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Baltimore Ravens News & Rumors

Ravens Clear 8 Off Roster Ahead Of Deadline

August 26th, 2024 at 7:30pm CST by Ely Allen

Teams in the NFL are working to trim their rosters down to 53 players, and the Ravens are not exempt from the mass exodus. ESPN’s Jamison Hensley provided an initial list:

Released:

Waived:

Gage’s stay in Baltimore was a short, as he signed only three weeks ago. Gage put up back-to-back seasons over 700 yards in 2020 and 2021 with four touchdowns in each season and, in his lone season with Tampa Bay, Gage finished with 426 yards and a career-high five scores. A torn patellar tendon in 2023 training camp held Gage out for last year, and it seems his return to the field won’t come as a Raven.

Rigerman, Sharp, Simpson, and Walthour were all undrafted free agent signings in May and Ryan one from last year. Browning was an UDFA who originally signed in Buffalo and found his way to Baltimore afterwards.

Williams is an unfortunate name to see on this list. One of two cornerbacks Baltimore took in the 2022 NFL Draft, Williams has been struggling to find a role in the Ravens secondary despite ample opportunities to earn playing time with injuries to starters. In a group that now includes Marlon Humphrey, Brandon Stephens, rookie first-round pick Nate Wiggins, and Arthur Maulet up top, Williams was unable to make an impact in a rotation or depth role after two years with the team.

Ravens OL Coach Joe D’Alessandris Passes Away

August 25th, 2024 at 12:43pm CST by Ely Allen

AUGUST 25: D’Alessandris has sadly passed away, the team announced. We at PFR send our condolences to D’Alessandris’ family, friends, and the many players and fellow coaches he has impacted over the course of his career.

AUGUST 14: Baltimore received some unfortunate news this afternoon as it was announced that “offensive line coach Joe D’Alessandris was hospitalized over the weekend with an acute illness,” per a statement from the team. No details were given to the nature of his illness, but the Ravens noted that D’Alessandris’ condition would “require ongoing treatment for an extended period of time.” To fill in during the interim, the team has hired George Warhop to their coaching staff.

D’Alessandris, 70, has been with the Ravens as offensive line coach for the past seven seasons, helping the team to become on the team’s top offenses in the league, along with being a perennial rushing powerhouse. His storied history coaching football dates back to the 1970s. He’s spent time on the staffs of nine universities, two teams in the Canadian Football League, and even a team in the short-lived World League of American Football.

After 30 years of coaching football without making it to the NFL, D’Alessandris finally got his big break in 2008 as an assistant offensive line coach with the Chiefs. After following that up with three-year stints as offensive line coach for the Bills and Chargers, D’Alessandris landed in Baltimore, where he’s been ever since.

Warhop has been coaching for nearly as long, working his first job in 1983, five years after D’Alessandris’ first gig. He spent the next 13 years coaching offensive lines with six universities and was, coincidentally, also an offensive line coach in the WLAF. In 1996, Warhop got his first NFL opportunity in St. Louis and has coached offensive lines in the league ever since, spending time with the Rams, Cardinals, Cowboys, 49ers, Browns, Buccaneers, Jaguars, and Texans.

Warhop’s history throughout his tenure in the NFL has been a rocky one. He’s been fired from multiple positions, once even getting let go mid-season. While he has stuck around for an extended time in some jobs, it’s twice been the result of the head coach that hired him getting fired and the newly hired head coach simply retaining his services for a short period. Most recently, Warhop was hired by the Texans in Lovie Smith‘s lone campaign. He was not retained by DeMeco Ryans.

Warhop will have his work cut out for him as the Ravens have been working this offseason to replace three starters on the offensive line. Left tackle Ronnie Stanley and center Tyler Linderbaum return to their roles, and it seems that second-year guard Andrew Vorhees has taken control of the left guard job. At right tackle, the Ravens seem content to start their sixth-man of the offensive line Patrick Mekari until second-round rookie Roger Rosengarten is ready to take over the job. The real work will come with determining the battle at right guard between Daniel Faalele, Ben Cleveland, and Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu, though head coach John Harbaugh has been pretty tapped into this position battle and may take the reins on the decision.

Regardless of the work cut out for the Ravens and Warhop, many of their concerns will still be on the treatment and recovery of D’Alessandris. We at PFR send our best wishes and hopes for a speedy and full recovery to Joe and our thoughts to the D’Alessandris family.

Ravens Rumors: RBs, Samac, Safety

August 24th, 2024 at 5:58pm CST by Ely Allen

So much of the Ravens’ roster is set at the top of the depth chart; even the starting guard spots are starting to come into focus. Still, with the regular season fast approaching, Baltimore is going to need to make some decisions down the stretch.

At running back, the team has an obvious 1-2 punch in Derrick Henry and Justice Hill while they wait for Keaton Mitchell to return from injury. While Mitchell remains on the injured list, though, that leaves the opportunity to fill one more spot on the roster with a running back, though ESPN’s Jamison Hensley acknowledges that they could run with just two until Mitchell returns.

Owen Wright has seemingly been the name to watch for that spot. An undrafted free agent addition out of Monmouth last year, Wright was pushing for a roster spot in the team’s final preseason game today before suffering a hairline fracture in his foot in the contest, per Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic, complicating his roster status. While not season-ending, the injury will likely require a stay on an injured list if the Ravens want to keep him on the roster.

This opens the door for fifth-round rookie Rasheen Ali out of Marshall. The Ravens don’t like to get in the habit of waiving rookie draft picks, but after Stanford cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly was failed to make the 53-man roster last year, it seems nobody is safe. Ali hasn’t gotten much use this preseason and failed to appear in today’s preseason game, so it was not looking great for him to make the roster, but Wright’s injury may allow him to do just that.

Here are some breakdowns of other roster battles in Baltimore:

  • Another player who suffered an injury in today’s contest was backup center Nick Samac. The seventh-round rookie out of Michigan State was making a push for the 53-man roster, culminating in a start at center this preseason. While fans saw him carted off the field today, both Hensley and Zrebiec see him making the final cut.
  • At safety, the Ravens have an interesting decision ahead of them. The Ravens have boasted an outstanding record over the years of seeing an undrafted rookie make the 53-man roster, and this year, there doesn’t seem to be an obvious choice. Beau Brade, an undrafted signee out of Maryland, has been a popular option, but there is no guarantee. The team already rosters Kyle Hamilton, Marcus Williams, and Eddie Jackson, as well as rookie seventh-round pick Sanoussi Kane out of Purdue. They also roster Ar’Darius Washington, who may split his time between nickelback and safety. Additionally, the team re-signed veteran Daryl Worley who has played quite a bit on the Ravens defense in the past three years. If Baltimore decides to hold on to five safeties (not including Washington), the decision may come down to the potential of Brade versus the experience of Worley.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/20/24

August 20th, 2024 at 6:47pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are today’s minor transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

  • Reverted to IR: LB Zeke Vandenburgh

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Free Agent

Strong was a surprising release by the Cardinals during the regular season last year. At the time, Strong was coming off of his strongest NFL campaign, but head coach Jonathan Gannon claimed that the release was what was “best for the team.” While we still don’t know the nature of the suspension, or whether or not it’s even related to his January release, we are aware that he will miss three games.

Ravens’ Andrew Vorhees, Daniel Faalele On Track For Starting G Spots

August 20th, 2024 at 10:29am CST by Adam La Rose

After Kevin Zeitler and John Simpson departed in free agency, finding replacements at both guard spots was a key offseason priority for the Ravens. The team was quiet on the open market up front, a sign of confidence in the holdovers from the 2023 lineup.

[RELATED: Recapping Ravens’ Offseason]

Andrew Vorhees missed his rookie campaign while rehabbing an ACL tear, but the 2023 seventh-rounder has logged starting reps at left guard throughout training camp. Daniel Faalele – selected as a tackle in the fourth round of the 2022 draft – has likewise received a long look at right guard. With two preseason games in the books, both players appear to have a first-team role locked up.

“I think we’re close,” head coach John Harbaugh said, via Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic, when asked about a final call being made at the guard positions (subscription required). “I think we have a pretty good idea and what way it’s trending in different areas. It’s not altogether solidified, but we’re in a good place right now.”

As Zrebiec notes, Vorhees and Faalele got the start during both of Baltimore’s exhibition contests, and the final week of training camp would mark a rather late point in the offseason to experiment with new combinations up front. Free agent pickup Josh Jones has experience at tackle and guard, but his versatility could be put to use as a fill-in option in the event of injuries. 2021 third-rounder Ben Cleveland has seen time at tackle and center this offseason, but he has made only seven starts in his career and appears to be headed for backup duties again in 2024.

Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu – who was added in the sixth round of last year’s draft and did not see the field as a rookie – represented another potential competitor for a guard spot. Zrebiec writes that the Oregon alum finds himself on the roster bubble as cutdown season approaches, however. That is another sign Vorhees and Faalele should find themselves working on either side of Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum come the start of the regular season.

Vorhees, 25, won the Morris Trophy in his final college season as the Pac 12’s top offensive lineman. He was also a first-team All-American in 2022, so he will face high expectations this year assuming he returns to full health after the ACL tear. Faalele, by contrast, was added as a long-term project. The 6-8, 380-pound Australian has logged only 356 offensive snaps in two years, and he has not drawn strong PFF reviews with respect to pass protection or run blocking to date. A move inside could help lead to needed development at the NFL level as he enters the final two seasons of his rookie contract.

The Ravens will be without longtime offensive line coach Joe D’Alessandris for the foreseeable future due to an unspecified illness. As the team prepares to move forward without him in place, along with Simpson or Zeitler (the latter of whom earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2023) along the interior, the play of their replacements will be a key factor in determining the offense’s success. While changes could be made between now and Week 1, Baltimore’s new-look guard tandem appears to be set.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/13/24

August 13th, 2024 at 7:42pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

  • Waived-injured: WR Bryan Thompson

Carolina Panthers

  • Released from IR (with injury settlements): OT J.D. DiRenzo, TE Curtis Hodges

Denver Broncos

  • Re-signed: LB Alec Mock

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: LB Chris Russell
  • Released from IR (with injury settlement): CB Don Callis

Los Angeles Chargers

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

  • Signed: CB Kaleb Ford-Dement
  • Waived: RB Zander Horvath
  • Released from IR (with injury settlement): WR Jermaine Jackson

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

  • Released from IR (with injury settlement): NT Matthew Gotel

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/12/24

August 12th, 2024 at 8:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Monday’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Activated from active/PUP: DT Devonnsha Maxwell

Cleveland Browns

  • Signed: LB Brandon Bouyer-Randle, S Chase Williams
  • Released: RB John Kelly
  • Waived: DE Marcus Haynes
  • Waived/injured: CB Vincent Gray

Denver Broncos

  • Claimed (from Giants): DB Kaleb Hayes
  • Waived: ILB Alec Mock

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

  • Signed: LB Anthony Hines, TE Neal Johnson
  • Waived: LB Jimmy Ciarlo, CB Myles Jones

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Claimed (from Ravens): OL Tykeem Doss
  • Waived/injured: DB Kalon Barnes

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Hernia surgery forced Tampa to the Ravens’ active/PUP list, but the fourth-round pick is ready to return. Needing a double hernia operation after minicamp (per The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec), Tampa is unlikely to be ready for practice until at least next week. By avoiding a move to the reserve/PUP list, Tampa is no longer at risk of missing Baltimore’s first four games.

A rookie UDFA, Murphy went down with an MCL injury, per NFL.com’s Cameron Wolfe. The Dolphins signed Brown, a four-year Giants special-teamer and backup presence, in April. While the Dolphins continue to deal with linebacker injuries, they did bring Jaelan Phillips off the PUP list today.

Fromm spent most of the past two seasons with the Commanders, but the team — as it transitions to a new regime — cut the former Georgia passer in May. He joins a Lions team that still rosters Nate Sudfeld along with Jared Goff and Hendon Hooker.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/11/24

August 11th, 2024 at 8:03pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s minor transactions to wrap up the weekend:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Jacksonville Jaguars

New York Giants

  • Waived: RB Jacob Saylors

New York Jets

Trice will unfortunately see his rookie season come to an end before it began. The third-round pick out of Washington exited Atlanta’s first preseason game with a knee injury that was later confirmed to be a torn ACL. Trice had been working his way into to outside linebacker rotation with the Falcons.

With Mevis getting cut, it seems the Panthers’ kicking battle has been decided. The rookie kicker, known as the “Thicker Kicker” at Missouri, was brought in to provide incumbent kicker Eddy Pineiro with competition for the job. Mevis’ departure leaves Pineiro as the only remaining kicker on the roster, putting an end to any competition.

AFC Injury Updates: Ojabo, Fautanu, Wallow, Smith

August 10th, 2024 at 2:31pm CST by Ely Allen

The Ravens saw their leading edge rusher depart in free agency this offseason when Jadeveon Clowney signed with the Panthers. While the team did work to retain other top sack-getters in Justin Madubuike and Kyle Van Noy, it decided to depend on recent draft picks to replace the production lost in Clowney’s departure. Unfortunately, one of those recent draft picks is still working to get healthy as head coach John Harbaugh announced that outside linebacker David Ojabo was not cleared to play in last night’s preseason game, per Jamison Hensley of EPSN.

A second-round pick in 2022, Ojabo was a draft selection that Baltimore knew would take some time to see the field after suffering a torn Achilles at his Michigan pro day. Starting his rookie season on injured reserve, Ojabo didn’t make his NFL debut until Week 15. He only played five snaps and didn’t appear again until the season finale, which saw him collect his first NFL sack.

In 2023, Ojabo got a sack in the season opener and earned his first start in Week 3. Unfortunately, Ojabo would suffer a season ending knee/ankle injury in that first start, ending his sophomore campaign after only three games. It’s hard to say whether or not Baltimore has a grasp on Ojabo’s status. They expressed hope he would come back last season and, after he failed to do so, they expressed hope that he would be cleared in time for training camp. Neither happened, and now the Ravens find themselves continuing to wait for a healthy Ojabo.

In the meantime, the Ravens will look to a pair of Penn State-products to make up for Ojabo’s lost snaps. Former first-round pick Odafe Oweh has yet to see his season-sack total eclipse five in a season, but his ability to consistently create pressure has hopes high for a breakout season. Rookie third-rounder Adisa Isaac will try to follow his fellow Nittany Lion’s example. After spending a good amount of training camp on the non-football injury list dealing with a hamstring injury, Isaac was activated in time for the team’s first preseason game.

Here are a few other injury updates from around the AFC:

  • The Steelers preseason plans hit a slight setback when first-round rookie tackle Troy Fautanu suffered an MCL sprain in last night’s preseason opener, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. The injury is a minor one, and Pittsburgh does not consider it serious, but with Fautanu competing with Dan Moore for the team’s starting right tackle job, any missed time is going to be crucial in the rookie’s preseason. Moore has plenty of experience, starting at left tackle for the past three years, but if Fautanu wanted to start in his rookie year, any missed time in the preseason is detrimental to that goal.
  • The Titans received some unfortunate news this week when it was announced that linebacker Garret Wallow will miss the 2024 NFL season with a torn pectoral muscle, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. A former fifth-round pick for the Texans, Wallow made five starts during his first two seasons in Houston before getting signed off the team’s practice squad to play in Tennessee.
  • Another season-ending injury unfortunately occurred in last night’s preseason contests when Dolphins backup offensive lineman Kion Smith suffered a torn ACL, per Wilson. An undrafted free agent out of Fayetteville State in 2021, Smith appeared in nine games for Miami last year. He will now be forced to sit out the 2024 campaign.

CB Rumors: Bennett, Steelers, Ravens, Jags

August 9th, 2024 at 5:06pm CST by Sam Robinson

After a part-time role as a rookie, Jakorian Bennett appears close to securing a starting job. The Raiders have pitted the second-year player against veteran Brandon Facyson, but a gap appears between the two as preseason play begins. While more evaluation time remains, The Athletic’s Vic Tafur classifies Bennett as well ahead of Facyson to start on the outside opposite Jack Jones (subscription required). The Raiders have made some changes to their CB group from last year, giving up on Marcus Peters before the 2023 season ended and letting four-year contributor Amik Robertson join the Lions in free agency.

Although Las Vegas drafted CBs in the fourth and seventh rounds, Bennett and Facyson are the primary players competing for the perimeter job to join Jones and slot man Nate Hobbs. Bennett logged 360 defensive snaps, starting four games, as a rookie but impressed during training camp. Not viewed as likely to pursue a veteran addition here, the Raiders appear set to count on the 2023 fourth-rounder.

Here is the latest from the cornerback ranks:

  • The Steelers brought back Cameron Sutton but saw him hit with an eight-game suspension for an offseason domestic violence arrest, leaving Donte Jackson as the obvious Joey Porter Jr. sidekick for at least the season’s first half. The team could soon be in the corner market, per ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano, who notes the lack of a solidified slot presence as another reason for such an effort. Releasing Patrick Peterson this offseason, the Steelers did not re-sign veteran slot Chandon Sullivan. Rookie UDFA Beanie Bishop has, however, shown promise with first-team slot reps, according to The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo. The 5-foot-9 product, who attended three colleges (Western Kentucky, Minnesota, West Virginia), led Division I-FBS in pass breakups (20) last season. Barring an addition, Bishop looks to have a decent chance to line up alongside Porter and Jackson. He has worked with the first-string defense extensively during camp.
  • Former Steelers CB regular Arthur Maulet is set to miss regular-season time due to a knee injury. While John Harbaugh does not expect this issue to threaten too much of the veteran’s season, the Ravens will need another answer. As of now, fourth-year UDFA Ar’Darius Washington appears to be the pack leader. After a chest injury cost Washington most of last season, he returned late in the campaign via IR activation. Despite playing all of eight regular-season games in three seasons, Washington has earned the confidence of Ravens coaches and looks to be the answer at nickel while Maulet recovers, The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec notes.
  • No cornerback who signed an extension this offseason received a higher AAV than Tyson Campbell, whose base-value number checks in at $19.13MM, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler tweets. That comes in ahead of Jaylon Johnson and L’Jarius Sneed, though the did better on guarantees at signing than the Jaguars CB, who scored $31.4MM up front. Though, an $11.5MM Campbell 2026 option bonus will become fully guaranteed in 2025, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio notes. Campbell’s 2026 base salary ($16.16MM) also shifts from an injury guarantee at signing to a full guarantee in 2025. The fourth-year defender also will see $8.84MM of his $15MM 2027 base salary shift from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee in 2026. The increasingly popular rolling guarantee structure represents a player-friendly arrangement for Campbell, making his 11th-place ranking in terms of full guarantees deceiving. If on Jacksonville’s roster in March 2026, Campbell will see $53.4MM guaranteed.
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