Ravens Sign Larry Donnell
The Ravens have signed free agent tight end Larry Donnell, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). After Crockett Gillmore sustained a potentially serious knee injury Friday, Baltimore suddenly found itself without three tight ends it opened the league year with (Gillmore, Dennis Pitta, and Darren Waller), leaving Ben Watson, Maxx Williams, and Nick Boyle as the only TEs with game experience on the roster. All have talent, but Watson is 36 and missed all of last season with an ACL tear, Williams has struggled with injuries in his brief professional career, and Boyle is one positive PED test away from a year-long suspension.
Enter Donnell, who worked out with the Colts last month. The Grambling State product first made a name for himself in 2014 when he had a breakout season with the Giants, catching 63 passes for 623 yards and six scores. Since then, however, he has been hampered by his own injuries and has been unable to reprise his 2014 performance. He missed half of the 2015 season and found himself with a lesser role in the offense in 2016, catching just 15 passes (22 targets) for 92 yards and one score.
As Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun tweets, Donnell could be a quality redzone target, though his blocking prowess leaves much to be desired.
To make room for Donnell, the Ravens waived UDFA wide receiver Tim Patrick.
Ravens’ Crockett Gillmore, Maurice Canady Sustain Knee Injuries
The Ravens cannot catch a break. Joe Flacco has a back injury that the team is currently downplaying but that could threaten the 2017 season, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Second-year RB Kenneth Dixon, who is probably the most talented back on the club, will miss the entire year with a torn meniscus; second-year slot corner Tavon Young, who had an excellent rookie campaign, suffered a season-ending ACL tear; longtime tight end Dennis Pitta is no longer on the club after sustaining yet another hip injury; tight end Darren Waller managed to get himself suspended for a year; and offensive linemen John Urschel surprisingly announced his retirement several days ago.
Now, tight end Crockett Gillmore — who has the most intriguing blend of athleticism, receiving ability, and blocking ability of the tight ends still on the roster — has sustained a potentially serious knee injury, as has second-year corner Maurice Canady. Per Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun, both players suffered those injuries during Friday’s practice. Canady, whom the Ravens selected in the sixth round of last year’s draft, was terrific in spring practices and figured to get the first opportunity to replace Young. Gillmore has shown the ability to be a No. 1 tight end when on the field, but he cannot seem to stay out of the training room.
The Ravens have yet to comment on either injury, and it remains to be seen if they will need to scour the free agent market for replacements (the team did sign Brandon Boykin following the Young injury, but the hope was that Canady could capably fill the slot corner role). If necessary, Baltimore could finally turn its attention to Gary Barnidge, who is easily the best tight end still on the market, and it could look to players like Brandon Flowers and Tramon Williams to fill in at corner.
In the meantime, the Ravens will just have to pray they don’t lose a potential starter every time they practice.
Ravens Interested In Austin Howard
Offensive tackle Austin Howard lost his job with the Raiders on Friday, but he might not be without a team for long. The Ravens are considering adding Howard, according to Mike Preston of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link).
The 30-year-old Howard would provide an experienced right tackle option to a Baltimore team that lost former No. 1 Ricky Wagner in free agency. After Wagner started 47 games for the Ravens from 2014-16, he inked a five-year deal worth more than $45MM with the Lions.
The Ravens didn’t pick up an established tackle or a spend a draft pick on a bookend in the wake of Wagner’s departure, leaving them with James Hurst as the starter opposite LT Ronnie Stanley. Hurst did appear in all 48 of the Ravens’ games over his first three years, but he only started 16 of those contests. Just three of Hurst’s starts came last year, and his performance drew an unenthusiastic review from Pro Football Focus.
Howard didn’t garner praise from PFF in 2016, either, as he ranked 52nd among its 77 qualified tackles. However, an ankle injury may have contributed to his less-than-stellar showing over 11 games, and he did rack up 10 starts for the fifth consecutive year. In all, Howard has started in 72 in 76 appearances across six years with the Eagles, Jets and Raiders. Howard signed a five-year, $30MM contract to head to Oakland in 2014, but his next deal certainly won’t come anywhere close to that – especially considering he’s recovering from offseason shoulder surgery.
Ravens Could Add Another Running Back
- Even after signing veteran Bobby Rainey earlier this week, the Ravens may not be done adding running back help, opines Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com. Baltimore’s running game was already among the league’s worst in 2016, ranking 24th in DVOA and 25th in yards, and is now without Kenneth Dixon, who will miss the season after undergoing meniscus surgery. Terrance West, Danny Woodhead, Lorenzo Taliaferro, and Rainey are still on the roster, but the Ravens could consider free agent signings or trades as search for another back, per Hensley, who tosses out Ryan Mathews, Alfred Morris, Matt Jones, and Carlos Hyde as potential options.
Latest On Ravens, Colin Kaepernick
The Ravens signed former Arena League quarterback David Olson earlier today, but that won’t necessarily prevent them from adding free agent Colin Kaepernick, head coach John Harbaugh told reporters, including Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link).
Staring quarterback Joe Flacco is dealing with a back injury, and although a worst-case scenario clouds his Week 1 status, Harbaugh doesn’t sound worried about Flacco’s condition. “Joe is day to day, so do we really need to make that move or not?” Harbaugh said of signing Kaepernick, per Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). Baltimore has been in contact with Kaepernick, but the club is “weighing need and fit,” tweets Zrebiec.
In addition to Flacco and Olson, the Ravens currently have two other quarterbacks on their roster: Ryan Mallett and Dustin Vaughan. Mallett has struggled through eight career starts as a member of the Patriots, Texans, and Ravens, while Vaughan, a 2014 undrafted free agent, has never appeared in an NFL game.
Ravens Sign QB David Olson
The Ravens have added a quarterback to the roster, but not the one everyone was waiting on. One day after coach John Harbaugh admitted that the team has interest in Colin Kaepernick, the Ravens have signed former arena league signal caller David Olson. 
[RELATED: Ravens Have Interest In Colin Kaepernick]
Signing Olson doesn’t necessarily slam the door shut on Kaepernick given the amount of roster tinkering that goes on this time of year, but the the Ravens now have three healthy arms in camp while Joe Flacco heals up from a minor back issue. The Ravens could theoretically circle back to someone like Kaepernick if they want to push Ryan Mallett or Dustin Vaughan, but by that point Kaepernick would be late to the party with only a few weeks to go before Week 1.
Olson, a Stanford product, was buried behind Andrew Luck, Josh Nunes, and Kevin Hogan while in college. He has only three passes in live NCAA action to his credit.
Ravens Put In Waiver Claim On Lucky Whitehead
- The Ravens were the only team other than the Jets to put him in a claim for wide receiver Lucky Whitehead, tweets Field Yates of ESPN. Whitehead hit waivers after the Cowboys cut him Monday, and he joined the Jets on Wednesday.
Ravens Interested In Colin Kaepernick
The Ravens have interest in Colin Kaepernick. Coach John Harbaugh confirmed to reporters that the team is planning to bring in another quarterback and signing Kaepernick “depends on what Kaepernick wants to do,” (Twitter link via Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun). 
“I’ve known Colin through my brother for many years. And we talked and then got to know him very well when he scrimmaged here. He and I have been talking throughout the summer a number of times,” Harbaugh said. “We had some great conversations on the phone and it’s really been a pleasure to talk to him and get to know him. I like history and politics too, and we’ve had some debates, and it’s been fun. And he’s a great guy. He’s a guy right now that’s being talked about. We’ll just see what happens with that. Only speculation right now. He’s a really good football player and like I said, I do believe he’ll be playing int he National Football League this year.”
Reading between the lines, it sounds like the Ravens have made at least an informal offer to Kaepernick and he is mulling it over. If that’s the case, it’s possible that Kaepernick is looking for more in the way of base guarantees or incentives in the event that he takes a significant number of snaps this year.
Still, beggars can’t be choosers and Kaepernick might not have a ton of other options at the moment. Until now, the Seahawks were the only team willing to go on record with interest in Kaepernick, though the two sides did not exchange offers after his workout in June. If Kaepernick declines an opportunity to join up with Baltimore, he may have to wait for a QB injury elsewhere in the league to get his next chance.
From a pure football perspective, Kaepernick may be the most talented QB remaining on the open market. However, teams continue to shy away from him because of the specter of a locker room distraction. The Ravens may be the club to finally put a stop to the Kaepernick saga and give him an opportunity for 2017.
Flacco, Ryan Mallett, and Dustin Vaughan are currently the only quarterbacks on the Ravens’ roster. Vaughan, 26, has never taken a snap in an NFL game.
Ravens’ John Urschel Retires From NFL
It’s not uncommon for players to announce their retirement as training camp gets underway. It is, however, unusual for a 26-year-old to do it. Ravens center John Urschel says he’s walking away from football. 
“This morning John Urschel informed me of his decision to retire from football,” Head Coach John Harbaugh said in a statement. “We respect John and respect his decision. We appreciate his efforts over the past three years and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”
Urschel participated in all of the Ravens’ offseason camps, but it seems that he is opting to pursue a career in mathematics instead. He’s a Ph.D. candidate in mathematics at MIT and is said to be a straight-A student, so there should be no shortage of options for him after football.
Meanwhile, his surprise retirement leaves the Ravens with a definite void in the middle of the offensive line. Urschel was slated to be the Ravens’ starting center and now that Jeremy Zuttah is no longer in the picture, the Ravens are without a clear cut plan B.
Now that the Ravens are in the market for a center, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them circle back to former Jets standout Nick Mangold.
Ravens Had Interest In Rainey Before Dixon's Injury
- The Ravens had expressed interest in running back Bobby Rainey even before Kenneth Dixon went down with a meniscus injury, according to Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com. Baltimore had been in contact with Rainey throughout the summer, per Hensley, but news of Dixon’s impending operation presumably sped up contract talks and led to his signing Tuesday. Rainey, who had also drawn interest from the Jets earlier this year, joins a backfield that includes Terrance West, Danny Woodhead, Buck Allen, and Lorenzo Taliaferro.