Baltimore Ravens practice squad – Page 2

Ravens activate CB Khalil Dorsey to 53-man roster, add S Geno Stone to practice squad

The Baltimore Ravens moved CB Khalil Dorsey to the 53-man roster, putting S Geno Stone in his spot on the practice squad ahead of Week 5.

The shoe has finally dropped from the Baltimore Ravens waiving rookie safety Geno Stone. It turns out Baltimore simply moved their defensive backs around from the 53-man roster and practice squad.

According to the NFL’s transaction report, the Ravens signed cornerback Khalil Dorsey from their practice squad to the 53-man roster. Stone cleared waivers and was signed to Baltimore’s practice squad to fill Dorsey’s void there.

Sadly, these moves aren’t quite what Ravens fans were hoping for. When Stone was originally waived, many hoped Baltimore was going to be adding a veteran wide receiver or pass rusher to help with one of the Ravens’ biggest problems through four games. Unfortunately, the moves were really just more of a logistical issue for Baltimore.

With slot cornerback Tavon Young out for the season with a knee injury, the Ravens are a little thin at cornerback and need the extra bodies for games. Though Stone had been on the Ravens’ 53-man roster for all four games prior to his release, he had not been active in one game this season.

According to coach John Harbaugh on Friday, the move was partly because the Ravens had used all of Dorsey’s gameday activations from the practice squad and still needed help at cornerback. This season, teams are allowed to bring up a player from the practice squad to be active for a game, but are limited in the number of times they can use that feature on a given player. By adding Dorsey to the 53-man roster, Baltimore can have him active for Sunday’s game, giving them a chance to activate someone else from the practice squad if they wish while also keeping Stone around for further development.

Though Stone is now on the practice squad, that doesn’t mean his time with the Ravens is over. Harbaugh had glowing praise for Stone and indicated his time on the field was coming too.

“Geno [Stone] definitely is going to play,” Harbaugh said Friday. “There’ no doubt in my mind that he’ll play.”

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Ravens place Tavon Young on IR, bring up Jordan Richards, Terrell Bonds, Khalil Dorsey from practice squad

The Baltimore Ravens did what was expected, moving CB Tavon Young to IR. They elevated Jordan Richards and two CBs from the practice squad.

The Baltimore Ravens finally made official what we’ve known for a week, putting cornerback Tavon Young on injured reserve, according to the league’s official transactions list. But with the Kansas City Chiefs in town for “Monday Night Football,” the Ravens bolstered their secondary with a few familiar names from the practice squad.

Baltimore brought up safety Jordan Richards from the practice squad to the 53-man roster. The Ravens had been activating him only for gameday through the first two weeks but made the move more permanent in light of Young’s injury.

Richards had been signed last season after having to cut defensive back Justin Bethel due to some compensatory pick formula magic. Like Bethel before him, Richards has primarily been a special teams player for Baltimore, notching 177 (40% of the total snaps for the season) of the special-teams snaps over nine games last year compared to just one snap on defense. This season has been no different, with Richards being in on 74% of the special-teams snaps through two weeks.

In addition to that roster move, the Ravens activated both Terrell Bonds and Khalil Dorsey from the practice squad for tonight’s game against the Chiefs. With Young out for the season, Baltimore only had four cornerbacks on the 53-man roster, making them pretty thin on even a great matchup. But with Kansas City’s high-flying offense this week, having two additional cornerbacks active for the game gives Ravens defensive coordinator Don Martindale some much-needed flexibility in how he wants to match up.

Bonds was a UDFA last year, standing out in camp with some big plays. Dorsey was one of Baltimore’s UDFAs this year, though sadly none made the cut to the Ravens’ 53-man roster, breaking a 16-year streak.

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Ravens protect S Nigel Warrior, 3 others on practice squad for Week 3

The Baltimore Ravens protected some familiar names on their practice squad this week but added Nigel Warrior to the list for the first time

The Baltimore Ravens continue to change who they protect on the practice squad each week. Though some of the names have persisted over all three weeks, this week sees a new player getting protected.

According to the transactions list, the Ravens have protected the following four players for Week 3 against the Kansas City Chiefs:

C Trystan Colon-Castillo
G Will Holden
LS Nick Moore
S Nigel Warrior

Colon-Castillo and Moore have been regulars on the protected list this season, which makes sense. With center Matt Skura returning from a gruesome knee injury and Patrick Mekari being his only backup, it’s a little extra insurance at the position. The same could be said for Moore at long snapper, though Baltimore has never really had a long snapper stick around in previous years.

The new addition is Warrior. With cornerback Tavon Young suffering a season-ending knee injury in Week 2 against the Houston Texans, the Ravens are likely to bump someone up from the practice squad. The top candidate is safety Jordan Richards, who has already been elevated for gameday in both games so far. That would make Warrior an important depth option on the practice squad, in need of some protection.

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Ravens sign TE Sean Culkin to practice squad with Xavier Grimble injured

The Baltimore Ravens’ newest tight end, Xavier Grimble is hurt on the practice squad. So the team added Sean Culkin to fill his spot.

The Baltimore Ravens not only faced an injury to cornerback Tavon Young this week, but they also saw a hit to their practice squad as well. According to the transaction list for Monday, the Ravens placed tight end Xavier Grimble on the practice-squad-injured list and signed Sean Culkin to replace him.

Grimble was signed to the practice squad last week with linebacker Kristian Welch hurt and placed on the practice-squad-injured list. However, with only two tight ends on the 53-man roster, it makes sense for Baltimore to keep some other options for insurance purposes. And with an expanded practice squad this year, you can’t find a better spot for that third or fourth tight end to hang out. Culkin joins Eli Wolf and Jerrell Adams as the tight ends on the Ravens’ practice squad right now.

Culkin was initially signed by the Los Angeles Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2017. He hasn’t produced a ton over those three years, catching just two passes for 36 yards. But he has started quite 12 games for Los Angeles, which is a good number considering he’s now on Baltimore’s practice squad.

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Ravens activate S jordan Richards from practice squad for Week 2 vs. Texans

For the second consecutive week, the Baltimore Ravens have brought up safety Jordan Richards from the practice squad for gameday.

Under the new collective bargaining agreement, NFL teams are able to bring up one player from their practice squad on gameday. The Baltimore Ravens took advantage of that new rule by elevating safety Jordan Richards for the second-consecutive week, according to the transactions list.

Richards was brought in last season as a special teams ace and that’s the same role he carried last week. Richards played on 71% of possible special teams snaps without registering a single snap on defense. However, with safety being a little thinner following the departure of Earl Thomas before the season, Richards can also fill in there if necessary, carrying a little extra versatility into a gameday.

Thew new rule has proven useful for Baltimore to be able to keep around a niche player without having to eat up valuable roster space. It will be interesting to see if the Ravens switch up their strategy when gunner Chris Moore returns from a broken finger in the next few weeks.

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Ravens sign TE Xavier Grimble to practice squad with LB Kristian Welch hurt

With UDFA LB Kristian Welch hurt on the practice squad, the Baltimore Ravens used the freed-up spot for veteran tight end Xavier Grimble.

The practice squad was a valuable resource prior to this season but with some new rules, it’s become even more important. The Baltimore Ravens are maximizing their practice squad entering Week 2 by shuffling some players around.

Per the transaction reports, the Ravens moved UDFA linebacker Kristian Welch to the practice squad-injured list and signed veteran tight end Xavier Grimble to take his place. The moves still keep 16 players on Baltimore’s practice squad but gives them a little added insurance at tight end.

Grimble spent the last four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, starting seven games over that time. He has 23 receptions for 239 yards and three touchdowns in those four years, with most of his stats coming from a 2016 season in which he earned 21 of his 41 career targets.

Though the Ravens are pretty set at tight end with Mark Andrews and Nick Boyle taking care of business in Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns, having an experienced option sitting around on the practice squad isn’t a terrible idea either. Much was made of the third tight end spot this offseason and throughout training camp only for Baltimore to not keep a third tight end on the 53-man roster. While the Ravens could use fullback Patrick Ricard as a tight end at times, they probably wouldn’t want to rely on that in the event Andrews or Boyle were to get hurt.

Welch is one of two inside linebackers on Baltimore’s practice squad alongside Aaron Adeoye. Grimble becomes the third tight end on the Ravens’ practice squad, joining UDFA Eli Wolf and veteran Jerrell Adams.

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Ravens protect QB Tyler Huntley, 3 other practice squad players for Week 2

The Baltimore Ravens protected 4 practice squad players once again, including training camp standouts QB Tyler Huntley, RB Ty’Son Williams

As we saw last week, the Baltimore Ravens are going to use their practice squad protections in some unique ways. They got a little more traditional in Week 2, protecting more than just offensive linemen.

According to the transaction report, the Ravens protected two of the same players from last week as well as two new ones. Here’s who is protected this week:

QB Tyler Huntley
RB Ty’Son Williams
C Trystan Colon-Castillo
LS Nick Moore

As we noted last week, there’s a new practice squad rule allowing teams to protect up to four reserve players every week. This means other teams can’t poach a player from the practice squad, allowing teams to continue developing their most important young reserve players

This is far more what everyone expected to see from Baltimore’s protections list last week.

Huntley was a shocking cut at the roster deadline with the Ravens choosing second-year quarterback Trace McSorley despite Huntley playing better in training camp. Williams was a surprising standout in his limited time at Baltimore’s training camp, popping off a few big runs in practice after being a late addition to the 80-man roster. Colon-Castillo once again makes this list after being protected last year.

It’s still a little head-scratching why they’re using such a valuable spot on a long snapper. But with how many kickers missed chip-shot field goals and extra points in Week 1, maybe Baltimore has the right idea there after all.

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Ravens protect 3 OL, 1 LB on practice squad in Week 1

The Baltimore Ravens protected two offensive linemen, a linebacker and long snapper Nick Moore for Week 1 of the 2020 NFL season.

An extra wrinkle has been added to the 2020 NFL season in the form of a new practice squad rule. Teams can now protect up to four practice squad players from getting poached by other teams. The Baltimore Ravens took advantage of the new rule to ensure they keep a few key players.

According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, the Ravens protected the following four players:

LB Aaron Adeoye
C Trystan Colon-Castillo
G Will Holden
LS Nick Moore

The decision to protect both Holden and Colon-Castillo isn’t much of a shocker.

While listed as a guard, Holden would actually be a tackle for Baltimore. Considering their lack of depth — rookie Tyre Phillips is the only listed backup for both Ronnie Stanley and Orlando Brown Jr. — keeping him with the team for another week is a wise move. Colon-Castillo is similarly fitting with starting center Matt Skura returning from a gruesome knee injury that sent him to injured reserve last season. With limited depth behind him, protecting Colon-Castillo is just a little added insurance in case Skura isn’ actually ready to go yet.

The real interesting decision is at long snapper with Baltimore protecting Moore. There are few teams in the league that value special teams as much as the Ravens but protecting a long snapper when they have a proven guy in Morgan Cox is a head-scratcher. It could be that Baltimore really loves what they’ve seen out of Moore and have long-term plans for him, or it could be that Cox has been quietly battling some type of injury and they want a little depth at the position without spending a roster spot.

It’ll be interesting to see how this list changes from week to week this season to pick up on any potential patterns the Ravens have that might hint at their strategy.

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Ravens bringing back UDFA QB Tyler Huntley on practice squad

The Baltimore Ravens were ultimately able to keep both of their young quarterbacks, adding UDFA QB Tyler Huntley to the practice squad.

One of the few shocking moves the Baltimore Ravens made at the roster cut deadline was keeping second-year quarterback Trace McSorley over undrafted free agent Tyler Huntley. But it seems as though the Ravens liked what they saw from Huntley and are bringing him back.

According to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic, Huntley cleared waivers and will join Baltimore’s practice squad. Zrebiec also noted undrafted free agent wide receiver Jaylon Moore is planning on signing to the Ravens’ practice squad as well.

The move to keep McSorley came as a surprise to many because of how the pair differed in training camp. While McSorley certainly has more experience with Baltimore, having been with the team last year, Huntley played better throughout training camp. But with no preseason games for other teams to scout these unproven players, the Ravens were able to ultimately keep both quarterbacks.

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Ravens cut DE Ufomba Kamalu who was arrested on domestic violence charges

The Baltimore Ravens waived DE Ufomba Kamalu shortly before his arrest on domestic violence charges.

The Baltimore Ravens parted ways with defensive end Ufomba Kamalu per Wednesday’s transactions list. On Thursday, Kamalu was arrested on a warrant for a domestic violence charge, per ESPN’s Jamison Hensley.

Kamalu was originally signed by the Ravens off the New England Patriots practice squad in October. He was waived by Baltimore a few weeks later and added to the practice squad before being signed to a futures contract this offseason.

Kamalu played no snaps for the Ravens last season and his last action in the regular season came in 2018 with the Patriots. Over four seasons in the NFL, Kamalu has played in 15 games, getting 294 defensive snaps and 60 snaps on special teams, accounting for 12 tackles and three sacks.

Baltimore has revamped their defensive line this offseason, trading for Calais Campbell and signing free agent Derek Wolfe as well as re-signing Jihad Ward and Justin Ellis.

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