion suffered last December. Coach John Harbaugh said last week that the sixth-year linebacker would likely start the season on the PUP list, which would sideline him for at least the first six weeks before he could begin practicing.
Defensive end Kapron Lewis-Moore will begin the season on the reserve non-football injury list as he continues to rehab his surgically-repaired knee after tearing his ACL in the BCS title game with Notre Dame in January. The defensive lineman was drafted in the sixth round of April’s draft with the expectation that he wouldn’t be ready to play by the start of the regular season — if at all in 2013.
McClain has undergone periodic magnetic resonance imaging to determine how well his spinal cord is healing, but he has yet to be cleared by contact. Harbaugh previously indicated that McClain would have another MRI before the Ravens potentially moved him to the reserve PUP list.
“We’ll just keep taking the MRIs, and when the MRI is clear, then he’ll go,” said Harbaugh, who rejected the notion that McClain has been ruled out to play this season. “The MRI will be clear. There’s no question that at some point in time it will be clear. It’s just impossible to tell the time frame.”
McClain took part in some spring workouts on a limited basis as he and the Ravens maintained optimism that he would be cleared in time for the start of training camp. In early June, the Ravens signed veteran linebacker Daryl Smith, which was perhaps an indication that their optimism had waned over McClain’s prognosis.
Under the rules of both the reserve PUP and non-football injury lists, a player has a three-week window to begin practicing at the conclusion of the first six weeks of the season. From the point that the player returns to practice, he then has an additional 21-day window before the team must return him to the 53-man roster. If the player is unable to return to practice at the conclusion of the first three-week window or to the active roster by the end of the subsequent 21-day period, he must be placed on season-ending injured reserve or released.
The Ravens started Tuesday with 77 players on their preseason roster and moved McClain and Lewis-Moore to their respective reserve lists, which means neither player will count toward the 53-man roster limit at the start of the regular season. General manager Ozzie Newsome and Harbaugh must make final cuts by Saturday at 6 p.m.
On Sunday, the Ravens parted ways with tight end Visanthe Shiancoe, offensive line Ramon Harewood, wide receiver Tommy Streeter, running back Damien Berry, wide receiver Rashaad Carter, guard Jack Cornell, linebacker Bryan Hall, tackle David Mims, cornerback Moe Lee, defensive end Will Pericak, linebacker Meshak Williams, and wide receiver Gerrard Sheppard of Towson. They also placed injured linebacker Adrian Hamilton on IR with a wrist injury.