Filling out their 90-man offseason roster after making several cuts last week, the Ravens signed guard Vladimir Ducasse and quarterback Josh Johnson on Monday.
Ducasse visited with Baltimore two months ago and started 11 games for the Chicago Bears last season. A 2010 second-round pick out of Massachusetts, the Haitian-born offensive lineman has played in 79 games (22 starts) with the New York Jets, Minnesota, and Chicago over six NFL seasons.
The 28-year-old is expected to compete with John Urschel, Ryan Jensen, and first-round pick Ronnie Stanley — if he’s not playing left tackle — for the starting left guard spot vacated by free-agent departure Kelechi Osemele. According to Pro Football Focus, the 6-foot-5, 325-pound Ducasse graded 47th among qualified guards in the NFL last season.
Johnson, 30, will provide the Ravens an extra quarterback for spring organized team activities and minicamp as starter Joe Flacco continues to rehab his surgically-repaired left knee. He will work with primary backup Ryan Mallett and former Texas A&M quarterback Jerrod Johnson with Flacco not expected to be back until training camp.
A former fifth-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2008 draft, Johnson has made five career starts in the NFL but none since 2011, his final season with the Buccaneers. Since then, the 6-foot-3 quarterback has had stints with a plethora of teams including Cleveland, Cincinnati, San Francisco, Indianapolis, and Buffalo.
He has completed 54.2 percent of his passes for 1,042 yards, five touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, but Johnson hasn’t attempted a pass in a regular-season game since 2011.
The Ravens also signed defensive back Sam Brown, a rookie free agent from Missouri Western State.
Ravens sign guard Vladimir Ducasse, quarterback Josh Johnson
Luke Jones
Luke Jones is the Ravens and Orioles beat reporter for WNST BaltimorePositive.com and is a PFWA member. His mind is consumed with useless sports knowledge, pro wrestling promos, and movie quotes, but he often forgets where he put his phone. Luke's favorite sports memories include being one of the thousands of kids who waited for Cal Ripken's autograph after Orioles games in the summer of 1995, attending the Super Bowl XXXV victory parade with his dad in the pouring rain, and watching the Terps advance to the Final Four at the Carrier Dome in 2002. Follow him on social media @BaltimoreLuke or email him at Luke@wnst.net.
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