The Ravens have signed 15 players to their practice squad, the team announced Aug. 28, and all 15 had been among the team’s roster cuts a day earlier.
Players who were cut and were not vested veterans (at least four years of NFL service) were exposed to waivers, but none of the 16 such players released by the Ravens drew waiver claims from any other team. And the Ravens were not awarded any players via waivers, either.
The Ravens’ practice squad includes four wide receivers and two running backs, as well as rookie quarterback Devin Leary, a sixth-round pick who was the only Ravens’ 2024 draft pick who did not stick on the initial 53-man roster.
Running backs John Kelly and Chris Collier both were re-signed, and it’s possible one could be in uniform at Kansas City for the season opener on Thursday, Sept. 5. No. 3 back Rasheen Ali has been out for the past three weeks dealing with a concussion and a stinger injury, and head coach John Harbaugh called him “iffy” for Week 1. If Ali can’t play, the Ravens could use a practice squad elevation on either Kelly or Collier to give them a No. 3 back who likely would be slotted primarily for special teams duty.
According to the practice squad rules, the Ravens can use a standard elevation on two players for each game, but no player can be elevated more than three times or they must be added to the 53-man roster.
The Ravens also must decide whether they want to elevate Leary, or sign another quarterback, to the 53-man roster at some point. The league had proposed a rule that allowed a team to use an unlimited number of practice squad elevations on a so-called “emergency” third quarterback, but the NFL Players Association vetoed the change.
Now, in order for any No. 3 emergency quarterback to be available, he must be a member of the 53-man roster. The Ravens opted to keep just two quarterbacks on the initial 53-man roster in Lamar Jackson and Josh Johnson.
Here are the 15 players signed to the Ravens’ practice squad (since teams can carry 16, they have one open spot):
QB: Devin Leary
RB: Chris Collier, John Kelly
WR: Malik Cunningham, Keith Kirkwood, Anthony Miller, Dayton Wade
TE: Qadir Ismail
OL: Corey Bullock, Darrian Dalcourt
DL: C.J. Ravenell
OLB: Joe Evans
ILB: Josh Ross
CB: Bump Cooper, Ka’dar Hollman
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox