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Antwan Barnes

Ravens Host Several Former Players For Scout School

June 27th, 2025 at 8:24pm CST by Ely Allen

Two things that we’ve witnessed in the last 30 years are the Ravens’ elite draft history between general managers Ozzie Newsome and Eric DeCosta and the propensity for NFL players to return to the sport in coaching and scouting roles when their playing careers are over. Newsome himself was a Hall of Fame tight end before making a case to become a future Hall of Fame executive. Now, DeCosta and the Ravens are actively working to merge those aforementioned two things with the Legends Scout School.

Ravens editorial director Ryan Mink provided details on the recent event about two weeks ago. The event was a two-hour, virtual crash course that the team’s director of legacy engagement, Matt Little, organized in tandem with the player personnel department. Named similarly to the Reese’s Senior Bowl’s Scout School, the Ravens’ version was developed as Little continuously saw more and more former Ravens express interest in getting into scouting.

The group of 21 players included former starting contributors like recently retired defenders Michael Pierce and Jimmy Smith, journeyman players whose time in Baltimore was brief like Antwan Barnes and Terrence West, and draft picks that never quite found their place on the roster like Prince Daniels and Aaron Mellette. The players ranged from Baltimore’s earliest days to its most recent season. Former NFL running back Earnest Byner was in attendance — his last two seasons of a 14-year career were Baltimore’s first two seasons as a franchise — as was Pierce, who retired shortly after catching his first career interception this past season.

The event started with a brief introduction from DeCosta, followed by an overview of the staff from director of player personnel Mark Azevedo, who then went over the role of a player personnel assistant. Then, director of college scouting Andrew Raphael provided a crash course on the college scouting process, followed by a similar breakdown of the pro scouting process by assistant director of pro personnel Corey Frazier. Vice president or football administration Nick Matteo closed the learning period by going over salary cap and contract management.

After all of that, Azevedo returned to go over the league’s Nunn-Wooten scouting fellowship program. The NFL created the program in 2015 to expose interested and qualified candidates to a career in professional scouting. One former player who expressed interest in applying for the fellowship was Marcus Smith. Smith, who had attended Mobile’s three-day event in 2024, claimed to have taken more away from Baltimore’s school in just two hours.

It’s certainly an interesting offseason project for the Ravens. While similar events, like the Senior Bowl’s, have been available before, this is the first known event like this designed by a team for its former players. It’s the latest advancement we’ve seen in the NFL’s efforts to improve the quality of life for players once their playing days are over, and it’s a welcomed sight.

Here’s a full list of players who attended the event with their Baltimore tenures:

  • OLB Antwan Barnes (2007-2009)
  • DT Levi Brown (2014)
  • RB Earnest Byner (1996-1997)
  • G Chris Chester (2006-2010)
  • WR Terrance Copper (2008)
  • RB Prince Daniels (2006-2008)
  • OL Steve Edwards (2007)
  • T Jared Gaither (2007-2010)
  • TE Terry Jones (2002-2005)
  • FB Jason McKie (2010)
  • WR Aaron Mellette (2013)
  • C Quentin Neujahr (1996-1997)
  • DT Michael Pierce (2016-2019,2022-2024)
  • C Matt Skura (2016-2020)
  • CB Jimmy Smith (2011-2021)
  • WR Marcus Smith (2008-2011)
  • G Tre Stallings (2008-2009)
  • WR Travis Taylor (2000-2004)
  • RB Terrence West (2015-2017)
  • LB Kenny Young (2018-2019)
  • C Jeremy Zuttah (2014-2016,2017)

Extra Points: Myers, Barnes, Devlin, Thigpen

August 26th, 2015 at 10:05pm CST by Zachary Links

Former Texans center Chris Myers told Alex Marvez of FOX Sports (on Twitter) that he had offers to sign with multiple teams in the “past few weeks” but he had already come to grips about wanting to retire. Myers announced on Wednesday that he is stepping away from football. Myers, who turns 34 next month, was a sixth-round draft pick in 2005, going 200th overall to the Broncos. The former Miami Hurricanes lineman became Denver’s full-time center in 2007, then joined the Texans in 2008, starting every game for the team over the course of the next seven seasons.

  • Former Jets, Chargers, and Ravens pass rusher Antwan Barnes is drawing interest from a few NFL teams, sources tell Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter).
  • Former Dolphins quarterback Pat Devlin will be working out for the Browns on Thursday, a source tells Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Devlin was with the Bears until he was released in June.
  • Tyler Thigpen is another option for the Browns as an extra quarterback, Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer tweets. Thigpen was in camp with Cleveland last summer and GM Ray Farmer is a fan of his.

Jets Cut Antwan Barnes, Promote Pantale

December 1st, 2014 at 11:34am CST by Luke Adams

Prior to tonight’s game against the Dolphins, the Jets have made a change to their 53-man roster, promoting tight end Chris Pantale off their practice squad and cutting linebacker Antwan Barnes to make room, the club announced (Twitter link).

While Barnes was a more frequent contributor in previous stints with the Ravens and the Chargers, compiling 11 sacks and 41 tackles during the 2011 season in San Diego, he hasn’t played much for the Jets during the last two seasons. That’s due in large part to injuries — Barnes tore his ACL five weeks into the 2013 season, and started this year on the physically unable to perform list before being activated in mid-October. After returning to action, the 30-year-old, who doesn’t play on special teams, saw the field for just 57 defensive snaps.

Rookie tight end Jace Amaro will miss tonight’s game with a concussion, so it makes sense that the Jets would add a tight end to the roster for depth purposes. The move leaves the team with an opening on its practice squad, which will likely be filled later in the week. As a vested veteran, of course, Barnes isn’t eligible for the squad.

Jets Activate Antwan Barnes, Cut Josh Bush

October 15th, 2014 at 3:55pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jets have made a change to their 53-man roster in advance of tomorrow’s divisional matchup against the Patriots, announcing today (via Twitter) that they’ve activated linebacker Antwan Barnes and cut safety Josh Bush. Barnes had spent the first six weeks of the season on the PUP list.

Players who start the season on the reserve/PUP list aren’t eligible to begin practicing until after Week 6, so this week is the earliest that the Jets could’ve activated the ailing linebacker. As I explained last week, there’s a pretty sizable window in which PUP players can begin practicing and eventually return to game action, but it seems as if Barnes won’t need to be sidelined any longer.

As for Bush, the 25-year-old has been with the Jets since being selected by the team in the sixth round of the 2012 draft. A special-teamer and a reserve player in the secondary, Bush has been dealing with a quadriceps injury this year, which has limited him to just one game so far.

We passed along a few more Jets updates earlier this afternoon.

PUP, IR-DTR Players Soon Eligible To Practice

October 10th, 2014 at 1:41pm CST by Luke Adams

Week 6 of the NFL season will come to an end after Monday night’s game between the 49ers and Rams, and when teams begin preparing for Week 7, many of those clubs may be welcoming some players back to practice. Six weeks into the NFL season, players who were placed on the physically unable to perform list or the injured reserve list with the designation to return prior to Week 1’s games will be eligible to return to practice.

Of course, just because those players are able to return to the practice field doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be healthy enough to do so. Players on the PUP list have a five-week window to begin practicing. Once they return to practice, they have three weeks to be added to their respective teams’ active rosters. In other words, a player on the PUP list could theoretically return for his team’s Week 7 game, or could return as late as for his team’s Week 15 contest. If the player doesn’t return to practice or game action in time, he’ll revert to season-ending injured reserve.

Here are the players currently on the physically unable to perform list who can begin practicing as soon as next week:

Players who began the season on the PUP list didn’t participate in any preseason practices, but that’s not the case for players on the injured reserve list with the designation to return. Teams can use this spot on one player per season, placing him on the injured reserve list without necessarily ruling him out for the season. As we explained in an earlier post, players given this designation can begin practicing after six weeks and can return after eight weeks.

That means that players who were placed on IR-DTR prior to Week 1 can begin practicing next week. A player who was placed on IR-DTR after – for instance – Week 2 will have to wait another two weeks to return to practice.

Here’s the list of players currently on IR-DTR who can begin practicing as soon as next week:

Jets Finalize 53-Man Roster

August 30th, 2014 at 3:48pm CST by Luke Adams

A few notable cuts by the Jets had already been reported today, with players like cornerback Dimitri Patterson and wide receiver Stephen Hill being cut loose by Rex Ryan‘s club. We rounded the team’s first 11 cuts in a pair of posts earlier today, but here, via a team press release, are the remaining 11 roster moves:

Cut:

Placed on reserve-PUP list:

Jets Cut Stephen Hill, Eight Others

August 30th, 2014 at 12:10pm CST by Ben Levine

The Jets have already cut nine players this afternoon, and there are certainly some notable names in the group. According to the New York Post’s Brian Costello (via Twitter), former second-round pick Stephen Hill is on his way out. The 23-year-old has disappointed since entering the league in 2012, but there’s a good chance he’ll have an opportunity to catch on with another team.

The New York Daily News’ Manish Mehta also reports (via Twitter) that running back Daryl Richardson will be released. However, based on the new practice squad rules, ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini thinks there’s a chance that Richardson could stick around (via Twitter).

Below is the full list of the team’s moves:

Additionally, Costello tweets that linebacker Antwan Barnes will likely start the season on the physically unable to perform list.