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Sizing up the 2025 Ravens roster following mandatory minicamp

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The 2025 Ravens roster is far from settled. 

The signing of two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander on the final day of mandatory minicamp reinforced that notion as Baltimore further augmented a revamped secondary. And roughly $15 million in remaining salary cap space leaves open the possibility — if not likelihood — of adding another veteran or two to the roster before the season opener at Buffalo on Sept. 7.

This exercise will carry more meaning when we get to the preseason schedule in August, so this look at the roster is based more on track record, contract status, draft standing, and positional need rather than trying to make too much of snapshot observations from a handful of non-contact practices this spring. I currently see 45 healthy players comfortably on the 53-man roster, leaving eight spots to fill. We’ll get a better idea of where players stand beginning with the rep distribution in training camp and continuing with playing time in preseason games. Not all bubble players are on equal footing, of course, with certain position groups lacking established depth and others having so much talent that the numbers game could squeeze out someone otherwise deserving of a 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 pick a certain number of wide receivers or outside linebackers isn’t the most accurate way of filling out a 53-man roster. The Ravens typically value reserves who excel on special teams, so they’ll look carefully at other traits in addition to what players bring to their offensive or defensive position groups when completing the back of the roster.

The numbers in parentheses indicate how many players are currently on the 90-man roster — which actually stands at 91 with David Ojabo carrying an international player exemption — at each position. As we move into training camp and the preseason schedule, I’ll provide updated looks that include 53-man roster projections of who’s in and who’s out.

QUARTERBACKS (3)
IN: Lamar Jackson, Cooper Rush
BUBBLE: none
LONG SHOT: Devin Leary
Skinny: With Jackson skipping most of the voluntary workouts, Rush had no shortage of first-team reps to get acclimated with a new offense and new teammates. Meanwhile, Leary still looked like someone better suited for the practice squad than a No. 3 quarterback warranting a 53-man roster spot.

RUNNING BACKS (5)
IN: Derrick Henry, Justice Hill, Keaton Mitchell
BUBBLE: Rasheen Ali
LONG SHOT: Marcus Major
Skinny: With Henry and Hill combining for more than 2,700 yards of offense in 2024 and Mitchell being another year removed from his major knee injury, it will take a strong summer from Ali to stick on the 53-man roster for a second straight year. The Ravens cut undrafted rookie Sone Ntoh to make room for Alexander last week, so adding another running back for preseason games wouldn’t be surprising.

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TIGHT ENDS & FULLBACKS (7)
IN: Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, Charlie Kolar, Patrick Ricard
BUBBLE: none
LONG SHOT: Zaire Mitchell-Paden, Sam Pitz, Lucas Scott
Skinny: Despite much offseason trade speculation about Andrews and discussion about the long-term contract status of every veteran in this group, nothing has changed with Andrews, Likely, Kolar, and Ricard all set to become unrestricted free agents after 2025. You’d assume Likely is the top priority to extend, but he’s likely in no rush to re-sign as many predict a strong season from the 25-year-old.

WIDE RECEIVERS (12)
IN: Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, DeAndre Hopkins, Tylan Wallace, Devontez Walker
BUBBLE: LaJohntay Wester, Dayton Wade
LONG SHOT: Anthony Miller, Keith Kirkwood, Malik Cunningham, Jahmal Banks, Xavier Guillory
Skinny: The possible No. 6 receiver spot could come down to the sixth-round rookie Wester and 2024 practice-squad member Wade, who will both be in the mix as a return specialist. Miller saw limited action even in last year’s postseason, but barring an injury or two, there’s little reason to think he’d earn more than a spot on the practice squad after spending all of last season there.

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (17)
IN: Ronnie Stanley, Andrew Vorhees, Tyler Linderbaum, Daniel Faalele, Roger Rosengarten, Joseph Noteboom, Ben Cleveland, Carson Vinson
BUBBLE: Darrian Dalcourt, Garrett Dellinger, Nick Samac
LONG SHOT: Corey Bullock, Jared Penning, Gerad Lichtenhan, Reid Holskey, Ozzie Hutchinson
INJURED: Emery Jones Jr.
Skinny: Harbaugh expressed only cautious optimism about the status of Jones for training camp, so you wonder if the third-round rookie out of LSU could start the season on a reserve list as he continues to rehab a shoulder injury. Dellinger and Samac are more familiar names as seventh-round picks, but keep an eye on Dalcourt as a possible reserve interior lineman after he spent 2024 on the practice squad.

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (9)
IN: Nnamdi Madubuike, Travis Jones, Broderick Washington, John Jenkins
BUBBLE: Aeneas Peebles, C.J. Ravenell
LONG SHOT: C.J. Okoye, Adedayo Odeleye, Jayson Jones
Skinny: Madubuike and Jones are high-impact headliners, but depth is still a question for this group after the retirement of veteran nose tackle Michael Pierce. The Ravens signed the 35-year-old Jenkins to help fill that void and drafted Peebles as an interesting interior pass-rush prospect, but you still wonder if there’s another depth addition to be made to this group at some point.

INSIDE LINEBACKERS (7)
IN: Roquan Smith, Trenton Simpson, Teddye Buchanan, Jake Hummel
BUBBLE: William Kwenkeu
LONG SHOT: Jay Higgins, Chandler Martin
Skinny: Buchanan was drafted in the fourth round to compete with Simpson after his disappointing 2024 and Hummel should shine on special teams, but an injury to Smith would obviously be extremely concerning, especially with Malik Harrison and Chris Board leaving as free agents. Though the Ravens have a deep secondary to minimize linebacker usage in sub packages, Simpson needs to step up.

OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS (9)
IN: Odafe Oweh, Kyle Van Noy, Tavius Robinson, Mike Green, Adisa Isaac
BUBBLE: David Ojabo, Malik Hamm
LONG SHOT: Diwun Black, Kaimon Rucker
Skinny: Entering the final year of his rookie contract after injuries derailed his development over his first two seasons, Ojabo needs a strong summer to secure a 53-man roster spot, especially when acknowledging the numbers ahead of him on the depth chart or carrying more team control. And that’s before even considering any possibility of Baltimore adding another veteran to the mix such as Jadeveon Clowney or Za’Darius Smith.

CORNERBACKS (11)
IN: Marlon Humphrey, Nate Wiggins, Jaire Alexander, Chidobe Awuzie, T.J. Tampa
BUBBLE: Jalyn Armour-Davis, Bilhal Kone, Robert Longerbeam
LONG SHOT: Reuben Lowery, Marquise Robinson, Keyon Martin
Skinny: While Alexander obviously brings more dynamic upside to this position, his arrival also makes it more challenging to carry developmental sixth-round rookies Kone and Longerbeam as well as Armour-Davis, who is in a contract year and has been cross-training some at safety. Given the injury history of both Alexander and Awuzie, the Ravens still need to carry as many viable backup corners as possible.

SAFETIES (7)
IN: Kyle Hamilton, Malaki Starks, Sanoussi Kane
BUBBLE: Beau Brade
LONG SHOT: Desmond Igbinosun, Keondre Jackson
INJURED: Ar’Darius Washington
Skinny: The spring Achilles injury to Washington was unfortunate and altered the post-draft vision of extensive three-safety packages, which resulted in more urgency for DeCosta to take an upside swing on Alexander at cornerback. Even with Kane earning some praise for his second-year growth this spring, the depth chart is extremely light behind Hamilton and the first-round rookie Starks, which leads one to expect a veteran safety to be added at some point this summer.

SPECIALISTS (4)
IN: Jordan Stout, Nick Moore
BUBBLE: Tyler Loop, John Hoyland
LONG SHOT: none
Skinny: Though the Ravens liked Loop enough to make him the first drafted kicker in franchise history and then released Justin Tucker before the conclusion of the NFL’s investigation, no sixth-round pick is a roster lock and Loop struggled toward the end of spring workouts. He remains the favorite to win the job, but Hoyland, an undrafted rookie from Wyoming, looked the part of legitimate competition.

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