The Baltimore Ravens made it out of Heinz Field with a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers but they still had a few problems they clearly need to remedy. The Ravens made some changes to the defensive line, having rookie Daylon Mack inactive in favor of Zach Sieler in Week 5 but apparently needed some more depth on the defensive line with Brandon Williams still a little banged up.
The team announced on Monday evening, they had added former Indianapolis Colts defensive tackle Jihad Ward to the 53-man roster. That wasn’t the only move Baltimore made quickly after their Week 5 game, though. They also brought in former New England Patriots safety A.J. Howard on the practice squad.
Ward was a second-round pick in 2016 to the Oakland Raiders. While Ward hasn’t exactly lived up to his high draft position, he’s more experienced depth on a roster that surprised many by only keeping five defensive linemen on the initial 53-man roster. After cutting Tim Williams last week and having to play Matthew Judon and Pernell McPhee more than the team wants, Ward could also find a role on the team in an outside linebacker type role in certain packages given his experience at defensive end.
Ward has started 14 games over three previous seasons. He comes to Baltimore with four sacks, 36 combined tackles and one fumble recovery over 30 total games played.
With the season-ending knee injury to safety Tony Jefferson, the Ravens will turn to Chuck Clark and DeShon Elliott to fill his role. However, that puts them a little thin in a secondary that has struggled mightily through five games. Adding Howard gives Baltimore a little extra depth without having to use an actual spot on the 53-man roster.
