With relatively little turnover in the offseason, the Ravens entered training camp with less roster drama than some previous years. The kicking competition, perhaps the biggest roster battle of the summer, was settled fairly quickly. The final offensive line spots are always in flux, and injuries once again have reshaped the roster; Adisa Isaac’s injury might have opened a spot elsewhere.
The Ravens have kept at least one undrafted rookie on the initial 53-man roster in 20 of the past 21 seasons, and at least three or four are making a serious play to beat the odds and make the team this year. Those rookies, and everyone else fighting to for a job, have just a few more practices and one more game to state their case. The Ravens play the preseason finale at Washington on Saturday. Aug. 23, and then the roster must be cut down by Tuesday, Aug. 26, at 4 p.m.
With that in mind, and with the caveat that an injury at Washington could still change things, here’s a projected look at what the 53-man roster might look like come Tuesday. This projection leaves the Ravens with 24 offensive players and 26 defensive players, rather than their preferred 25-25 split, but it’s hard to dismiss the injury concerns in the secondary.
QUARTERBACK (2): Lamar Jackson, Cooper Rush
No surprises here. The Ravens signed Rush to be the backup to Jackson and view him as an upgrade over 2024 backup Josh Johnson. The Ravens were never likely to carry three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, and Devin Leary did nothing to change their mind,
RUNNING BACKS (3): Derrick Henry, Justice Hill, Keaton Mitchell
Head coach John Harbaugh indicated last week that the Ravens were inclined to keep four running backs, but he acknowledged that things could change, and if Mitchell looks ready to go as the third back and top kick returner, the Ravens will roll the dice and release Rasheen Ali and hope to sign him back to the practice squad.
Ideally, the Ravens would like to have Mitchell and Ali as the two kick returners, and Harbaugh has said that running backs are particularly well suited to be kick returners in the league’s “dynamic kickoff” alignment.
The Ravens have to ask themselves, if we waive Ali, is there a good chance we can sign him back to the practice squad? And is he more likely to go unclaimed than another young player we want to keep? With Mitchell coming off his major knee injury and dealing with a hamstring injury in camp, it’s a tough call here. The Ravens don’t want to lose Ali, then lose Mitchell and be forced to cycle through several nondescript No. 3 backs, as they have been left to do in some previous years.
TIGHT ENDS/FULLBACKS (4): Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, Charlie Kolar, Patrick Ricard
Likely’s status is the biggest and most significant question of the roster cutdown. With Likely still healing from a fracture in his foot suffered early in training camp, do the Ravens put him on short-term injured reserve, which would free up a roster spot but keep him sidelined a minimum of four games? Or do they keep him on the active roster, thereby keeping the door open to him playing in the opening month of the season?
In the first four weeks, the Ravens face the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs, and the results of those games could have major AFC playoff implications down the road.
Likely might not be ready for Week 1, but the bet here is that the Ravens will keep him on the 53-man roster. They want the option of having him for these big early-season games, and Harbaugh would just as soon keep all four opponents guessing.
WIDE RECEIVERS (6): Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, DeAndre Hopkins, Tylan Wallace, Devontez Walker, LaJohntay Wester
There wasn’t much doubt here after Wester returned a punt 87 yards for a touchdown in the preseason opener against the Indianapolis Colts, showing he can be the punt return spark the Ravens lacked last season. The rookie sixth-round pick still has work to do as a wide receiver, but he’ll be the primary punt returner.
Walker shined early in training camp and looks like a more confident player in his second season, though his role still figures to be limited if Flowers, Bateman and Hopkins are all healthy. Wallace remains a core special teams player and is a proven option as a return specialist.
Dayton Wade, Keith Kirkwood and Anthony Miller all had their moments on the practice fields this summer, and a couple of them could be back on the practice squad.
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (9): Ronnie Stanley, Andrew Vorhees, Tyler Linderbaum, Daniel Faalele, Roger Rosengarten, Joseph Noteboom, Ben Cleveland, Carson Vinson, Corey Bullock
Harbaugh strongly implied this week that the Ravens would go with nine offensive linemen, and the starting lineup has been pretty well set the entire summer. Vorhees has been the clear front-runner at left guard, and the same with Faalele at right guard, despite some fans’ clamoring for a change there. Ben Cleveland doesn’t appear to have made a serious run at either starting job, and Noteboom was signed to be the veteran swing tackle who could fill in at either spot behind Stanley or Rosengarten.
Vinson has had some rough reps in preseason action, but the Ravens view him as a long-term project and rarely cut a fifth-round rookie. Bullock has been one of the big risers this summer. He started at center in each of the first two preseason games, indicating his progression, and he can also play guard if needed.
That would burst the bubble for seventh-round rookie Garrett Dellinger, who never quite made a move this summer, and Nick Samac, a backup center/guard who made the team last year as a seventh-round rookie but was inactive in every game. Look for one or both to land back on the practice squad.
Rookie third-round pick Emery Jones (shoulder) will begin the season on the Non-Football Injury list, and the goal he will be able to contribute at some point later in the season.
DEFENSIVE LINE (5): Nnamdi Madubuike, Travis Jones, Broderick Washington, John Jenkins, Aeneas Peebles
The top three in this unit all return, and Jenkins takes the role of veteran run-stuffer Michael Pierce. Peebles, a sixth-round rookie from Virginia Tech, will stick as well.
The Ravens brought back veteran Brent Urban, and it’s possible they had already discussed with him a scenario in which he is retained on the practice squad and added as a gameday elevation. They like him, he wants to be here, and because he’s a vested veteran, he isn’t exposed to waivers if released.
Massive Nigerian defensive tackle C.J. Okoye is intriguing, and the Ravens would love to continue to develop him on the practice squad. C.J. Ravenell is a sleeper here, but there just doesn’t seem a path to the roster for him.
OUTSIDE LINEBACKER (5): Kyle Van Noy, Odafe Oweh, Tavius Robinson, Mike Green, David Ojabo
Adisa Isaac will go to injured reserve with a dislocated elbow, and that helps clarify this group. Robinson will be an early-down edge-setter, and the Ravens love the potential of Green, the rookie second-round pick, to have an impact beyond top pass rushers Van Noy and Oweh.
Ojabo and Isaac were perceived by some to be competing for one roster spot, but the thought here is that the Ravens were inclined to keep both. The Ravens would have been reluctant to move on from Ojabo, a former second-round pick. Isaac, who sustained ligament damage in addition to a dislocated elbow at Dallas last week, will be out at least half the year, according to Harbaugh.
INSIDE LINEBACKER (5): Roquan Smith, Trenton Simpson, Teddye Buchanan, Jake Hummel, Jay Higgins
Buchanan is a third-round rookie who has competed with Simpson for the starting spot alongside Smith, while Hummel was signed this offseason as a core veteran special teamer. The Ravens have a long history of finding undrafted rookie gems at inside linebacker, and Jay Higgins, a former All-American at Iowa, could be the next.
He had takeaways in each of the first two preseason games, and both he and undrafted Chandler Martin from Memphis were in the running here. Martin played more special teams snaps than Higgins in the first two preseason games and is a strong practice squad candidate.
CORNERBACK (6): Marlon Humphrey, Nate Wiggins, Jaire Alexander, Chidobe Awuzie, Jalyn Armour-Davis, T.J. Tampa
The health of this group makes this the toughest to call. Alexander has already missed extensive time this summer battling his persistent knee injuries, and Awuzie and Armour-Davis have missed time as well.
Undrafted rookie Keyon Martin has played himself into the conversation, but can the Ravens afford to keep a seventh cornerback? Harbaugh has said he expected all the nicked-up cornerbacks to be ready for Week 1, and if that’s true, Martin probably slides off the roster and ideally to the practice squad as a capable callup when the next injury occurs. The ability of safety Kyle Hamilton to play in the slot could also factor in this decision.
SAFETY (5): Kyle Hamilton, Malakai Starks, Sanoussi Kane, Beau Brade, Reuben Lowery.
Lowery garnered the most chatter of undrafted rookies in training camp, as the former Tennessee-Chattanooga defensive back has been around the ball all spring and summer. Kane has stepped into the No. 3 safety role previously occupied by Ar’Darius Washington, who will miss at least most of the year with a torn Achilles. Kane might be the most improved player on the roster and has shown enough that the Ravens haven’t felt the need to go out and sign a veteran.
Brade might have been leap-frogged by Lowery for a backup safety job, but he contributes on special teams and could be an option in the slot if the cornerbacks start dropping.
SPECIALISTS (3): Tyler Loop, Jordan Stout, Nick Moore
The suspense here pretty much ended when the Ravens released undrafted rookie John Hoyland, who had been competing with Loop, the sixth-round draft pick, for the unenviable job of succeeding Justin Tucker. But the Ravens love Loop’s leg strength and they have declared him the starter, opting against bringing in any veteran competition.
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