Ravens Trade OG Jermaine Eluemunor To Patriots
The Patriots aren’t done trading for offensive linemen. About an hour after acquiring Korey Cunningham from the Cardinals, the Pats went out and got another body up front.
New England has reached a deal with Baltimore to trade for guard Jermaine Eluemunor, per Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com (Twitter link). In the deal, the Ravens will send Eluemunor and a sixth-round pick to the Pats a fourth-round pick, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter hears.
Hensley writes that Eluemunor was originally the favorite to start at left guard for the Ravens, but he “fell out of favor” after failing a conditioning test earlier this offseason. He also had several nagging injuries that kept him off the practice field.
Terms of the deal weren’t immediately disclosed, and the Ravens later tweeted out they were receiving an “undisclosed draft pick.” The Patriots needed some offensive line depth, so these moves make some sense. After it was revealed that David Andrews might miss the entire season with a blood clot, Ted Karras became the starting center. Karras was also a reserve guard, and the Pats’ interior line became pretty thin with him getting bumped up to a starting role.
Eluemunor was drafted by the Ravens in the fifth-round back in 2017. He started two games as a rookie and one last year. The Texas A&M product isn’t a lock to make New England’s roster, especially if the pick they gave up for him turns out to be conditional.
Ravens, FB/DL Patrick Ricard Open Extension Talks
The Ravens have opened extension talks with fullback/defensive lineman Patrick Ricard, according to Nick Underhill of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Ricard, 25, entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Maine in 2017. A full-time defensive lineman at the collegiate level, Ricard has played both defensive line and fullback with Baltimore. During his rookie campaign, Ricard played 149 snaps on offense and just 38 on defense while catching four passes for 12 yards and two touchdowns. In 2018, however, his playing time was reduced even further, as he saw only 94 snaps on offense and 47 on defense.
Because Ricard was undrafted, he can be extended after two NFL seasons, whereas drafted players must wait until their third pro year is complete before working out a new deal. Ricard will be a restricted free agent in 2020, so by agreeing to an extension, he could potentially sacrifice some contractual upside for the financial security of a long-term pact.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/27/19
It was a busy day in the NFL as teams made early cuts in advance of the 53-man deadline. We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Atlanta Falcons
- Waived/Injured: T Dieugot Joseph
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: OL Jacob Ohnesorge
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: S Anthony Fish Smithson
Detroit Lions
- Released: QB David Fales
Kansas City Chiefs
- Placed on IR: FB John Lovett
New England Patriots
- Waived/Injured: WR Maurice Harris
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: LB Hayes Pullard, S Jason Thompson
- Waived: LB Asantay Brown, S Tre Sullivan
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Claimed: CB Jhavonte Dean
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: CB Chris Campbell, RB Brandon Wilds, WR Nick Williams
- Waived: OL Willie Beavers, OL Dillon Day
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: WR Nyqwan Murray, WR Kahlil Lewis
- Waived: WR Amara Darboh
- Placed on IR: DL Nazair Jones, CB Kalan Reed
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/25/19
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Released: LB Hayes Pullard
- Placed on IR: S Josh Shaw
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: K Elliott Fry
- Waived: LB Nicholas Grigsby
Buffalo Bills
- Released with an injury settlement: OL Garrett McGhin
Green Bay Packers
- Claimed off waivers from Ravens: LB Nicholas Grigsby
- Signed: LB James Folston, CB Jocquez Kalili
Houston Texans
- Signed: OT Christian DiLauro
Ravens To Sign LB Paul Worrilow
The Ravens plan to sign veteran inside linebacker Paul Worrilow on Friday, a source tells ESPN.com’s Jamison Hensley. The deal will be finalized upon Worrilow’s passing of a physical. 
Worrilow, a former UDFA with the Falcons, wound up starting in Atlanta for three seasons. He was used as a depth player for the team’s 2016 NFC championship season and later hooked on with the Lions, where he started in eight games. He lost the 2018 season to injury, however, and the Eagles just recently cut him due to health concerns.
Worrilow, 29, can provide experienced depth at inside linebacker as ILBs Patrick Onwuasor, Chris Board and Kenny Young have just combined 29 starts. Worrilow, meanwhile, has started 52 games over five seasons.
AFC North Notes: Ravens, Steelers, Browns
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh told reporters last week that slot cornerback Tavon Young could miss the 2019 season after suffering a serious neck injury, but the club hasn’t been given an update on the status of the 25-year-old defensive back. “Nothing definitive,” Harbaugh said, per Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com (Twitter link). “It’s in the opinions of the doctors. I’m sure there are different ways of looking at it, so they’ll probably see how it goes in the next week or two or three, and see what the progress is.” If Young is sidelined for the upcoming campaign, Baltimore will likely deploy Brandon Carr in the slot, while Cyrus Jones is also a candidate to see work inside.
Here’s more from the AFC North:
- John Ross will finally make his 2019 practice debut early next week, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor told reporters, including Ben Baby of ESPN.com (Twitter link). A hamstring injury has forced Ross to sit out of practice sessions thus far, but if the former ninth overall pick gets in two weeks of work, Taylor believes he’ll be ready for the season opener against the Seahawks. Cincinnati will already be without A.J. Green for the first few weeks of the season after the veteran pass-catcher suffered an ankle injury in July, so getting Ross on the field would be a boon to the club’s offense. Ross, 24, posted only 21 receptions a year ago but did haul in seven touchdowns.
- More from Cincinnati, where receiver depth isn’t the only roster issue: Cordy Glenn has been diagnosed with a concussion, meaning the left tackle may not be ready for Week 1, tweets Jay Morrison of The Athletic. As a result, the Bengals — who have already lost rookie left tackle Jonah Williams (shoulder injury) and left guard Clint Boling (retirement), may be forced to use Andre Smith as Andy Dalton‘s blindside protector, per Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Smith, now in his fourth stint with the Bengals, does have some experience at left tackle, but the overwhelming majority of his NFL time has been spent on the right side.
- Steelers cornerback Cameron Sutton has posted a “tremendous” preseason and could have a significant role on Pittsburgh’s defense, according to Mark Kaboly of The Athletic. Sutton has played so well that he could potentially overtake Mike Hilton as the team’s slot corner. At worst, Sutton is likely to serve as the Steelers’ third outside corner behind Joe Haden and Steven Nelson and play as a dime linebacker in six-defensive back looks. Sutton, a third-round pick out of Tennessee in 2017, played 113 defensive snaps during his rookie campaign and 240 last season.
- The Browns now have three candidates to replace Kevin Zeitler at right guard, as Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com writes. Veteran Eric Kush was thought to be leading the competition against 2018 second-round pick Austin Corbett, but rookie sixth-rounder Drew Forbes has also entered the mix. Per head coach Freddie Kitchens, the battle is still wide open. Corbett, though, hasn’t practiced at right guard in weeks, and is instead working as Cleveland’s backup center.
More Minor NFL Transactions: 8/21/19
Today’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Waived: P Sean Smith
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: LB Brandon Bell, OL Tyler Catalina
- Placed on injured reserve: LB Jonathan Celestin, G Norman Price
Cleveland Browns
- Claimed off waivers: S Montrel Meander
- Placed on injured reserve: WR D.J. Montgomery
Denver Broncos
- Waived/injured: LB Aaron Wallace
New York Giants
- Waived: WR Da’Mari Scott
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: OL Andrew Lauderdale, S Tyree Robinson
- Waived: OL Christian DiLauro, WR Shawn Poindexter, RB Brandon Wilds
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: DT Elijah Qualls
- Waived/injured: DT Shane Bowman
Latest On Tavon Young, Marshal Yanda
- Ravens slot corner Tavon Young may miss the entire 2019 campaign due to a serious neck injury, but Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic says Young is still weighing his options with respect to surgery (Twitter link). Initial reports suggested that Baltimore believes Young should get surgery, which would likely allow him to return at full-strength for the 2020 season, but Young remains undecided. If he doesn’t get surgery and allows the injury to heal on its own, he could potentially return in 2019, but if the injury doesn’t heal, he may miss some of 2020. Either way, he will almost certainly open this season on IR.
- Ravens guard Marshal Yanda is dealing with an ankle/foot injury and will not play in either of the club’s remaining preseason games, as Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com tweets. However, HC John Harbaugh expects the seven-time Pro Bowler to be ready to go for Week 1.
Ravens Sign Kicker/Punter Cameron Nizialek
The Ravens have signed kicker Cameron Nizialek, according to the team’s Twitter feed. According to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic (Twitter link), Nizialek was brought in to ease the reps on Justin Tucker, so he doesn’t appear to be any threat to Tucker’s roster spot.
Nizialek, who is from Virginia, most recently played in the American Football Alliance before the league shut down. He can serve as both a kicker and punter, as he did the latter during his time at the University of Georgia. Baltimore waived punter Sean Smith earlier this week, so it’s possible Nizialek could make the team in that capacity.
Prior to his stop in Georgia where he was a graduate student, Nizialek spent four years at Columbia University. During his time in the Ivy League, he handled both kicking and punting duties.
McSorley Wrapping Up Roster Spot?
- Ravens rookie quarterback Trace McSorley is doing everything he can to make the team, and it seems to be working. Baltimore indicated as soon as they drafted him in the sixth round out of Penn State that they planned to use him on special teams and perhaps as a returner, in a similar role as Taysom Hill with the Saints. McSorley “has shown Ravens enough to warrant a spot on the 53-man roster,” even after Robert Griffin III returns from his injury, writes Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Hensley points out that McSorley will give the Ravens necessary depth “in an offense where QBs will take hits running the ball.”
- In case you missed it, it looks like Ravens slot corner Tavon Young will miss the entire 2019 season after suffering a “serious” neck injury in practice.