Tag: Le’Veon Bell

Ravens elevate three practice squad players to active roster for Week 4 game vs. Broncos

The Ravens elevated three practice squad players to their active roster ahead of their Week 4 matchup with the Broncos

The Baltimore Ravens are gearing up to take on the Denver Broncos in Week 4 of the 2021 season. Due to the many injuries that the team has gone through over the course of the year Baltimore has had many different contributors step up during the season, including multiple practice squad elevations.

On Saturday, the Ravens announced that they elevated three players from their practice squad to their active roster in running back Le’Veon Bell, offensive tackle Andre Smith, and defensive back Kevon Seymour. All three players will provide depth and could also potentially contribute in a very big way on Sunday.

Bell will seemingly get his first action of the year on Sunday in Denver after signing with Baltimore in early September. Smith will serve as offensive tackle depth with Ronnie Stanley ruled out of the contest, and Seymour could get a decent amount of playing time due to the Ravens’ secondary being stretched so thin with cornerback Anthony Averett and safety DeShon Elliot potentially unavailable for Week 4.

 

Broncos cut former Ravens RB Nate McCrary

On Thursday the Broncos cut a solid 2021 preseason contributor of the Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens had many tough decisions to make ahead of 2021 cut down day. They had a plethora of depth at a lot of different positions, and they simply couldn’t keep everyone who they wanted to on their roster.

One of the players who was on the outside looking in was running back Nate McCrary. Baltimore released him before the season-ending injuries to Gus Edwards and Justice Hill, and McCrary was subsequently claimed on waivers by the Denver Broncos. After being inactive for Denver’s first two games, the Broncos cut McCrary on Thursday.

The undrafted rookie free agent put up somewhat impressive numbers for the Ravens in the preseason, rushing the ball 42 times for 163 yards and a rushing touchdown, averaging 3.9 yards per carry. He also caught three passes for 34 yards.

It will be interesting to see if Baltimore will bring McCrary back into the organization. They would likely have to decide between him and running back Le’Veon Bell for a spot on the practice squad, as keeping two rushers on the practice squad along with three on the active roster could cause roster constrains elsewhere. With Bell becoming more and more familiar with the Ravens’ offense by the day, McCrary might not be needed in Baltimore anymore unless another injury arises. However, it wouldn’t be shocking if the Ravens at least considered the possibility of bringing a good preseason contributor for them back to the team in some capacity.

Ravens protect four practice squad players ahead of Week 3

The Ravens protected four players on their practice squad ahead of their Week 3 game against the Lions

The Baltimore Ravens are gearing up to take on the Detroit Lions in Week 3 of the 2021 season. If Baltimore takes Detroit seriously and is at the top of their game, it could be an easy win for the Ravens. However, they’ll have to make sure they don’t underestimate the Lions, as if they do it could set up to be a trap game.

On Tuesday, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic reported that Baltimore has protected four players on their practice squad ahead of their Week 3 matchup with Detroit in quarterback Trace McSorley, running back Le’Veon Bell, offensive tackle David Sharpe and inside linebacker Josh Bynes.

The Ravens’ practice squad protections for Week 3 look very similar to Week 2, where they protected McSorley, Bell, and Bynes along with offensive lineman Andre Smith. Baltimore currently has four offensive tackles on their practice squad, so it wouldn’t be a shock to see Smith or fellow tackle Adrian Ealy promoted to the active roster in the coming days.

Ravens practice squad RB Le’Veon Bell won’t play vs. Chiefs

Le’Veon Bell said he’d never play for #Chiefs head coach Andy Reid again. He won’t get a chance to play against him on Sunday either.

The Kansas City Chiefs won’t have to worry about facing one of their former players on Sunday night when they take on the Baltimore Ravens.

Former Chiefs RB Le’Veon Bell, who had signed to the Ravens practice squad after several injuries at the running back position, was not signed to the 53-man roster or elevated on Saturday. Instead, Baltimore opted to elevate OT Andre Smith and CB Kevon Seymour from the practice squad with several injuries at the tackle and cornerback positions. That means that the one-time Chief, Bell, won’t get a crack at his former team on Sunday night.

During the offseason, Bell lashed out at Chiefs head coach Andy Reid on Instagram, stating that he’d never play for the beloved head coach again. After a wave of criticism, Bell later doubled down on his comments in a series of tweets. Andy Reid, of course, was all class in his response, wishing Bell the absolute best.

Ahead of the game, many expected that Bell might get a chance to settle the score against his former head coach. Instead, the Ravens will rely on some combination of Ty’Son Williams, Latavius Murray and Devonta Freeman, who was signed to the 53-man roster from the practice squad.

Our friends at Ravens Wire gave us an idea of how they expect the running back snaps to shake out for Baltimore. Expect Williams and Murray to split the majority of the work against Kansas City in Week 2.

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Ravens protect four players on practice squad ahead of Week 2

The Ravens protected four players on their practice squad ahead of their Week 2 matchup with the Chiefs

The Baltimore Ravens are gearing up to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2 of the 2021 season. Baltimore has done an extensive amount of roster shuffling over the last few days, trying to get healthy players into the organization with the amount of injuries that they have gone through over the recent weeks.

On Wednesday, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic reported that the team has protected four players from their practice squad in quarterback Trace McSorley, running back Le’Veon Bell, offensive tackle Andre Smith and inside linebacker Josh Bynes. Those four will not be allowed to be taken off of Baltimore’s practice squad until next week at the earliest, unless they are protected again.

Both McSorley and Bynes were protected last week, and it’s not a surprise to see them both protected again ahead of Week 2. It feels likely that both Bell and Smith would be the two players promoted to the active roster on game day, as the Ravens might want to see what they have in Bell and Baltimore is also very thin at offensive tackle, especially if Ronnie Stanley can’t play.

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 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.

Ravens announce five roster moves including signing of RB Trenton Cannon

The Baltimore Ravens announced five roster moves on Wednesday

The Baltimore Ravens have been shuffling around their final roster and practice squad for the past few days. Even after Baltimore trimmed their team to 53 players there was still work to do, and now have compiled not only a very solid roster, but a great practice squad as well.

Despite adding, subtracting and moving players around, the Ravens now look to be close to having their final Week 1 roster. On Wednesday, Baltimore made five different roster moves. They officially announced signing of running back Le’Veon Bell as well as defensive tackle Reginald McKenzie (who also goes by Kahlil) to the practice squad.

The team also announced that they signed running back Trenton Cannon to their active roster.

Baltimore also officially placed running back Justice Hill on injured reserve and released veteran safety Jordan Richards from their practice squad.

Bell is the most accomplished of the group, putting up almost 10,000 total yards and adding 48 total touchdowns over the course of his career. He can be a threat as a pass catcher, and fills a role for Baltimore.

McKenzie is the son of NFL executive Reggie McKenzie. He has bounced around after being a sixth-round pick of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019 and last spent time with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Cannon has just a 3.0 yards per carry average on 48 career rushing attempts at the NFL level since entering the league in 2018. However, he has blazing speed and is regarded as a great special teams player, particularly as a gunner.

Hill was entering his third season with the Ravens after being a fourth-round pick in the 2019 NFL draft. He was expected to have an expanded role in 2021 and will also be missed on special teams. Cannon will look to replace Hill as a gunner.

Richards had been with the Baltimore ever since the middle of the 2019 season. He was let go during 2021 cut down day, but brought back to the practice squad a short time later. However, with the addition of Bell, the Ravens had to release on of their veterans from the practice squad and Richards was the odd man out.

Grading the Ravens’ signing of RB Le’Veon Bell

We grade the Ravens’ practice squad signing of running back Le’Veon Bell

The Baltimore Ravens signed running back Le’Veon Bell to their practice squad on Tuesday evening. It was a move that surprised some, but many were expecting Baltimore to add a running back in the wake of the season-ending injuries to both J.K. Dobbins and Justice Hill.

Bell was one of the most proven options still available on the free agent market. In his seven seasons of playing at the NFL level since being drafted in 2013 (he sat out 2018 due to a contract dispute), the veteran has put up 6,453 rushing yards and 40 rushing touchdowns go to along with 3,259 receiving yards and eight more scores. He is an all-around player who could provide a spark to the Ravens’ offense.

When looking at which running backs are available in free agency at the beginning of September, Baltimore was never going to get a player that was on the level of Dobbins. However, they didn’t need that type of player. They needed someone who could fill a role, and Bell can do just that. He can catch passes out of the backfield, pass block, and can provide a bit of solid running as well.

Bell is not the player he once was with the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he enjoyed his best years to date. He struggled mightily in two years with the New York Jets from 2019-2020, averaging just 3.3 yards per carry. New York parted ways with Bell midway through the 2020 season, and he latched on with the Kansas City Chiefs, where he fared a tiny bit better, averaging 4.0 yards per carry. He also can come with a few off-field issues, but if there’s any place that can work with Bell to get the most out of him on and off of the field, it’s with the Ravens.

The veteran lands in a great situation in Baltimore, even though for now it’s on their practice squad. He will get a chance to prove that he deserves a permanent spot on the active roster, and will be able to learn the Ravens’ system at least a little bit before being thrust into game action. He also will be making $14,000 per week while on the practice squad, so if the move doesn’t work out for any reason, Baltimore can cut ties with minimal financial loss.

Overall, the signing of Bell was a very solid move for the Ravens. He won’t be asked to do too much, which at this stage of his career is a good thing for the veteran. Baltimore wasn’t finding a current All-Pro running back talent on the free agent market this close to the regular season, but they could have done much worse than adding a former All-Pro to the mix. If Bell proves to be a fit for the organization both on and off the field, this move has the potential to pay massive dividends for both parties.

Grade: B+

Ravens to sign ex-Chiefs RB Le’Veon Bell to practice squad

The #Ravens plan to reinforce their backfield depth by adding former #Chiefs RB Le’Veon Bell to the practice squad.

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After two of their top running backs suffered multiple season-ending injuries the Baltimore Ravens have made a move to reinforce their backfield. Both J.K. Dobbins and Justice Hill went down with season-ending injuries in a two-week span of each other. Suddenly a strength of the Ravens became a weakness.

As a result, the Ravens brought in multiple running backs for tryouts to start the week, former Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs RB Le’Veon Bell. They ultimately settled on Bell, with the intention to soon add him to their practice squad.

Bell, of course, signed with the Chiefs in October of 2020 shortly after he was released by the Jets. He’d go on to appear in 10 games for Kansas City including the playoffs, recording 63 carries for 264 yards and two touchdowns. He was a non-factor during the playoffs, inactive for the AFC title game, and an active non-participant in Super Bowl LV.

To top off his brief and unsuccessful stay in Kansas City, Bell trashed Chiefs HC Andy Reid over the Summer. He said that he’d rather retire than play for Reid again. Surprisingly, Bell is now playing for John Harbaugh, who is part of Reid’s coaching tree.

The Ravens have compiled quite the roster of former Chiefs players. They have Marcus Peters, Justin Houston and Sammy Watkins on the 53-man roster. They also have Johnny Townsend (one-time Chief and brother to Tommy Townsend) and now Bell on their practice squad.

Who knows if Bell will be on the 53-man roster by Week 2, but all of the former Chiefs on the roster should only add to the drama of their regular-season matchup.

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