No roster in the NFL is completely set at any point. In spite of just setting their 53-man roster and practice squads, the Baltimore Ravens are already making moves to bring on players they’re interested in. On Tuesday, the Ravens made a change to their practice squad, signing defensive tackle Trevon Coley and releasing offensive tackle Marcus Applefield, according to Baltimore’s Twitter account.
This is Coley’s second stint with the Ravens. He had previously been an undrafted free agent signing out of Florida Atlantic following the 2016 NFL draft. But Coley was among those cut as Baltimore trimmed down to their 53-man roster. Coley bounced around to the Washington Redskins and played three seasons with the Cleveland Browns before being among the roster cutdowns last week.
Coley was a starter for Cleveland for 29 of his 31 active games. Over that time, Coley notched 80 combined tackles, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, 2.5 sacks and two passes defensed.
With the Ravens’ 53-man roster light on defensive line depth — keeping just five players at the group — Coley’s addition to the practice squad offers Baltimore some much-needed insurance in case of an injury. While they also need depth along the offensive line and especially at tackle where Applefield played, the Ravens have a few players who could swing over to fill a hole at either tackle spot if necessary in Patrick Mekari, Greg Senat, James Hurst and even Marshal Yanda.
However, just because Coley is on Baltimore’s practice squad doesn’t mean he’s with the team for the long haul. The practice squad rules allow other teams to sign a player to their 53-man roster at any time. But if the Ravens see someone else snooping around, they could attempt to elevate him to their 53-man roster instead to keep him safe.
