Through outright cuts and placing some players on injured reserve, the Ravens’ initial 53-man roster has been officially set. Though there will likely be some additions made through trades and free-agent signings, we have a good idea of what Baltimore will look like for Week 1 against the Miami Dolphins.
But with every move, the Ravens said a lot about their short-term and long-term plans with this team. Let’s take a look at what we learned from the roster cuts.
GM Eric DeCosta’s patience for struggling players is thin
Through the release of guys like wide receiver Jordan Lasley and defensive tackle Willie Henry, it’s clear DeCosta has a small amount of patience for guys that are struggling. The trades of offensive linemen Alex Lewis and Jermaine Eluemunor also showed DeCosta is willing to jettison underperforming players.
Lasley was a fifth-round pick last year and had some flashes even this offseason. But he didn’t develop enough from last year and had a few frustrating moments.
The release of Henry, expected to be a breakout candidate this year, was a much bigger shock. While he didn’t play very well in the preseason, it was figured Henry had shown enough previously to be given the benefit of the doubt to be allowed a chance to rebound during the regular season. But DeCosta was clearly not happy and trimmed one of their experienced players.
The one thing all four players have in common was they seemingly coasted into this offseason. In spite of chances to win starting jobs, all four failed to step up. DeCosta set the tone for future years that it’s not going to be tolerated and anyone is capable of losing his job in an instant.
Ravens putting their eggs in the secondary’s basket
Baltimore’s deep defensive line has usually been their bread and butter. For a defense that has typically aimed to stop the run first, keeping just five defensive linemen is kind of a shock. But as the NFL continues to evolve into a more pass-happy league, the Ravens’ 3-4 scheme means there’s less value in keeping a ton of guys up front.
Instead, Baltimore invested those roster spots in the secondary. They kept five safeties and seven cornerbacks this year, up from the nine total players in the secondary in October last season.
The Ravens’ opponents in the AFC North are loaded with talent in the passing game: Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, JuJu Smith-Schuster and A.J. Green. Considering those AFC North games are more than a third of the schedulr, it makes sense DeCosta is skewing the roster accordingly.
Young depth on the offensive line is being trusted
By keeping Patrick Mekari and Greg Senat, the Ravens are putting a lot of confidence in their young guys to step up.
While the 53-man roster still doesn’t answer who will be starting at left guard in Week 1, it leaves Baltimore with quite a few guys on the interior of the offensive line that are either rookies or in their second years. Mekari, Powers and Bozeman all factor into the left guard job and are the primary backups to Marshal Yanda. Meanwhile, at tackle, it’s James Hurst and Senat as the only backups for Ronnie Stanley and Orlando Brown Jr.
If the Ravens have a single injury on their starting lineup, they’re likely going to be turning to a very young player with little to no starting experience. For a few that’s expected the run the ball quite a lot this season while also trying to protect quarterback Lamar Jackson, that’s a lot of faith.
Ravens committing to their youth movement
While the offensive line is the prime example, DeCosta and the Ravens really went all in on the youth movement this year. In total, Baltimore has 10 rookies. According to the Ravens’ website, 22 of them are in their first or second seasons in the NFL, and 29 players are 25 years old or younger.
If there was an option between keeping a more experienced player or a younger guy at a position, and both played equally well, Baltimore chose the youth and potential.
On defense, players like defensive backs Maurice Canady, Brynden Trawick and Bennett Jackson were cut in favor of keeping Iman Marshall. On the defensive line, Henry was cut in favor of Daylon Mack. At wide receiver, it was Jaleel Scott over Michael Floyd. Justice Hill was kept over Kenneth Dixon at running back. Even though some of these moves were fairly obvious, they weren’t necessarily ones the Ravens would have made in previous years, often deciding to go with the continuity and experience over potential.
Though the experienced players could have very well come in handy this season, getting young guys reps and a chance to develop is a smart long-term move.
Ravens are keeping 3 QBs . . . for now
The decision to keep Trace McSorley as a third quarterback could mean so much.
It could mean Robert Griffin III’s thumb injury isn’t done healing and they need McSorley to be Jackson’s primary backup. It could mean they want to put McSorley on the practice squad but don’t think he’ll clear waivers yet. It could just be that McSorley earned himself a spot on the Ravens’ 53-man roster and will see the field at some point this season.
But what it certainly means is that Baltimore wants to keep McSorley around for a little while longer. They clearly like what he can do, and in the preseason he showed some serious development as a passer in addition to his versatility elsewhere on the field.
More UDFAs make the cut
Keeping guard Patrick Mekari and linebacker Otaro Alaka on the 53-man roster means the Ravens are continuing quite the streak. It marks the 16th consecutive season Baltimore has had an undrafted player make their 53-man roster.
The Ravens have seemingly always been brilliant at finding diamonds in the rough, having quite the stock of great undrafted players in their history. Players like linebacker Bart Scott, center Mike Flynn and running back Priest Holmes highlight Baltimore’s scouting acumen. Now it’s time for Alaka and Mekari to get their chance.
