Charlie Kolar

Ravens Activate Charlie Kolar From IR

The Ravens activated tight end Charlie Kolar from injured reserve on Friday, per a team announcement. He is expected to play in Baltimore’s regular season finale against the Browns on Saturday.

Kolar broke his arm during the Ravens’ Week 12 matchup with the Chargers, though he played through the injury for much of the fourth quarter. He landed on injured reserve later that week and was designated to return a month later.

The third-year tight end has quietly been an effective blocker in Baltimore’s league-leading rushing attack while taking full advantage of his limited opportunities as a pass-catcher. Kolar has recorded career-highs in targets (11), receptions (nine), and yards (131), including a Week 5 catch-and-run for a career-long 55 yards. His 3.12 yards per route run lead all tight ends with at least 10 targets, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), and he’s been targeted on 26.4% of his routes. With so many other weapons in the Ravens offense – including first-time Pro Bowler Zay Flowers – opposing defenses tend to overlook Kolar, especially when Lamar Jackson fakes a handoff to Derrick Henry.

Kolar’s recovery is an example of the Ravens’ relatively good health as they approach the playoffs. Only one started – nose tackle Michael Pierce – has been on injured reserve all year, and he has made an appropriately-big impact on the defense since his return in Week 15.

The Ravens did place cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis on injured reserve to clear a 53-man roster spot for Kolar. This is Armour-Davis’ second stint on IR this year and the fourth in his three-year career, reinforcing pre-draft injury concerns after he struggled with injuries at Alabama. He’s appeared in seven games this year with 94 snaps on defense and 135 on special teams. Armour-Davis will be eligible to return for the Super Bowl if the Ravens advance that far in the playoffs.

The Ravens also elevated defensive end Chris Wormley and wide receiver Anthony Miller from the practice squad for Saturday’s game. Both players have appeared in two games this season; Wormley has made four tackles on defense while Miller’s lone reception of the year went for 16 yards against the Texans on Christmas.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/30/24

Monday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Detroit Lions

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

By claiming Jones, the Cardinals reunite him with his brother, wide receiver Zay Jones, for the final week of the regular season.

The Ravens are looking to return their third tight end to the fold after Kolar broke his arm a month ago. When ready, he’ll be back to close out the regular season and prepare for the playoffs behind Baltimore’s other two strong tight ends.

The Jets will be finishing the season without their starting safety in Clark. Clark, who battled back from injury earlier this season, was placed on injured reserve for an undisclosed reason today.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/30/24

Saturday’s minor moves and standard gameday practice squad elevations:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo is listed as questionable, but head coach Raheem Morris is confident he’ll play, calling Patterson an emergency option.

Speculation out of Baltimore was that Maulet wouldn’t require a second stint on injured reserve with his calf injury, but that intel appears to have been off. Maulet and Kolar could potentially make a return in time for the postseason, but they’ll miss four games before they do.

VanSumeren served double-duty as a fullback and linebacker. With his placement on IR, Uzomah was targeted as a possibility to fill in at fullback.

Ravens TE Charlie Kolar Out With Broken Arm

The Ravens could soon place one of their tight ends on injured reserve after an injury from this past Monday night’s game. Before fantasy owners go sprinting for their phones, it’s not Mark Andrews or Isaiah Likely dealing with injury but third-string tight end Charlie Kolar. Kolar suffered a broken arm, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, and is expected to miss four games before a possible return.

According to Pelissero, Kolar suffered the broken bone early on in the fourth quarter then went on to finish the game before ever undergoing X-rays. A four-week absence would include a bye week but would also end in the midst of a 10-day stretch in which the Ravens play three games ending on Wednesday, Christmas Day. If he missed exactly four weeks, to the day, he would be returning on Christmas, so it’s probably not likely that they’d see him return with only three missed games on a short week.

For this reason, an IR stint might be best, especially considering that Baltimore still retains five of its eight IR activations. This would see Kolar make a return in time for the team’s regular season finale against the Browns and, potentially, in time for a playoff run.

Kolar is no stranger to injury, missing all but two games of his rookie season on IR after surgery to address a sports hernia injury. In his third year with the team, he’s posted career highs in receptions (9) and receiving yards (131). Kolar has obviously been playing third fiddle to teammates Andrews and Likely, but that certainly doesn’t mean he’s not a talented tight end in his own right.

According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), while Andrews ranks as the fourth-best tight end in the NFL out of 77 graded players at the position and Likely ranks 12th, Kolar sits just behind them at 16th. This isn’t the usual scenario in which one of the three tight ends is a talented run blocking specialist, all three have exceptional receiving metrics with Kolar holding the seventh-best receiving grade in the league.

In response to the injury, head coach John Harbaugh told the media they were “going to put another guy out there,” per Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. Obviously, Andrews and Likely will continue to dominate time at tight end, but Kolar still played about a third of the team’s offensive snaps. If they’re going to replace those snaps with somebody currently on their roster, they’d have to dip into the practice squad.

Currently, Zaire Mitchell-Paden is one healthy option. The 25-year-old was signed as an undrafted free agent in Cleveland following a graduate transfer year at Florida Atlantic in which he caught nine passes for 90 yards and a touchdown. He was more likely signed based on his time at Division II Notre Dame College where he caught 90 balls for 1,206 yards in four years. Another option is Scotty Washington, who the Ravens signed to their practice squad today, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. Washington joined the team’s practice squad about this time last year but didn’t open this year with the team after failing to make either roster.

The team also rosters undrafted Samford rookie Qadir Ismail. The son of a former two-time 1,000-yard receiver for the Ravens, Qadry Ismail, Qadir is a converted quarterback who became a wide receiver at Villanova before transferring. Now, in the NFL, Baltimore views him as a tight end, but he’ll need to get healthy in order to make an impact this year.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/8/22

Today’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Los Angeles Rams

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter), the Rams shopped Terrell Burgess prior to the trade deadline. The former third-round pick has struggled to carve out a role in the NFL, although he did get into 16 games last year (plus another four games (two starts)) en route to a Super Bowl championship. This season, Burgess has collected 11 tackles in seven games.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/18/22

Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Washington Commanders

Wednesday NFL Transactions: AFC North

Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These BengalsBrowns, Ravens and Steelers moves are noted below.

Here are Wednesday’s AFC North transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day.

Baltimore Ravens

Signed:

Claimed:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

Signed to practice squad:

Cincinnati Bengals

Claimed:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

Signed to practice squad:

Cleveland Browns

Claimed: 

Released:

Signed to practice squad:

Pittsburgh Steelers

Ravens Notes: Biegel, Linderbaum, Ojabo, Roster Bubble

Vince Biegel‘s season has ended before it even started. The Ravens linebacker suffered a torn Achilles on Thursday and will miss the 2022 season, per the team’s website.

The linebacker has bounced around the NFL during his four years in the league, spending time with the Packers, Saints, and Dolphins. Following a 2020 season where he compiled 59 tackles and 2.5 sacks in a career-high 15 games (10 starts) with the Dolphins, he was limited to only two tackles in five contests with Miami in 2021. He caught on with the Ravens this offseason, and according to Ryan Mink of the team website, Biegel had made a strong impression during the first few days of camp.

“Vince was fighting to make the team,” coach John Harbaugh said. “He would have had a great chance to make it, because he’s just a solid, tough, talented guy who does everything exactly right as hard as he can.”

The Ravens were already eyeing a depleted linebackers depth chart with Tyus Bowser and David Ojabo sidelined. The team’s current options consist of Odafe Oweh, Justin Houston, Daelin Hayes, Steven Means, and a handful of rookies.

More notes out of Baltimore:

  • Fortunately, there was some good news on the Ravens’ injury front. While first-round rookie center Tyler Linderbaum limped off the field during practice, an X-ray confirmed he avoided a major injury. “He’s going to be fine,” Harbaugh said (via Mink). “Didn’t get stepped on, kind of just … It’s a physical drill there, and [he] came up a little sore. They’ve looked at it, X-rayed it. They’ll do an MRI on it to make sure, but all indications are it’s nothing serious at all.” Beside the rookie, the Ravens have veteran Patrick Mekari to step in at center.
  • We previously heard that Ojabo’s brief holdout was an attempt to get more guaranteed money in the third year of his rookie contract. According to ESPN’s Field Yates (on Twitter), the rookie ended up getting $700K of that 2024 base salary guaranteed. As our own Ely Allen previously pointed out, the player selected just before Ojabo at 44th overall is John Metchie III, who received $800,000 (55.61%) of his third year guaranteed. The pick immediately after Ojabo at 46th overall is Joshua Paschal, whose guaranteed third-year money dropped dramatically to $275,000 (22.02%).
  • Guard Ben Powers could find himself on the trade block depending on the status of Ben Cleveland and Tyre Phillips, writes Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. Powers has 19 career starts, so he’d surely appeal to a squad seeking some guard depth. Meanwhile, Zrebiec writes that running back Mike Davis could be fighting with Tyler Badie and Justice Hill for two open roster spots. The veteran was brought in this offseason to provide some depth while J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards return to full health, but he may not be needed if the duo is ready for the start of the season.
  • In a stock report of Baltimore’s minicamp, Zrebiec provides a handful of interesting tidbits related to the Ravens. Fourth-round rookie Isaiah Likely will find himself behind Mark Andrews on the depth chart, but he also “seems close to certain to have a notable Week 1 role with the Ravens.” Meanwhile, versatile defensive back Brandon Stephens has been preparing to play cornerback after starting 11 games at safety last season.
  • The Ravens’ other fourth-round rookie tight end, Charlie Kolar, had sports hernia surgery earlier this week, per Zrebiec. “It’s a thing that was lingering from college,” Harbaugh said. “He actually had a sports hernia from college, had a surgery. They’re going to redo that one as well. We’ll get it cleaned up now. I think he felt like he could manage it, but it’s gotten to the point where it needs to be fixed.”

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 6/9/22

Today’s draft pick signings in the NFL:

Baltimore Ravens

Kansas City Chiefs

  • CB Joshua Williams (fourth round, Fayetteville State)

New England Patriots

Tampa Buccaneers