Less than 24 hours after deciding on their 53-man roster, the Ravens began building their eight-man practice squad on Saturday afternoon.
The team announced they have signed five players, all of whom were part of the preseason roster.
Anthony Allen headlines the group a day after the 2011 seventh-round pick was waived by the team after rookie free agent Bobby Rainey beat him out for the third running back job. Despite gaining an accrued season as a rookie, the Georgia Tech product remained eligible for the practice squad after being active in only five games. Players are allowed to join a practice squad if they’ve been active in fewer than nine games total for any accrued seasons.
The Ravens also signed safety Omar Brown, linebacker Josh Bynes, and offensive linemen Jack Cornell and Antoine McClain.
Brown gained notoriety in the preseason after coming away with four turnovers — three fumble recoveries and an interception — while Bynes was with the organization as a member of the practice squad and was promoted to the active roster to play in one game last season.
Bynes missed most of the preseason with a chipped vertebrae in his back.
Waived by the Ravens on Friday, linebacker Chavis Wiliams was at the team’s Owings Mills facility but was informed he would not be signed to the practice squad, a league source confirmed.
The team hoped to sign defensive tackle Ishmaa’ily Kitchen to the practice squad, but the 332-pounder was claimed by the Cleveland Browns on Saturday.
Looking for depth at linebacker, the Ravens will reportedly sign outside linebacker Adrian Hamilton to their practice squad, according to a report from The Sun. Hamilton is considered to be an intriguing project after accumulating 20 1/2 sacks for Prairie View A&M last season. He spent the 2012 preseason with the Dallas Cowboys.
