The Baltimore Ravens have made a flurry of roster moves in the past few days. As they prepare to get training camp into full swing, they’ve shaken up the roster to better fit their needs for the coming month.
Recent additions include wide receiver and specialist Chris Moore and veteran offensive lineman Hakeem Adeniji. Of course, to make room on the 90-man camp roster, general manager Eric DeCosta had to cut two players. Those ended up being punter Luke Elzinga and offensive guard Jared Penning.
Ravens cut P Luke Elzinga and G Jared Penning to make room for veterans WR Chris Moore and OT Hakeem Adeniji.
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) July 25, 2026
Elzinga is the notable name here. No, not because he was a name to watch, but because of what it means for rookie punter Ryan Eckley. Elzinga was Eckley’s only competition, and now, entering the final stage of the offseason, it appears that Eckley has all but locked up the punting duties for this season.
Baltimore Ravens all but hand the punting job to Ryan Eckley after latest roster moves
This should really come as no surprise. Eckley was drafted in the sixth round of the 2026 NFL Draft. Unless Elzinga came out guns blazing, there was almost no chance that Eckley wouldn’t be punting for the Ravens in 2026.
Elzinga didn’t have that hot start he needed. By all accounts, Eckley outperformed him, and took most of the reps that were on the table during the team’s offseason program. The rookie put on a punting masterclass, and as a result, he gets a major stamp of approval from the front office before training camp has truly started.
This should do wonders for Eckley. Half of punting is a mental game, and when you’re a rookie, you need to win the mental side of the battle as soon as possible. Baltimore’s decision to cut Elzinga and give Eckley full rein to iron out the kinks ahead of the regular season should bring a significant boost to his confidence.
That’s heavily needed, too. Eckley is already facing a ton of pressure to replace All-Pro punter Jordan Stout, who ended up departing for the New York Giants on a record deal in free agency.
No one’s expecting Eckley to match Stout’s 2025 dominance out of the gates, and to be honest, he’ll almost certainly struggle in the same way Stout did early in his NFL career. He’s just a rookie. However, a certain level of consistency will be needed to help the defense bounce back from an atrocious campaign.
Eckley taking the entire share of reps will undoubtedly help him achieve the best version of himself. He needs to work on certain things, like his hang time, which was the biggest question to his game coming out of Michigan State. With the job effectively his, training camp will be all about checking that box and passing other challenges.
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