Needing to trim the roster to 80 players by Tuesday’s 4 p.m. deadline, the Ravens released two notable veterans in a series of moves made official Monday afternoon.
General manager Eric DeCosta terminated the contracts of safety Jordan Richards and offensive tackle Andre Smith, waived wide receiver Michael Dereus, and placed inside linebacker L.J. Fort on injured reserve. Richards, Smith, and Dereus didn’t take part in Monday morning’s practice, a sign that they were no longer with the organization.
Richards, 28, had been a core contributor on special teams since midway through the 2019 season and led the Ravens with 334 special-teams snaps appearing in every game last season. However, the arrival of young safeties such as Brandon Stephens, Geno Stone, and Ar’Darius Washington made it evident that Richards wasn’t in serious contention for a 53-man roster spot due to his limited defensive value.
Originally signed during the 2019 postseason, the 34-year-old Smith never appeared in a game for the Ravens and had opted out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The sixth overall pick of the 2009 draft entered the summer competing for the swing tackle job backing up starters Ronnie Stanley and Alejandro Villanueva, but Smith struggled mightily during training camp, making it evident that he wasn’t the answer for that reserve role.
Head coach John Harbaugh confirmed Monday morning that Fort sustained a torn ACL in Saturday’s win at Carolina that would sideline the 31-year-old for the entire season.
“I texted with L.J., and as usual, he’s just like, ‘Coach, nothing will hold me back. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me,’” Harbaugh said. “That’s just how he always is. We’ll move forward. We have really good depth, and we’ll be in good shape at linebacker.”
The Ravens must make one more move to get to 80 players on Tuesday.
The Week 1 status of Nick Boyle is still unclear as the blocking tight end is still on the active physically unable to perform list. Boyle, 28, suffered a major knee injury last November and underwent a cleanup procedure in June, further delaying his return to the practice field. Placing Boyle on the reserve PUP list would sideline him for at least the first six weeks of the season, but the hope is that won’t be necessary.
“I don’t really have the percentage on that, but he’s making progress. It’s a knee, and it was a serious injury,” Harbaugh said. “He’ll be back as soon as he can be. We’re still very hopeful for the opener, but we’ll just have to see — you never know. The good thing is we have other options, and I like the way our tight ends are coming along.”
The Ravens must set their initial 53-man roster for the regular season on Aug. 31.
