At least a dozen players who weren’t on last year’s 53-man roster should make the Ravens‘ regular season squad this year, writes Clifton Brown of CSNBaltimore.com. The team will likely expect major contributions from free agent addition Steve Smith, trade acquisition Jeremy Zuttah, and top draft picks C.J. Mosley and Timmy Jernigan, but there are several other new faces who could chip in, as Brown details.
Here’s more from around the NFL’s two North divisions:
- The significance of Antonio Brown leaving Roc Nation Sports shouldn’t be understated, according to Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports, who speculates that the Steelers wideout must have had questions about the agency’s true value to leave so soon. Roc Nation, which also represents Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz, doesn’t have an extensive NFL client list, so losing a player of Brown’s nature after just two months is troubling, says Gatlin (all Twitter links).
- John Mullin of CSNChicago.com takes a look at the Bears‘ offensive line, which was one of the team’s strengths last season. Chicago was one of three clubs to start the same five linemen in all 16 games in 2013, so if the club isn’t quite so lucky with its health this year, the depth additions made this offseason could become crucial.
- Aaron Rodgers will work with his fourth center in as many years in 2014, prompting Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel to explore whether likely start J.C. Tretter is capable of finally stopping the Packers‘ revolving door at the position.