Ravens Trim Down to Final Roster

There were some surprises in the Ravens final round of cuts, but the most surprising were on the defensive side of the ball, and several preseason standouts at cornerback and linebacker were released yesterday.

Among the surprises were linebacker and special teams standout Gary Stills and cornerback Ronnie Prude, who both made plays in the Ravens four preseason contests. All the more interesting, they would have been standout players for a special teams unit that should be among the bright spots of the Ravens’ play this year under special teams’ guru and first-year head coach, John Harbaugh.

Several rookies were released, including running back Allen Patrick, wide receiver Justin Harper, and rookie Patrick Carter. In all, 19 players were cut to make up the Ravens’ final 52-man roster, with general manager Ozzie Newsome saying that another player would be added in the coming prior to the season opener against the Cincinatti Bengals.

Most surprising to me was the release of Casey Bramlet, who played decently in an emergency role against the Atlanta Falcons last week. With Kyle Boller facing a season-ending injury, and Troy Smith’s capability as a starter still in limbo, most signs are pointing to rookie Joe Flacco getting the opening day start. It might have been a good insurance policy to have Bramlet waiting in the wings should Flacco struggle with the patchwork offensive line and limited time to make throws.