The 2023 NFL season will kick off tomorrow on TNF and we're just four days away from watching the Baltimore Ravens take the field at the M&T Bank Stadium to host the Houston Texans for both teams' opening game of the year.
With so little time left before the ball gets rolling, the Ravens put out their first "unofficial" depth chart for Week 1 on Tuesday evening, one that Baltimore's public relations staff put together without help from the coaches.
Although this piece of information is not definitive and news might emerge through the next few days (mostly connected to Mark Andrews and Marlon Humphrey's injury updates) it's worth taking a closer look at the first organization of the offensive and defensive units of the flocks now that we have a first idea of what might happen on Sunday.
Here are some observations based on the first unofficial depth chart released by the Baltimore Ravens on Tuesday, Sept. 5, ahead of the team's season opener matchup against the Houston Texans on Sunday afternoon.
1. Nobody knows who will be Lamar Jackson's backup for now
Exactly one week before releasing their first depth chart for Week 1, the Baltimore Ravens decided to cut veteran Josh Johnson and keep Tyler Huntley in their 53-man roster while signing younger Anthony Brown (although he was cut earlier this week) to the initial 15-man practice squad.
That was a weird decision at first sight because Huntley 1) was nursing a weeks-long hamstring injury, 2) was a doubt to recover in time for Week 1 (he still is), 3) was outperformed by Johnson in the first game of the preseason, and 4) didn't play in any of the last two preseason games while Johnson excelled in them.
The Ravens ended up re-signing vested veteran Johnson adding him to their active roster for the full regular season and carrying three quarterbacks into Week 1.
Now, mere days before kick-off, the Ravens are playing it safe and will keep Houston guessing about who will be Lamar's backup on Sunday (and most probably going forward).
It's not a crucial position/role as long as Jackson stays healthy, but Baltimore should eventually name a backup and stick with him instead of playing this silly game.