With one of the most memorable trade deadlines in NFL history coming and going Tuesday afternoon, general manager Ozzie Newsome and the Ravens elected to stand pat.
According to the NFLPA, Baltimore began the week with just $2.976 million in salary cap room, a reality that was going to make any possible trade for a veteran player by 4 p.m. a difficult proposition. The Ravens have restructured several contracts in recent months just to create the current cap space to get through the rest of the season, a product of already having 15 players on injured reserve.
Unlike most years when little more than a few nondescript trades are completed, several high-profile players around the league were dealt before Tuesday’s deadline, a list that included three-time Pro Bowl left tackle Duane Brown (Houston to Seattle), wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin (Carolina to Buffalo), Pro Bowl running back Jay Ajayi (Miami to Philadelphia), and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (New England to San Francisco). Some had speculated that T.Y Hilton of Indianapolis or Miami’s Jarvis Landry would be a good fit for the offense-deficient Ravens, but neither receiver was traded on Tuesday afternoon.
The Ravens did welcome running back Danny Woodhead back to the practice field for the first time since he re-injured his left hamstring in the season opener on Sept. 10. Woodhead becomes the second Baltimore player to be designated to return from injured reserve after cornerback Maurice Canady began practicing earlier this month. Canady is eligible to be elevated to the 53-man roster for Sunday’s game at Tennessee, but Woodhead would not be allowed to play until Week 11 against Green Bay at the earliest.
Newsome also made a change to the active roster Tuesday by cutting veteran wide receiver Griff Whalen and promoting offensive lineman Maurquice Shakir from the practice squad. Shakir gives Baltimore an eighth offensive lineman on the 53-man roster. The Ravens also signed offensive linemen Jason King and Steven Moore to their practice squad.
