Today’s taxi squad updates:
Baltimore Ravens
Seattle Seahawks
Kane, a seventh-round pick last year, was waived after undrafted rookie Keondre Jackson proved to be a recent factor on special teams. Having cleared waivers, Kane’s back in Baltimore, but his rookie contract is gone.
Here are Tuesday’s minor transactions after a busy trade deadline:
Arizona Cardinals
Atlanta Falcons
Baltimore Ravens
Chicago Bears
Dallas Cowboys
Denver Broncos
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Los Angeles Chargers
Philadelphia Eagles
Seattle Seahawks
Washington Commanders
Usually when a player retires in the middle of the season, it’s a free agent who hoped they’d find a home due to the attrition of the regular season but never do. Rarely do we see active players like Lovato retiring partway through a campaign like this. Lovato is choosing to go out on his own terms, though, as it appears he was close to being released. Los Angeles only signed Lovato just before the season because its regular long snapper, Josh Harris, got hurt and placed on the team’s injured reserve with a designation to return. Harris returned to practice last week, so seeing the writing on the wall, Lovato is saving the Chargers the trouble of releasing him.
Kane had been a core special teamer for the Ravens since getting drafted out of the seventh round last year but had been made a healthy scratch in each of the team’s past two games. Jackson, though, has emerged as a standout on the unit over three practice squad elevations. The Ravens wanted Jackson to keep playing, so he’ll take Kane’s spot on the 53-man roster.
Reed’s time on Seattle’s active roster was short-lived. They’ll likely plan for him to sign back to the practice squad, but he’ll have to clear waivers before they can bring him back. The same is expected of Davis in Dallas.
One of the newest defensive stars to wear the purple and black, young Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton recently underwent a minor surgical procedure, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. The purpose of the surgery was to remove some “loose bodies” from the first-team All-Pro’s elbow. 
Hamilton has a bit of injury experience in his short NFL career but not anything that has held him out for too long. Twice, knee injuries have flared up on a knee that bothered him at Notre Dame, as well. He also underwent surgery following his rookie season for an injury to the hand and wrist area. He missed a single game as a rookie as well as the final two games of the team’s most recent campaign, at which point Baltimore’s postseason qualification was already determined.
After a rookie season that saw Hamilton rank as the NFL’s top safety, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), the Ravens made Hamilton a major focal point of their 2023 defense. He started at safety alongside Geno Stone as Marcus Williams spent six of the team’s first nine games injured.
Realizing that they had three viable starters at safety, Baltimore began to take advantage of Hamilton’s versatility, deploying him all over the defense. According to PFF, Hamilton spent 301 snaps at safety, 465 in the slot, 236 in the box, five at cornerback, and even 58 snaps on the defensive line, very literally covering the gamut of defensive positions. With an increased responsibility, Hamilton still graded highly with PFF, ranking as the sixth-best player at his position in 2023.
With Stone now in Cincinnati, the Ravens may have to adjust how they utilize Hamilton this season. Hamilton and Williams will continue to start at safety. In order to deploy Hamilton how they did last year, though, the team will need to find another quality starter at the position. Fourth-year undrafted safety Ar’Darius Washington could be a solution. After two years in a mostly reserve role, Washington was expected to make a much bigger impact on the defense at nickelback in 2023, even earning his first career start before suffering a season-ending chest injury in Week 2 of the season.
After Washington, two rookies could potentially make an impact. The team drafted Sanoussi Kane out of Purdue in the seventh round of this year’s draft. While not too much of a ballhawk, Kane is a physical defender who can make an impact as a strong safety covering the run and tight ends.
There’s been more buzz, though, about undrafted rookie signee Beau Brade out of Maryland. Brade was projected to be an early Day 3 draft pick but somehow fell off the board altogether. Baltimore took advantage and signed him as a free agent. Brade boasts some versatility to be interchangeable at the safety and nickel positions and could push Kane and even Washington for a bigger role that allows Hamilton to roam like he did last year.
The recovery for Hamilton’s recent procedure is approximated at two to three weeks. While he’ll miss the remainder of any physical activities before the team’s summer break, the Ravens are confident that he’ll be back by training camp.
With the draft complete, teams are now able to turn their attention to adding UDFAs and inking their selected prospects to their rookie deals. The Ravens have moved quickly on the latter front. 
Baltimore has signed five of nine draft picks from this weekend, per a team announcement. That list includes cornerback Nate Wiggins, who was selected with the No. 30 pick. Wiggins was considered a round one lock, and it came as something of a surprise when he was still on the board at the Ravens’ slot. Based on his draft spot, Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap projects a $12.8MM deal over four years (with the potential of a fifth-year option in 2028)
Two corners – Quinyon Mitchell and Terrion Arnold – were added 22nd and 24th overall, respectively. Both members of that pair were expected to come off the board before all others at the position, although they (like every other player on the defensive side of the ball) had to wait quite some time to be selected. Wiggins, like Mitchell and Arnold, has considerable potential based on his college production.
The Clemson alum totaled three interceptions and 21 pass deflections during his three-year tenure at the school. Wiggins served as a starter over the 2022 and ’23 campaigns, and he was a first-team All-ACC selection this past season. The 6-2, 175-pounder faces questions based on his playing weight at the pro level, but his fluidity and length should allow him to carve out a role early on.
Baltimore has Marlon Humphrey in place as a cornerback starter, and Brandon Stephens had a surprisingly productive campaign opposite him in 2023. The latter is a pending free agent, so Wiggins could take on a first-team role if he were to depart next offseason. Even before that, Wiggins should be able to find playing time on special teams while rotating in the Ravens’ secondary during his rookie campaign.
The team also announced on Thursday that second-round offensive tackle Roger Rosengarten, fourth-round cornerback T.J. Tampa, and their seventh-rounder additions (center Nick Samac and safety Sanoussi Kane) have inked their respective rookie deals. That leaves Adisa Isaac, Devontez Walker, Rasheen Ali and Devin Leary as the prospects yet to put pen to paper.