Dissatisfied with their return game and concerned about their depth at cornerback, the Ravens elevated two players from the practice squad to their 53-man roster on Saturday.
General manager Ozzie Newsome promoted wide receiver and return specialist Tim White and cornerback Robertson Daniel while waiving primary returner Janarion Grant and offensive lineman Jermaine Eluemunor ahead of the Week 3 meeting with the Denver Broncos.
Grant had won the preseason competition for the return specialist job over White and even broke off a 51-yard punt return in the opener against Buffalo, but he also fumbled a punt in each of the first two games. The Ravens lost neither fumble, but White had been receiving more return reps during practices this week, leaving one to wonder if a change was being pondered.
“Janarion understands the importance of hanging on to the ball,” special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg said on Thursday. “It’s the first and foremost thing of being a returner. It’s having the ball at the end of the play. He gets it; he’s working on it. We all understand it. The fact that his teammates have been there to rescue the situation doesn’t lessen the importance of hanging on to the ball.”
White also had problems with ball security this summer, losing a fumble in the preseason win at Indianapolis.
Daniel’s promotion to the 53-man roster stemmed from the hamstring injury suffered by rookie cornerback Anthony Averett late in the week. With Jimmy Smith serving two more games of a four-game suspension and Maurice Canady recently going to injured reserve, the Ravens found themselves with just four healthy cornerbacks on the roster: Brandon Carr, Marlon Humphrey, Tavon Young, and rookie free agent Darious Williams. Daniel has played in just one career NFL game, but he’s spent parts of the last three seasons with the Ravens, making him familiar with their defensive and special-teams playbooks.
Eluemunor had been a healthy scratch in each of the first two weeks as Baltimore elected to go with rookies Orlando Brown Jr. and Bradley Bozeman as the only active reserves. Waiving him signals that left tackle Ronnie Stanley’s injured right elbow isn’t a big concern as you’d expect the Ravens to carry an extra lineman if there were real doubt about his status.
The Ravens are unlikely to carry only seven offensive linemen on the 53-man roster for long, leading one to believe Eluemunor could be re-signed next week or at least added to the practice squad if he clears waivers. Grant would also be a logical candidate to be added to the practice squad.
