The annual 53-man roster announcement is one of the most interesting and anticipated days of the NFL offseason, but Ravens fans had to wait quite a while for the final list of names:
Ahead of next Thursday’s season opener in Kansas City, Baltimore showed they’re still the Chiefs’ top rival, at least in terms of announcement timing:
Clearly, GM Eric DeCosta is making sure that nothing comes easy for KC, and I’m here for it.
When all was said and done, though, there were few surprises with the construction of Baltimore’s roster:
In fact, Jeff Zrebiec successfully picked the full team:
As Zrebiec notes in the above piece, there were a number of difficult decisions on the defensive side of things, notably the cuts of Pepe Williams, Bump Cooper Jr., and Daryl Worley.
These names were some of the casualties needed to keep local product Beau Brade around, who really impressed throughout the offseason:
Baltimore’s secondary is strong, but depth is key. Just recently, we’ve seen guys like Geno Stone and Chuck Clark go from under-the-radar names to regular contributors.
And although players like Williams, Cooper and Worley had to be let go to make room for Brade, I fully expect a few of them to return to Baltimore’s Practice Squad.
Speaking of players who could make the Practice Squad, Zrebiec feels WR Anthony Miller, a veteran in the league, is a likely target:
Miller would bring experience and security to the PS WR room, so I’d be all for this if he’s unable to land on a 53-man roster elsewhere. More importantly, however, I’d like to see DeCosta ensure a certain O-Lineman is brought back after not making the team:
While Bullock didn’t have the most meaningful minutes in the preseason, he showed out in the time he did have, and that’s all you can do. With question marks along the Ravens’ line heading into 2024, a possible breakout candidate is important to keep around.
Looking ahead to that matchup with Kansas City on September 5th, all eyes will be on Jackson and his ability to keep up with the arm talent of QB Patrick Mahomes. We all know the media will go crazy if Baltimore is unable to win, but FS1’s Kevin Wildes seems to be in Jackson’s corner:
I, for one, am also fed up with the Lamar Jackson slander online, especially about his passing ability. It seems his fellow players agree, at least.
But for him to silence the media haters, he’ll have to show out this season, and again in the postseason.
There’s an amazing opportunity to do so, starting Week 1.