Today’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings appeared to shop around Leroy Watson before ultimately deciding to waive the OL, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. A former tight end, Watson has emerged as an offensive lineman in the NFL, garnering 11 appearances through two seasons in the league. He started all four of his appearances for the Titans in 2024.
The Ravens have already made some preliminary roster decisions ahead of Tuesday’s cutdown deadline.
Head coach John Harbaugh said (via Giana Han of the Baltimore Banner) that the team is planning to carry four running backs on their 53-man roster. That would seem to cement Rasheen Ali‘s spot on the team behind Derrick Henry, Justice Hill, and Keaton Mitchell.
Ali, a 2024 fifth-round pick, made the 53-man roster as a rookie but landed on injured reserve before Week 1. He went on to appear in six games, but only logged 10 carries for 31 yards with Henry and Hill handling virtually all of the team’s backfield work.
The 24-year-old seemed to be on the roster bubble entering training camp amid reports of Mitchell finally returning to full strength (and speed) after his 2023 ACL tear. Ali then put up a strong performance in the Ravens’ preseason opener against the Colts; he virtually created a scoring drive on his own with a 69-yard kickoff return, a 19-yard run into the red zone, and a two-yard touchdown.
That seemed to give Ali’s roster chances a significant boost, and despite a less inspiring performance in Dallas last Saturday, Harbaugh’s postgame comments indicated that the second-year running back will make the team. Baltimore’s other running backs, veterans D’Ernest Johnson and Myles Gaskin, are unlikely to challenge Ali for a roster spot.
Ali is unlikely to see any offensive touches outside of garbage time, but he may partner with Mitchell on kickoff returns, which are expected to play a bigger role in 2025 with the touchback moved up to the 35-yard line.
Harbaugh also confirmed that rookie Tyler Loop would be the team’s starting kicker, per The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec. The sixth-round pick appeared to win the job when the Ravens waived UDFA John Hoyland at the beginning of August, though that move was also ascribed to other roster needs at running back and tight end. The Ravens never brought Hoyland back to challenge Loop, who went 6-for-8 on field goals and 5-for-5 on extra points during the preseason.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh announced (via Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic) that second-year edge rusher Adisa Isaac will start the season on injured reserve after undergoing elbow surgery.
Harbaugh previously disclosed that Isaac suffered a dislocated elbow in Saturday’s preseason matchup against the Cowboys, per Zrebiec. The Ravens were hoping that the 2024 third-round pick could contribute to their edge rotation after a hamstring injury as a rookie held him out of spring practices and limited him to four games and 78 total snaps.
Isaac is still expected to play this year and will likely be placed on IR with a designation to return during roster cut-downs next week. That will mandate a four-week absence before he can return to practice, though Harbaugh projected a post-midseason return.
Isaac’s injury could open a roster spot for 2022 second-round pick David Ojabo, who similarly struggled to stay on the field in his first two NFL seasons. Even when he did enjoy an extended stretch of good health in 2024, he only recorded 2.0 sacks and two tackles for loss across 13 games. Ojabo was thought to be on the roster bubble entering training camp, especially since his release would clear $1.8MM of cap space, but he’s now poised to stick around in Baltimore, at least for the start of the season.
Harbaugh also revealed that rookie offensive lineman Emery Jones will not be ready for the start of the regular season. He has been on the non-football injury list since the beginning of training camp after undergoing shoulder surgery earlier this year. Rather than a quick recovery to push for a starting guard job as a rookie, Jones is waiting until he is “fully right” before taking the field.
“That’s the way it should be,” added Harbaugh. “We respect that.” The Ravens can move Jones to the reserve/NFI list during cut-downs, which will sideline him for at least another four weeks.
Jones is the third Ravens draft pick to miss significant time as a rookie. Day 3 cornerback Bilhal Kone and Robert Longerbeam have already landed on season-ending IR with major leg injuries. Kone tore both his ACL and his MCL, while Longerbeam sustained a torn patella tendon, according to FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz. Harbaugh declined to confirm Schultz’s report on August 11, but confirmed that the rookie corner would undergo surgery.
With their cornerback depth taking a hit in training camp, the Ravens hosted eight-year veteran Kyle Fuller for a workout on Sunday, per KRPC2’s Aaron Wilson. Fuller hasn’t played since 2022, when he earned a starting job in Baltimore’s defense but tore his ACL in Week 1.
Harbaugh was less forthcoming when asked about Isaiah Likely. The fourth-year tight end is coming off minor foot surgery with a tight recovery window before the Ravens’ regular-season opener against the Bills. Accordingly, Harbaugh offered a vague answer when asked about Likely’s Week 1 availability, saying (via ESPN’s Jamison Hensley) that he “might want to keep [Buffalo] guessing a little bit.”
Here are the latest minor moves from around the NFL:
Atlanta Falcons
Baltimore Ravens
Carolina Panthers
Chicago Bears
Dallas Cowboys
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Houston Texans
Indianapolis Colts
Los Angeles Chargers
Miami Dolphins
Minnesota Vikings
New England Patriots
New York Jets
Pittsburgh Steelers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tennessee Titans
Ojemudia is returning to the NFL after playing for the UFL’s DC Defenders in the spring, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. After starting 11 games for the Broncos as a rookie in 2020, he struggled with injuries and hasn’t played in the regular season since 2022.. The 27-year-old will add depth to a Cowboys cornerback room that isn’t expecting Trevon Diggs or Shavon Revel back until September. Second-year corner Caelen Carson is also dealing with a knee injury, so Ojemudia could get some snaps in Dallas’ last preseason game on Friday. A 53-man roster spot is unlikely given how late he signed with the team, but a strong first week could keep him in contention for the practice squad.
Winfree, a five-year veteran, will land with his fourth NFL team after a workout in Houston. The Texans also worked out former Chiefs wideout Cornell Powell, according to KRPC2’s Aaron Wilson.
Freeland, a 2023 fourth-round pick, started nine games as a rookie and spent 2024 as the Colts’ swing tackle. He will be out for the season with a fractured leg, per Colts.com writer JJ Stankevitz, as will Phillips (bicep), who hasn’t played in the regular season since 2022. Wohler sustained a Lisfranc injury, according to Joel Erickson of the Indianapolis Star. The seventh-round safety will miss his rookie year after appearing to carve out a role in the Colts defense with an impressive preseason.
The Ravens auditioned a notable backfield veteran earlier this week. NFL inside Jordan Schultz reported the other day that Boston Scott had a recent workout with Baltimore. The 30-year-old is healthy and in “terrific” shape as he continues to seek the “right” opportunity.
Scott’s long stint with the Eagles ended with the 2023 campaign, and his 24 touches represented a five-year low. Before that, Scott had a regular role on Philly’s depth chart, including 2020 and 2021 campaigns where he combined for 747 yards and eight touchdowns. He scored 16 touchdowns during his time with the Eagles, nine of which came against the Giants. He added another three scores in eight playoff games.
He joined the Rams last offseason but was among the team’s final cuts. He quickly caught on with the Steelers practice squad but only lasted a few weeks before earning his walking papers. He’s remain unsigned since that time.
The Ravens have plenty of depth behind Derrick Henry. Justice Hill will continue as the RB2 in 2025, and the team is still rostering the likes of Keaton Mitchell and former fifth-round pick Rasheen Ali. The organization added D’Ernest Johnson and Myles Gaskin to the RBs room this offseason, so perhaps Scott would be an option to temporarily replace one of those veterans.
More workout notes from around the NFL…
Today’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
Chicago Bears
Cleveland Browns
Green Bay Packers
Houston Texans
Indianapolis Colts
Jacksonville Jaguars
Los Angeles Chargers
Minnesota Vikings
New England Patriots
New Orleans Saints
San Francisco 49ers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tennessee Titans
The Titans swapped linebackers today, replacing Otis Reese with Brian Asamoah II. The latter was waived by the Vikings yesterday, but he’ll quickly land on his feet in Tennessee. The former third-round pick spent three years in Minnesota, collecting 30 tackles in 46 games. 802 of his 990 snaps came on special teams. He’ll be taking the spot formerly held by Reese, who started five games for the Titans over the previous two seasons.
The Ravens don’t have much lineup uncertainty at the moment, meaning the lone positional battle has been thrust into the limelight. With Patrick Mekari departing this offseason, there remains an opening at left guard, with coach John Harbaugh recently stating that he’d like to settle on a starter as soon as possible.
Harbaugh also provided some insight into which way he’s leaning, as the coach revealed that Andrew Vorhees remains the front-runner for the starting LG job over Ben Cleveland.
“Andrew Vorhees is in the lead. Something would have to change,” Harbaugh said (via Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic). “I will say, with Ben, he’ll tell you, the first, three or four days didn’t look too good. Then, the next three or four days looked really good. … Andrew has looked good all the way through, so he’s in the lead at this point.”
Vorhees was penciled in as the starter to begin the 2024 campaign. However, an ankle injury temporarily knocked him out of the lineup, and by the time he was ready to return, Mekari had already run away with the job. Vorhees, a 2023 seventh-round pick, will now have another clear shot at sticking in the starting lineup, although Cleveland does provide some competition should things go off the rails. Per Zrebiec, Cleveland will likely be slotted in as the team’s top reserve OG to begin the season, with Joseph Noteboom likely the favorite to be the top OT reserve and former UDFA Corey Bullock the favorite to be the backup center.
While there aren’t many starting spots up for grabs in Baltimore, there are plenty of roster battles. One of those competitions is believed to be at outside linebacker, where the Ravens appear to have one too many players. Zrebiec writes that Adisa Isaac is expected to win the final positional spot, meaning David Ojabo is likely going to be the odd man out. A former second-round pick, Ojabo has struggled to carve out a role during his three years in Baltimore, and with only a year remaining on his rookie pact, the organization may finally be willing to move on.
The Ravens made a whopping 11 selections during the 2022 NFL Draft, nine of which are still in Baltimore and eligible for a contract extension.
First-round picks Kyle Hamilton (No. 14 overall) and Tyler Linderbaum (No. 25 overall) have emerged as priorities for the Ravens, along with fourth-rounder Isaiah Likely. The team is working on extensions for all three players and would like to get deals done before the end of the 2025 season, according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano.
Hamilton will be the most expensive. The All-Pro will likely get a significant raise over the top of the safety market, which reached $21.25MM with Kerby Joseph‘s deal this offseason. The Ravens picked up Hamilton’s fifth-year option in May, locking him in for $18.6MM in 2026 and giving them an extra year to reach an agreement. They could even tag him in 2027 if necessary, but with considerable money committed for the team’s other stars – including $74.5MM for Lamar Jackson in 2026 and 2027 – an extension for Hamilton would help ease the immediate cap burden.
The Ravens declined Linderbaum’s fifth-year option, not because they didn’t want to keep him, but because the NFL groups all offensive linemen together when calculating fifth-year options and franchise tags. Linderbaum would have been owed $23.4MM in 2026, more than $5MM above Creed Humphrey‘s $18MM APY at the top of the center market. A tag is out of the question for the same reason, giving the Ravens six months to extend Linderbaum.
General manager Eric DeCosta hasn’t shied away from making the team’s star players the NFL’s highest-paid at their position, but the cap has gone up significantly since Humphrey signed his extension. Accordingly, Linderbaum may be seeking upwards of $19MM per year. The Ravens will be hoping that the potential for a hefty signing bonus will incentivize their Pro Bowl center into putting pen to paper on an affordable contract before he hits free agency.
Likely has emerged as an ascending offensive weapon, a favorite target of Jackson’s, and a clear successor to Mark Andrews in the team’s tight end room. The Ravens may want to make sure that his recovery from foot surgery goes smoothly before finalizing an extension. Likely’s market has been clarified by Jake Ferguson‘s $12.5MM APY deal with the Cowboys. Ferguson has more targets, receptions, and yards due to his undisputed TE1 status in Dallas in the last two years, but Likely has been significantly more efficient and effective in the red zone while playing behind Andrews in Baltimore.
The 25-year-old may not be able to break into the highest tier of tight end contracts without a full year as a starter, but he could come in around $14MM per year, which happens to be the same amount that Andrews commanded on his second contract.
Here are the latest minor moves from around the NFL:
Arizona Cardinals
Atlanta Falcons
Baltimore Ravens
Buffalo Bills
Denver Broncos
Detroit Lions
New England Patriots
New Orleans Saints
Larison suffered a foot injury during a promising preseason debut against the Commanders on Friday night. He will undergo surgery and spend the season rehabbing, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, with the hope of renewing his 53-man roster push next summer.
Saturday’s minor moves around the NFL:
Baltimore Ravens
Jacksonville Jaguars
Los Angeles Chargers
San Francisco 49ers
Gaskin worked out for Baltimore on Saturday, NFL insider Jordan Schultz reports. The 28-year-old is far removed from his most productive days, which came with the Dolphins. Since the start of the 2022 season, Gaskin has handled just 13 carries. He will offer the Ravens depth in the backfield through their two remaining preseason games.
One week ago, the Jags signed Wallace in a move which allowed him to compete for a depth spot in their secondary. The 30-year-old has 96 appearances and 72 starts to his name, but an injury has quickly ended his chances of making Jacksonville’s roster. White was waived when Wallace arrived, so he will simply continue in his bid to earn a special teams role ahead of roster cutdowns later this month.