Most of the roster-building dust has seemingly settled with the Ravens officially re-signing three veterans to their 53-man roster and placing three others on injured reserve on Thursday afternoon.
Baltimore signed quarterback Josh Johnson, cornerback Kevon Seymour, and defensive end Brent Urban just two days after releasing the trio of vested veterans, who weren’t subject to going through waivers. Those handshake agreements allowed general manager Eric DeCosta to keep cornerback Damarion Williams, running back Keaton Mitchell, and outside linebacker Malik Hamm on the initial 53-man roster before placing them on injured reserve, which keeps them eligible to be designated to return later in the season.
Williams is recovering from ankle surgery that’s expected to keep him out until at least October while Mitchell has been dealing with a left shoulder injury suffered in the second preseason game. It’s unclear what has been ailing Hamm, who hasn’t practiced since the Aug. 21 preseason game at Washington. Any player placed on IR must miss a minimum of four games before returning to the active roster.
While Seymour and Urban were viewed as obvious candidates to re-sign to the 53-man roster and figure to continue providing defensive depth, Johnson’s return adds a new wrinkle to the competition for the primary backup job to starter Lamar Jackson. Huntley was widely regarded as outperforming Johnson over the first half of training camp, but the incumbent No. 2 quarterback has been out with a hamstring injury since the preseason opener on Aug. 12. After a shaky performance against Philadelphia, the 37-year-old Johnson played very well over the final two preseason games and could enter the season as the No. 2 quarterback — at least until Huntley is ready to return.
“We have thought all that through,” head coach John Harbaugh said Wednesday. “Obviously, Josh had a heck of a camp [and] played really well — all through practices was outstanding. The last two games, he couldn’t have been any better. We love Josh, and we’ll just let it play out here the next 24 hours or so.”
There’s also the possibility that the Ravens elect to carry three quarterbacks on the active roster even after Huntley is healthy enough to play. The NFL now allows teams to have a third emergency quarterback who doesn’t count against the game-day roster limit as long as that individual is already part of the 53-man roster.
The Ravens also signed veteran defensive tackle Bravvion Roy to complete their 16-man practice squad. Roy was waived by Chicago earlier this week after spending the previous three seasons with Carolina. Baltimore had been interested in re-signing defensive tackle Angelo Blackson to the practice squad after releasing him earlier this week, but the 30-year-old signed to Jacksonville’s 53-man roster on Thursday.
