Ravens Make Trade, Cuts to Get to 53

The Ravens made a flurry of moves this afternoon to get down to the required roster size by the 4 PM deadline. Here’s the list…

Waived the following players:

Terminated the contracts of the following vested veterans:

 Waived (injured) the following players:

Placed the following player on Reserve/Non-Football Injury:

Traded the following player to the New York Giants:

RSR staff react to the move here…

Darin McCann

NFL rosters are always pretty fluid, but this initial 53-man grouping from the Ravens feels like an especially temporary placeholder. There will be some IR designations and re-signings tomorrow, and then it just feels like there are also some other transactions waiting in the weeds. It is exciting to see young young guys like Chris Westry and Ar’Darius Washington make it this far in an exceptionally talented and deep defensive backfield, and I like the work done with the Bredeson and Wade trades.

The Ravens had a lot of tough decisions this year — and still do. Getting some value for a few guys on their bubble seems like good business to me. Is Boykin going on IR because the team still has high hopes for the receiver, or is this insurance against Bateman’s recovery timeline? Both? 

Chad Racine

No real surprises here. This will not be the 53-man roster on September 13th. Most notably Pernell McPhee and also likely Justin Ellis will be re-signed.

I was hoping for Chris Westry and Ar’Darius Washington to make the final cut so I was happy about that. Hopefully Nigel Warrior clears waviers and can land on the practice squad. I was pretty confident that Geno Stone would stick after a stellar preseason. The future at safety looks bright for the next few years. 

Taylor Lyons

Today’s cut down deadline came and went with very few surprises.

— Justin Ellis being cut was maybe the most surprising to me, but still not shocking. The Ravens carried six interior defensive lineman last season but almost always only had five active on game days. With the crunch for spots at other positions, namely defensive back, keeping six iDL would’ve been hard. I won’t be shocked to see Ellis back with the team in some capacity, whether it be on the practice squad or re-signed once IR players are dealt with.

— The Ben Mason pick didn’t make sense to me at the time and still doesn’t. We found out recently Patrick Ricard had offseason surgery, so the selection of what could have been his replacement if Ricard’s recovery went poorly can be somewhat justified, but fullback is just not that important of a position. If that worst case scenario happened, his replacement could have easily been scooped up. It could have even been Mason himself, who likely would have gone undrafted if the Ravens didn’t call. I also somewhat understand the logic of Mason being Ricard’s replacement after 2021, but drafting a replacement a year early is something you do at QB or OT, not fullback.

— I was a little upset seeing Nigel Warrior waived, but again, the DB room was stacked. I like keeping Ar’Darius Washington, who seems to be the backup nickel corner who can also play safety if need be.

— The Ravens ultimately kept nine offensive lineman, which I expected, but I did not expect the ninth guy to be Trystan Colon over Michael Schofield. Schofield was the only true tackle outside of Ronnie Stanley and Alejandro Villanueva. Meanwhile, Colon only plays center, which is occupied by Bradley Bozeman with Patrick Mekari also able to fill in. Maybe the Ravens have plans to claim a tackle that was waived today by another team.

— By my count, there seems to be four guys (Rashod Bateman, Miles Boykin, Nick Boyle, Jimmy Smith) that were kept on the 53-man simply to be later put on IR so they can be brought back in just three weeks rather than missing the whole season. I think Eric Tomlinson and Pernell McPhee are obvious candidates to be brought back once those moves are made, leaving two open spots. Anthony Levine is a possibility, although I’m not sure if they’ll want to carry 12 defensive backs. It also leaves the door open for other waiver claims to be made.

Tony Lombardi

Until the Ravens take the field on September 13 at Allegiant Stadium, this roster will remain fluid and is hardly etched in stone. Even after the first game, additional movement is possible. It’s then that Eric DeCosta can sign players without committing to them for the full season. I’ve also admired how EDC has been able to obtain draft capital for players like Greg Mancz and Ben Bredeson who were about to be released.

Credit EDC also for getting something in return for Shaun Wade who would not have survived cutdown day and would not have cleared waivers. I’ve heard that four other teams were ready to pounce on Wade if released. I also admire DeCosta’s fearlessness. He’s willing to admit a draft day mistake and cut his losses by dealing the player and recouping some draft capital.

Don’t blink. More moves are coming.

Dev Panchwagh

Some of the surprises were the veterans who didn’t make the final roster but may ultimately be brought on “wink wink” handshake deals. Mason not making the team is pretty disappointing considering where he was drafted. Maybe they can sneak him to the practice squad? But that just makes me wonder, could they have gained more from drafting an OT in one of the best OT drafts instead?

Ron Toothe

Injuries have been the name of the game for Miles Boykin all throughout camp. They’re the reason he didn’t touch the field for an ounce of the pre-season, and luckily for him they’re likely the reason he’s still on the roster. A fully healthy Bateman, Watkins, and Brown could’ve very easily meant the end of his time as a Raven.

Kevin McNelis

It’s easy to be bummed out by seeing familiar faces like Anthony Levine and Pernell McPhee get the axe, but with as many moving parts as there are at this time of year, those guys could land back with the club. I can’t help but get a little greedy in saying I wanted to hang onto some promising young talent in guys like Nigel Warrior, Nate McCrary, and Eric Tomlinson, but I suppose having so much talent that you’re forced to make tough decisions is a good problem to have. On the bright side, it’s great to see guys like Chris Westry and Ar’Darius Washington play their way onto the roster, and here’s hoping they can keep up the good work.

Nikhil Mehta

The Ravens didn’t make any shocking moves with their final roster cuts, with veterans Pernell McPhee and Anthony Levine as the only minor surprises. I would bet that Miles Boykin only made the team because of Rashod Bateman’s injury, so I can’t see him staying on the roster over a vet like McPhee or Levine once Bateman is healthy. Ben Mason’s selection in the fifth-round continues to mystify me, as there’s no guarantee that he even opts to re-sign with the Ravens’ practice squad if he clears waivers. It seems to me that the Ravens could’ve snagged a better developmental offensive tackle than the undrafted free agents they cut today (Adrian Ealy, Foster Sarell). Special commendations go out to Jaylon Ferguson, Chris Westry and Ar’Darius Washington for playing their butts off in training camp and the preseason to earn roster spots.

I’m also a huge fan of Eric DeCosta stockpiling draft picks for players that would have been cut. Many on Twitter are saying he’s loading up on picks to have young, cheap talent after Jackson’s sure-to-be massive extension, but don’t rule out DeCosta pulling off some magic before the trade deadline to prime the Ravens for a Super Bowl run!

Rob Shields

I don’t feel The Turk knocked on anyone’s door we didn’t see coming. McPhee is still a very solid player and I would assume they have a wink wink deal with him. I would assume the same for Levine and Ellis as well. Nigel Warrior not making it is a direct result of Ar’Darius Washington and the re-emergence of Geno Stone, a PFF favorite entering the draft. The Bredesen trade seems to be a solid one, a move that should give them five 4th round selections in the upcoming draft. I also don’t think Bredesen was a guarantee to make the team, which could mean they made a mistake drafting him or it simply means other guys they had drafted and developed were better.  

What we do know is that this won’t be the roster heading into the season and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them another RB or a vet MLB, after losing Fort.