The Baltimore Ravens have made their first batch of roster cuts and most of them were inevitable. Cutting Willie Henry was anything but predictable:
The Baltimore Ravens cut Willie Henry on Friday, a day before the roster had to be trimmed to 53 players. The first wave of roster cuts had some notable names, but every cut was predictable. Shane Ray and Michael Floyd where released. The Ravens also parted with players that were there just for training camp like Joe Callahan and Elliott Fry. Of the 11 Ravens players cut, Henry was the only move that raised eyebrows.
The Ebony Bird staff all made a 53 man roster projection. Every single one of our writers had Henry making the team. There weren’t a lot of positive things coming out about Henry from training camp and he didn’t leave much of an impression in the preseason. His stock with the team fell and it went under the radar for the most part.
Henry has been in Baltimore since he 2016. That being said his only season with a chance to show his stuff was in 2017. In 2017, Henry played in 14 games. He had 33.5 tackles and 3.5 sacks. In 2016 he didn’t play in a single game. In 2017 he only played in three games. It’s safe to say that the former fourth round pick did not pan out.
The Ravens have some difficult decisions to make on the roster. This move is surprising, yet it isn’t unjustifiable. Henry’s purpose on the team would have been to provide interior pass rush from the defensive line. Henry didn’t show that he would have provided a lot of that.
Henry didn’t make a great impression. It would have been hard for John Harbaugh to cut a young player that made a good impression just so Henry could have a chance to pan out. Henry always had potential however the Ravens couldn’t count on it.
A surprise: The #Ravens have informed DT Willie Henry, who has started games for them, that they are releasing him. … Meanwhile, the #AZCardinals released former third-round WR Chad Williams thanks to a crowded room.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 30, 2019
Henry was the first surprise cut. The Ravens will have to make another couple waves of releases today. It will be interesting to see how this pans out. Henry’s departure is surprising but the Ravens decision is justified.