With the Ravens making final cuts to set their initial 53-man roster on Tuesday afternoon, I’ve offered a dozen thoughts, each in 50 words or less:
1. With a few players potentially going on injured reserve, I’d be surprised if Pernell McPhee and Anthony Levine don’t return in the coming days. If you can’t work out a handshake agreement with two veterans who’ve won a Super Bowl and spent most of their careers here, when can you?
2. We’ve cited Justin Forsett’s release and re-signing after the 2016 preseason as precedent, but it’s worth noting the veteran running back was released for good after Week 4 that year. You’re knowingly taking a non-zero risk losing them, which speaks to shaky season-long footing for such players even upon returning.
3. I’ve long preferred carrying only two quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, and Tyler Huntley’s performance over the course of the preseason justified that decision from a football standpoint. However, Lamar Jackson not being vaccinated leaves more uneasiness, especially if Trace McSorley doesn’t return via the practice squad.
4. With this offense requiring a unique skill set from its quarterbacks, Eric DeCosta won’t have the more conventional pool of quarterbacks from which to draw if McSorley lands elsewhere. A name to watch would be the 35-year-old Josh Johnson, who is mobile and spent the 2016 preseason with the Ravens.
5. Good for Ar’Darius Washington making the team as the only undrafted rookie after two 2021 fifth-round picks didn’t make the cut. At 5-foot-8 and 176 pounds, Washington doesn’t fit the NFL mold of a safety, but his nose for the football makes him an interesting developmental option at the nickel.
6. Given the uncertainty at wide receiver and what he offers as a blocker and special-teams contributor when healthy, Miles Boykin making the initial roster to likely go to IR made sense despite his disappointing development as a receiver. Having reinforcements for later in the season is never a bad thing.
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7. Asked about Sammy Watkins missing valuable time to build chemistry with Jackson, Greg Roman understandably prioritized his health. “Let’s get him 100% ready to roll, and then let’s go. But would you like him out there? Sure, but we’ll be just fine.” Watkins’ injury history is why you stash Boykin.
8. It’s important to remember two members of the practice squad can be elevated for each game. Last summer, Baltimore cut Jordan Richards, re-signed him to the practice squad, elevated him for the first two games, and then promoted him to the roster in Week 3. He played in every game.
9. Even if Levine returns, special teams will be something to monitor early in the season with core veterans such as Richards, L.J. Fort, and Morgan Cox no longer in the picture. That’s just the nature of the business, but the Ravens will need youngsters to step up in that phase.
10. Good for DeCosta not falling victim to the sunk cost fallacy and recovering the rough equivalent of draft pick mulligans for 2020 fourth-round pick Ben Bredeson and 2021 fifth-round pick Shaun Wade. Still, you’d like to see a little more promise from relatively early Day 3 picks.
11. They weren’t exactly first- or second-round selections, but Bredeson, Ben Mason, Chris Wormley, and Willie Henry are recent Michigan draft picks not to do much in their time with the Ravens. Mason could still develop on the practice squad if he clears waivers, but that fifth-round choice always felt strange.
12. Don’t cry because Jake Verity is over; smile because Kaare Vedvik happened. Or so the old saying goes about Justin Tucker summer understudies.
