2. Eric Tomlinson, TE, Ravens
Another veteran backup who finds himself facing an uphill battle this summer is Eric Tomlinson. Tomlinson was another midseason pickup last season who played sparingly down the stretch.
A well-traveled special teamer, Tomlinson was signed to the Ravens practice squad in November and went on to play in six games late in the season for Baltimore.
But much like Harris, he might be the victim of a deep position group as the Ravens have an abundance of tight ends competing for roster spots/playing time.
Mark Andrews and Nick Boyle are locks for the roster, although the latter remains sidelined for the time being. The same is true for Pro Bowl fullback Patrick Ricard who can be lumped into this position group too.
That likely leaves one or two roster spots for the likes of Josh Oliver, Ben Mason, Eli Wolf, Jacob Breeland, Tony Poljan, and Tomlinson.
Oliver has the early advantage for the third tight end job as the offseason trade acquisition impressed this spring. Mason was a fifth-round pick in this year’s draft and the Ravens hate cutting draft picks early in their careers.
One would imagine both of those players have a much better chance at making the team than Tomlinson does.
The Ravens have enough tight end depth that they don’t need to sweat over the potential loss of a veteran 29-year-old backup.