Tag: Terrell Bonds

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 QBs staying interception free at training camp

Through four training camp practices in pads, the Baltimore Ravens QBs haven’t thrown an interception in any team drills.

Training camp is the time when players try out new things. Quarterbacks will be a little more careless with their throws in an effort to find out what they can get away with while defensive backs will be a little more aggressive as they too need to know what will get them burned. With training camp practices being the time to press a little further, turnovers tend to come early and often. But not for the Baltimore Ravens, who have been perfect thus far in team drills.

Through four practices in front of the media, Baltimore’s quarterbacks have been interception free. That’s not for a lack of effort by the defense, however. In Friday’s practice, defenders got their hands on several passes and nearly came down with some big interceptions, according to ESPN’s Jamison Hensley. Cornerback Terrell Bonds nearly had a pick-six and outside linebacker Pernell McPhee tipped a pass of his own. But at least so far, Lamar Jackson and company have remained perfect in the 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills, according to Penn Live’s Aaron Kasinitz.

With Baltimore having one of the best offenses and defenses in the NFL last season, this battle between the two sides of the ball should remain fierce. Where in previous seasons, one unit was obviously better than the other, this year the team isn’t nearly as one-sided. Those close battles should make everyone better as it sets a higher baseline of play than what the Ravens will typically see on a weekly basis in the regular season.

It’s far too early in training camp to make any definitive statements about the team. But the offense’s lack of turnovers, while the defense is tipping passes, is a positive thing. Hopefully, that translates to the regular season and we see cleaner drives from the offense and more splash plays from the defense.

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Ravens sign 9 players to reserve/futures deals

The Baltimore Ravens signed nine players, including offseason standouts WR Sean Modster and CB Terrell Bonds to reserve/futures deals.

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The Baltimore Ravens are getting an early start on their offseason checklist. Just two days after losing to the Tennessee Titans and being knocked out of the playoffs, the Ravens signed nine players to reserve/futures contracts.

Player Position
Aaron Adeoye LB
Terrell Bonds CB
Will Holden G
Ufomba Kamalu DE
Sean Modster WR
Michael Onuoha DE
R.J. Prince T
Charles Scarff TE
Antoine Wesley WR

All nine had been on Baltimore’s practice squad at the end of the season. The only practice squad players not on injured reserve that haven’t gotten contracts yet are fullback Christopher Ezeala, and running backs Byron Marshall and Paul Perkins.

Fans might remember cornerback Terrell Bonds and wide receiver Sean Modster, who had big performances during the Ravens’ OTAs and training camp. Other players were great additional depth on top of Baltimore’s full roster, keeping them in the wings until if they were needed.

A reserve/futures contract allows teams to hold on to a player they like but isn’t ready to make an impact yet. They don’t count against the 90-man limit or the team’s salary cap while ensuring another team can’t poach them. In order to be eligible for this type of contract, the player must not have been on an active roster at the end of the previous regular season.

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