Tag: Devonta Freeman

Ravens promote RB Devonta Freeman to active roster, sign OL Foster Sarell to practice squad

The Ravens promoted running back Devonta Freeman to the active roster while also signing offensive lineman Foster Sarell to the practice squad

The Baltimore Ravens continue to shuffle their roster after injuries have decimated them at multiple positions. One of the areas of the team that has been hit the hardest by injuries is at running back. With J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards and Justice Hill all out for the season, Baltimore has signed a lot of new faces that they hope can pick up what’s been lost from a production standpoint.

After releasing running back Trenton Cannon and seeing him get claimed by the San Fransisco 49ers on waivers, the Ravens promoted running back Devonta Freeman to the active roster in his place. The team also signed offensive tackle Foster Sarell to the practice squad.

Freeman has 1,005 carries for 4,144 yards and 33 rushing touchdowns in his career to go along with 264 receptions for 2,073 yards and 11 receiving touchdowns. He’s a versatile option that can help the Baltimore both on the ground and through the air. He’ll be splitting carries with fellow running backs Ty’Son Williams, Latavius Murray, and potentially Le’Veon Bell if he gets called up from the practice squad.

Sarell gives the Ravens offensive tackle depth after seeing their offensive line struggle in Week 1 against the Las Vegas Raiders. Sarell was with Baltimore for training camp after being undrafted out of Stanford University.

Devonta Freeman joins Latavius Murray on Ravens’ active roster

Ex-Saints RB Devonta Freeman called up to join Latavius Murray on Ravens’ active roster:

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The Baltimore Ravens acted quickly to pick up a couple of New Orleans Saints castoffs, and now they’re both going to team up again. While Latavius Murray was signed directly onto Baltimore’s 53-man roster after the Saints released him, Devonta Freeman initially landed on the Ravens practice squad. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that Freeman is now being promoted up to the active roster with Murray and lead back Ty’Son Williams, ahead of their more-prominent teammate Le’Veon Bell (who remains on the practice squad, though he could be called up for Week 2).

While Freeman was inactive for Week 1’s overtime loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, Murray dressed for the game and faced tough sledding against the Raiders defense. He totaled 28 rushing yards on 10 carries, his best play coming on a critical 8-yard touchdown run to extend Baltimore’s lead.

Both veterans were outplayed by second-year pro Tony Jones Jr. over the summer in Saints training camp, with Jones crescendoing his performance in two preseason games. When he hit the field against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Jones kept up the pace with 50 rushing yards from 11 attempts,  also converting a first down on his lone 3-yard reception. The Ravens need Murray and Freeman’s help after losing so many running backs to injuries, but the Saints made the right choice in getting younger at the position.

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5 burning questions ahead of Ravens-Chiefs in Week 2

We look at five burning questions for the Ravens ahead of their Week 2 matchup with the Chiefs

The Baltimore Ravens have a tough matchup ahead of them as they will be taking on the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2 of the 2021 season. Baltimore will have a few things working against them such as injuries and playing on a short week. However, those are no excuses, and the team will have to put together a great game to beat Kansas City under the bright lights.

After a disappointing Week 1 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, there are plenty of questions that are currently present for the Ravens ahead of their matchup with the Chiefs. If Baltimore wants to move to 1-1 on the season they’ll have show that they can hang around with one of the best offenses in the NFL as well as a defense that has given them problems over the last few seasons.

Below we take a look at five burning questions ahead of the Ravens’ Week 2 matchup with Kansas City.

Ravens release veteran OT Andre Smith from practice squad

The Ravens released a veteran from their practice squad to make room for RB Devonta Freeman

The Baltimore Ravens have put together a practice squad that has plenty of experience as well as depth. They have quality veterans and young talent, all of which can help the team if any injuries or poor play occurs by any players on their active 53-man roster.

Despite having a good practice squad, the team has had to do plenty of shuffling to get it to that point. On Friday, the team announced that they had signed running back Devonta Freeman to their practice squad. However, in order to fit him in they had to release a veteran from their practice squad, and they chose to part ways with veteran offensive tackle Andre Smith.

Smith signed with the Ravens before Baltimore’s Divisional Round matchup with the Tennessee Titans during the 2019-2020 season. He re-signed with the team in the 2020 offseason but ended up opting out of the year. He signed another one-year deal with the team in 2021, but ended up getting released during final cutdown day. He was resigned to the practice squad a few days later.

Ravens officially announce four roster moves, including the signing of RB Latavius Murray

The Ravens announced four roster moves on Friday, including the signing of veteran RB Latavius Murray

The Baltimore Ravens have had to shuffle their 2021 active roster and practice squad multiple times due to injuries. The team has suffered multiple brutal losses in a short amount of time, losing linebacker L.J. Fort, running backs J.K. Dobbins, Justice Hill and Gus Edwards, as well as cornerback Marcus Peters to season-ending injuries before the regular season has even begun.

With each player that gets seriously injured, a roster spot opens up. The team has been trying to find replacements for the guys that they’ve lost, and have done a rather good job of pivoting in the wake of devastating events.

Baltimore announced four roster moves on Friday including the signing of veteran running back Latavius Murray, who will join fellow rushers Ty’Son Williams and Trenton Cannon on the active roster.

Baltimore also announced the practice squad signing of running back Devonta Freeman, who will be joining Le’Veon Bell.

In the worst news announced, the team officially placed running back Gus Edwards and cornerback Marcus Peters on injured reserve.

Hopefully the Ravens’ bad injury luck is behind them and they can move forward with what they have. Baltimore’s season is far from over, and the roster moves that they’ve been able to make to replace their injured talent has been promising. However, it remains to be seen how they fit in with the team and what they do on the field.

Ravens working on finalizing a deal with veteran RB Latavius Murray

The Ravens are working towards signing RB Latavius Murray to a deal

The Baltimore Ravens received devastating news on Thursday, finding out that they had lost running back Gus Edwards to a torn ACL. The injury ends Edwards’ 2021 season before it began, and now means that Baltimore currently has no production from 2020 on their roster now that Edwards, J.K. Dobbins and Justice Hill will be on injured reserve and Mark Ingram II is with the Houston Texans.

The Ravens have signed a plethora of running backs to help soften the blow of losing the talented rushers in Le’Veon Bell, Trenton Cannon, and Devonta Freeman. However they aren’t’ done, as Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic reported that the team is working on finalizing a deal with veteran running back Latavius Murray.

Murray is an accomplished NFL player, totaling 1,191 carries for 4,991 yards and 43 rushing touchdowns. He also has caught 185 passes for 1,294 in yards and two receiving touchdowns. He’ll now compete for snaps in what is suddenly a crowded running back room, but it remains to be seen whether he’ll play at all on Monday night against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 1.

Report: Ravens finalizing contract with ex-Saints RB Latavius Murray

Report: Ravens finalizing contract with ex-Saints RB Latavius Murray

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We’ll file this under today’s unsurprising news. The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec reported Thursday evening that the Baltimore Ravens are in the process of signing former New Orleans Saints running back Latavius Murray, who pointed to the team as a potential suitor after the team cut him earlier this week.

Murray was released after declining a pay cut; he had been outplayed by young backup Tony Jones Jr. over the summer in training camp and two preseason games, and the Saints needed the salary cap savings to facilitate a trade for Houston Texans cornerback Bradley Roby.

There’s no deal just yet, but Murray is an obvious fit for Baltimore after their rash of injuries to starting, backup, and reserve running backs. Ironically, if he lands with the Ravens he’ll be joining former teammate Devonta Freeman, who was also released by the Saints not too long ago. Freeman signed with Baltimore’s practice squad on Thursday after a successful free agent tryout.

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Ravens signing RB Devonta Freeman to practice squad

The Ravens are signing RB Devonta Freeman in the wake of the Gus Edwards injury news

The Baltimore Ravens have seen their depth quickly waiver at multiple positions during the 2021 offseason due to injuries. Now just a few days away from the start of the regular season, Baltimore’s injury luck has somehow gotten even worse.

It was reported on Thursday that running back Gus Edwards and cornerback Marcus Peters both suffered season-ending injuries on back-to-back plays. Although the loss of Peters would be a massive loss to the defense, the Ravens have the depth to soften the blow. At running back, Edwards would their third player to suffer a season-ending injury in under two weeks.

Baltimore was fast in adding another rusher to the mix, as it was reported by Adam Schefter of ESPN that the team was signing running back Devonta Freeman to their practice squad.

Freeman was recently released by the New Orleans Saints after spending time with them during the 2021 offseason. Over the course of his NFL career he’s totalled 1,005 carries for 4,144 yards and 33 rushing touchdowns while also catching 264 passes for 2,073 yards and 11 scores through the air as a receiver.

The veteran running back had a workout with Baltimore earlier in the week, and seemingly impressed the team. He also has a higher chance of getting elevated to the active roster sooner than fellow running back Le’Veon Bell, as he had a full offseason and preseason to get ready for game action.

Ravens practice squad signs ex-Saints RB Devonta Freeman

Ravens practice squad signs ex-New Orleans Saints RB Devonta Freeman, via @KadeKistner:

The Baltimore Ravens are signing Devonta Freeman to their practice squad. The former New Orleans Saint running back who was signed in preseason and, then subsequently released when the roster crunch occurred, will join a running back needy Ravens.

The signing comes on the heels of the news that Baltimore running back Gus Edwards suffered a torn ACL in practice on Thursday. This injury follows a haunting list of injuries to running backs for the Ravens that also includes starter J.K. Dobbins and backup running back Justice Hill both to Achilles injuries. Freeman will join Le’Veon Bell on the practice squad with hopes of being promoted to the active roster following these rash of injuries.

Additionally, another former Saints running back, Latavius Murray, is also eyeing a move to the Ravens for obvious reasons — with Bell and Freeman on the practice squad, the only other healthy Ravens running backs under contract are Ty’Son Williams and Trenton Cannon. Could the two have a reunion in Baltimore?

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Ravens bring in five players for tryouts including trio of RBs

The Ravens tried out a trio

The Baltimore Ravens have been hit extremely hard by injuries so far over the course of 2021, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Over the past week the team has lost two running backs to season-ending injuries in J.K. Dobbins and Justice Hill, leaving them with just two healthy rushers on their roster.

On Monday the team brought in five players for tryouts, three of which were running backs. Two of those rushers were veteran options, while one has very little experience at the NFL level. Either way, it makes sense that Baltimore is looking at outside options at the position considering how few bodies they have right now.

Bell is the most accomplished of the group, carrying the football 1,556 times for 6,453 yards and 40 rushing touchdowns while also catching 394 passes for 3,259 yards and eight scores through the air. However, he isn’t the player he once was, and comes with some off-field concerns as well.

Freeman was recently released by the New Orleans Saints, but has seen success at the NFL level. He’s put up 4,144 rushing yards and 33 rushing touchdowns on 1,005 carries while also being a threat as a receiver, catching 264 footballs for 2,073 yards and 11 scores.

Holyfield is a bit of a different story. He’s only played one game at the NFL level after signing with the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent in 2019. He was cut and re-signed to Carolina’s practice squad that offseason, but hasn’t made a very big impact as a professional yet.

It remains to be seen if the Ravens will value special teams ability as well as proven ability out of their third running back. Hill was a good special teams player, but Bell and Freeman likely aren’t suiting up on that side of the ball. Baltimore needs a third running back (and probably another on the practice squad as well), so a signing or two will likely be coming in the next few days.