Just in case you missed it yesterday afternoon, the Baltimore Ravens released twelve players as they look to get down to the NFL-mandated 75 man roster by Tuesday at 4 p.m.
The roster now sits at 77 players and there were a few names of interest who received notice that they were being let go.
Former Morgan State Bear and Minnesota Viking TE Visanthe Shiancoe’s contract was terminated. The blocking ability of Billy Bajema and the pleasantly surprising play of Matt Furstenburg this pre-season allowed the Ravens to part ways with the TE. Another way to look at this move is that Ed Dickson may not be too far off returning fully healthy, following his slight hamstring tear earlier in camp.
Ramon Harewood and Jack Cornell, both on the offensive line, were also let go by the Ravens yesterday.
Harewood, who started five games at left guard last season, has been plagued by a knee injury in camp and was merely a backup at this point. Cornell a guard/tackle, signed with the Ravens as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Illinois. He had a shot of making the Ravens 53-man roster last season, but was cut after the last preseason game and placed on the practice roster for the entire 2012 campaign.
Disappointing talent at WR continues to cause concern for the Ravens as they parted ways with Tommy Streeter, a 2nd-year wideout from the University of Miami.
The Ravens took a flyer on this potential talent in the sixth round of the 2012 draft and has great size at 6’5″ but with Marlon Brown making catches and impressing coaches in camp and then in games, Streeter became an afterthought and never really showed enough to warrant a spot on the roster.
Running back Damien Berry, also from the University of Miami was an important member of the special teams unit last season. However the trade for RB Delone Carter from the Indianapolis Colts meant someone at the position had to go and it was Berry. Bobby Rainey and Anthony Allen remain on the roster.
Sometimes hard work, no matter how hard, doesn’t win out when it comes to business decisions. Take the case of Bryan Hall who, according to reports, dropped 45 pounds transitioning from the defensive line to playing inside linebacker for the Ravens. It wasn’t enough to keep Hall on the roster as he struggled in pass coverage and that’s one area the Ravens need to get better at with their linebackers.
Other players who were cut include:
WR Rashad Carter
WR Gerrard Sheppard
DB Moe Lee
T David Mims
DE Will Pericak
OLB Meshak Williams
The Ravens also signed QB Dayne Crist, a rookie from Kansas who also spent time playing at the University of Notre Dame. Crist was signed after Tyrod Taylor showed concussion-like symptoms sustained during last Thursday night’s game against the Carolina Panthers. Besides starter Joe Flacco, the only other healthy QB is sixth-year veteran, Caleb Haney.
