The Ravens are set to sign running back Kenjon Barner, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The well-traveled veteran is expected to feature in Baltimore’s return game now that speedster De’Anthony Thomas has opted out of the 2020 season. 
Barner spent 2019 with the Falcons, where he averaged 7.6 yards per punt return, 23.9 yards per kick return, and took one 78-yard return to the house. On the flipside, Barner muffed four punts and turned the ball over once on a fumble. The 31-year-old’s best path to the field might be as a kick returner, since sixth-round pick James Proche is expected to handle punts.
Barner, 31, has also performed well as a running back in limited spurts. In four years with the Eagles, Barner averaged 4.4 yards per carry, though that came on a grand total of 71 attempts. Obviously, the Ravens are pretty well set in the backfield with Mark Ingram, rookie J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards, and Justice Hill leading the way.
The Ravens still have lots of work ahead of them as they work towards September’s roster max. They also plan on carrying three quarterbacks – likely Robert Griffin and Trace McSorely behind star Lamar Jackson – which will make the numbers crunch extra tricky.
He’s not making the team
Those speedy Oregon backs and their return game skills…
In all seriousness, I’ve always wondered about the logistics roster-wise of carrying a separate kick returner from a punt returner. I always wondered if that’s worth it from a value-per-roster-spot perspective. Baltimore is carrying three QBs already. Given Jackson’s offensive skillset though, Barner would be fun to use as a run-after-catch style receiver on some short underneath routes as a checkdown or what not, just to get some extra value, since their running backs room is pretty packed.