The Ravens won’t have to trim their roster to 53 players until Aug. 29, but the remainder of the preseason schedule will offer a better idea of what the team will look like entering the 2023 campaign.
The current 53-man roster projection still weighs track record, contract status, draft standing, and positional need in addition to what we’ve witnessed over the first few weeks of training camp and in the preseason opener. For now, I estimate 46 players to be comfortably on the roster, leaving seven spots to fill. However, the status of injured players complicates matters as anyone wanting to remain eligible for a designation to return from injured reserve must be on the initial 53-man roster before going on IR. This has led to Baltimore making the occasional handshake agreement to open a temporary spot by releasing a vested veteran not subject to waivers and re-signing that individual after the initial roster dust settles. Players on the active physically unable to perform list or active non-football injury list may be placed on the reserve PUP list without needing to be on the initial 53.
We’ll gain a better idea of where players stand based on the rep distribution over the final two preseason games. Not all bubble players are on equal footing, of course, with certain position groups lacking depth and others enjoying so much talent that the numbers game will likely victimize a few players deserving of an NFL roster spot. Though general manager Eric DeCosta, head coach John Harbaugh, and the rest of the staff and front office are cognizant of the numbers at each position, trying to arbitrarily pinpoint a certain number of wide receivers or outside linebackers isn’t the most realistic way of projecting a roster. The Ravens favor reserves who will contribute on special teams, so they’ll look carefully at other attributes in addition to what players bring to their position groups when formulating the back of the roster.
The number in parentheses indicates how many players from each position group are projected to be on the 53-man roster entering Week 1.
QUARTERBACKS (2)
IN: Lamar Jackson, Tyler Huntley
WRONG SIDE OF THE BUBBLE: Josh Johnson
LONG SHOT: Anthony Brown
Skinny: Teams may now have a third emergency quarterback without using a game-day roster spot, but that individual must be on the 53-man roster, diminishing the value of that option. Huntley has outplayed Johnson since the start of training camp, and the Ravens have too many position needs elsewhere to devote a third roster spot to a quarterback when anyone behind Jackson brings substantial drop-off.
RUNNING BACKS (4)
IN: J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards, Justice Hill, Keaton Mitchell
WRONG SIDE OF THE BUBBLE: Melvin Gordon
LONG SHOT: Owen Wright
Skinny: The undrafted rookie Mitchell has not only shown good speed, but his presence on multiple special-teams units in the first half against Philadelphia was a good sign for his chances to stick on the roster. Though Gordon, 30, has had a solid summer, the bet is Baltimore preferring the long-term upside and special-teams prowess of Mitchell, especially with Dobbins and Edwards in the final year of their deals.
WIDE RECEIVERS (6)
IN: Odell Beckham Jr., Rashod Bateman, Zay Flowers, Nelson Agholor, Devin Duvernay, Tylan Wallace
WRONG SIDE OF THE BUBBLE: James Proche, Laquon Treadwell
LONG SHOT: Sean Ryan, Dontay Demus, Tarik Black, Shemar Bridges
Skinny: I’m not buying DeCosta having too many tough decisions here with the top five spots all but cemented and Wallace having an extra year of team control and superior special-teams ability to Proche, who’s in the final year of his rookie deal. Ryan and Black have both flashed enough to be candidates for the practice squad while Treadwell is a veteran who could also make sense for that group.
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TIGHT ENDS & FULLBACKS (4)
IN: Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, Charlie Kolar, Patrick Ricard
WRONG SIDE OF THE BUBBLE: Travis Vokolek
LONG SHOT: Ben Mason
Skinny: The Ravens still need an in-line blocking tight end, and Ricard remains the best in-house option to fill that role, which is why I’m not making too much of him practicing with the offensive line since coming off the physically unable to perform list. Vokolek has flashed pass-catching ability this summer, but Kolar already figures to have a tough time finding much of a game-day presence at this point.
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (9)
IN: Ronnie Stanley, Tyler Linderbaum, Kevin Zeitler, Morgan Moses, Patrick Mekari, Daniel Faalele, Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu, Sam Mustipher, John Simpson
WRONG SIDE OF THE BUBBLE: Ben Cleveland
LONG SHOT: David Sharpe, Tashawn Manning, TyKeem Doss, Jake Guidone, Brandon Kipper, Jaylon Thomas
NON-FOOTBALL INJURY LIST: Andrew Vorhees
Skinny: The ninth offensive line spot could come down to Simpson or Cleveland, and that decision will depend on where Baltimore is with the left guard spot. If the rookie Aumavae-Laulu is giving every indication that he can handle the starting job, the Ravens may prefer to keep Cleveland over Simpson for more versatility since the former has been practicing at both right guard and right tackle this summer.
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (5)
IN: Michael Pierce, Justin Madubuike, Broderick Washington, Travis Jones, Brent Urban
WRONG SIDE OF THE BUBBLE: Angelo Blackson, Rayshad Nichols
LONG SHOT: Kaieem Caesar, Trey Botts
Skinny: Given how much nickel defense the Ravens figure to play this season, there isn’t as much of a need for more than five defensive linemen. Both Blackson and Nichols would be deserving of spots on the practice squad, and DeCosta would have to figure Nichols is likely to pass through waivers after spending all of last season on the practice squad and appearing in only one regular-season game.
INSIDE LINEBACKERS (5)
IN: Roquan Smith, Patrick Queen, Trenton Simpson, Malik Harrison, Del’Shawn Phillips
WRONG SIDE OF THE BUBBLE: Josh Ross, Kristian Welch
LONG SHOT: none
Skinny: Harrison’s ability to move outside to play “Sam” linebacker keeps him off the bubble in the final season of his rookie contract while Phillips has played the best defensively out of the bubble linebackers. Given the new kickoff rule, the Ravens may not feel compelled to keep as many inside linebackers for special-team purposes, especially if they believe they can get Ross or Welch back on the practice squad.
OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS (4)
IN: Tyus Bowser, Odafe Oweh, David Ojabo, Tavius Robinson
WRONG SIDE OF THE BUBBLE: Jeremiah Moon, Malik Hamm
LONG SHOT: Kelle Sanders
Skinny: It’s obvious that DeCosta is aiming to make a meaningful veteran addition here, especially with Bowser’s status still in question until he begins practicing and shows his knee injury is behind him. However you look at it, Baltimore is counting heavily on Oweh and Ojabo stepping up in a major way, but Mike Macdonald’s defense needs another viable depth piece at the very least.
CORNERBACKS (7)
IN: Marlon Humphrey, Rock Ya-Sin, Brandon Stephens, Jalyn Armour-Davis, Damarion Williams, Kevon Seymour, Kyu Kelly
WRONG SIDE OF THE BUBBLE: Arthur Maulet
LONG SHOT: Tae Hayes, Corey Mayfield Jr., Jeremy Lucien, Jordan Swann
NON-FOOTBALL INJURY LIST: Trayvon Mullen
Skinny: I’m not sure this position group has felt this unsettling at this point in a season since the days of hoping Chykie Brown and Asa Jackson would be able to handle the No. 3 and No. 4 corner jobs. Given how many corners were missing due to injury, Kelly, a fifth-round rookie, not playing until well into the second half wasn’t a great sign for his progress and even his potential roster standing.
SAFETIES (4)
IN: Marcus Williams, Kyle Hamilton, Geno Stone, Ar’Darius Washington
WRONG SIDE OF THE BUBBLE: Daryl Worley
LONG SHOT: Jaquan Amos
Skinny: Washington remains one of the top candidates for the nickel spot while Worley is coming off an excellent performance in the preseason opener. However, given Stephens’ ability to move between cornerback and safety, Baltimore could still elect to keep another cornerback over the 28-year-old Worley, who is viewed as a safety at this point in his career.
SPECIALISTS (3)
IN: Justin Tucker, Jordan Stout, Tyler Ott
WRONG SIDE OF THE BUBBLE: none
LONG SHOT: none
NON-FOOTBALL INJURY LIST: Nick Moore
Skinny: Any lingering questions about Ott’s ability to replace Moore as the long snapper were seemingly satisfied with a stellar performance from the specialists in the first preseason game.
