Charles Scarff

Ravens Cut Roster To 53

The Ravens became the latest team to get down to 53, cutting a slew of players on Saturday via a team announcement. With the moves, Baltimore ended a 16-year streak of keeping at least one undrafted rookie on the roster, another sign of the impact COVID-19 and the reduced offseason had on roster decisions.

Here are the 23 guys who were let go:

Barner played a somewhat prominent role on a couple of Eagles teams and won Super Bowl LII with the team. Since leaving Philly he’s bounced between New England, Carolina, and Atlanta. Ehinger started a game at guard for Baltimore last year, but couldn’t crack the roster this time around.

Richards was a full-time starter with the Falcons in 2018, and appeared in nine games with Baltimore last year, scoring a touchdown on a fumble recovery. Townsend was the Raiders’ punter in 2018, and just signed with the Ravens a couple of weeks ago. He probably never had too good a chance of beating out Sam Koch, who has been with the Ravens since 2006. Huntley had a very solid college career at Utah, but wasn’t viewed by too many as a legitimate pro passer.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/15/20

Today’s reserve/futures deals:

Baltimore Ravens

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

  • DB DaShaun Amos

Houston Texans

Minnesota Vikings

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Sunday NFL Transactions: AFC North

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four AFC North teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions for the RavensBengalsBrowns, and Steelers are noted below.

Additionally, as of today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.

Here are Sunday’s AFC North transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:

Baltimore Ravens

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Pittsburgh Steelers

* = International Pathway Program player

Ravens Move Down To 53

The Ravens minced their roster to 53 players, parting ways with UDFA Gerald Willis to get there. Baltimore also placed Tavon Young and Kenneth Dixon on IR.

Young suffered a neck injury recently and will miss a full season for the second time in three years. While Baltimore boasts a deep cornerback corps, losing its slot man again will not help the high-end defense’s cause. Dixon will head back to IR. The Ravens placed him on IR in September 2018 but used an IR-return slot on him. That will not be an option this year, which doubles as the running back’s contract slate.

Character concerns caused Willis, viewed as a high-Day 3-type prospect out of Miami, to go undrafted. He is now on the waiver wire.

Here are Baltimore’s cuts:

Placed on IR:

Ravens Sign Gerald Willis, 16 Other UDFAs

Stationed on ESPN’s “best available” graphic for hours on Day 3 of the draft, Gerald Willis found a home in Baltimore. The Ravens made the defensive lineman part of their UDFA contingent. Here is the rest of the team’s 17-man group:

Rated as the No. 76 overall prospect on Mel Kiper Jr.’s big board, Willis earned second-team All-American honors by finishing with 18 tackles for loss and four sacks last season. However, character issues likely led to his slide. Florida dismissed the talented defender earlier in his career, and some Miami coaches were skeptical of his NFL future.

The Ravens are continuing their rookie-heavy approach to staffing their wide receiver spots, this trio following Marquise Brown and third-round pick Miles Boykin. Smith, who had his best college season (a 60-catch, 980-yard, seven-touchdown 2017) when playing with Lamar Jackson, will rejoin the developing passer. Wesley’s 1,410 receiving yards ranked third in Division I-FBS last season.