Breaking down all 2023 Baltimore Ravens roster cuts

Purge Day has arrived and by 4 p.m. ET all 32 NFL franchises, including your beloved Baltimore Ravens, must submit their 53-man roster for the 2023 regular season.

Transactions started through last weekend and dragged into Monday, with many players across the NFL landscape already getting cut and waived. Some of those, obviously, belonged to the Ravens' Flock.

There won't be many surprises, but following a preseason full of winners (13 of them!) and losers (as many as 10!), you can rest assured we're in for a couple of shockers.

With just a few hours left on Tuesday for franchises to finalize their roster and make their final decisions, here is Ebony Bird's live coverage of all decisions announced by the Baltimore Ravens leading up to the deadline, including some background about each of the players involved in them.

1. Wide Receiver - Shemar Bridges

The Baltimore Ravens got their roster trimming started on Aug. 25 when they waived Shemar Bridges with an injury settlement, Aaron Wilson reported on his social network account.

Bridges was about to enter his second season in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens after going undrafted out of Fort Valley State last year. The Ravens already waived Bridges last season with an injury designation, although they resigned him last November once healthy to place him in the practice squad.

Bridges is a huge receiver but he's rather slow and although considered a possession pass catcher he was facing long odds to make the practice squad once more, let alone the final roster.

A lot of ancillary players have greater chances of making it to the PA, and Bridges being the first man cut won't help him going forward.

2. Safety - DeAndre Houston-Carson

DeAndre Houston Carson, who was signed by the Baltimore Ravens in the middle of August to bolster the injury-ravaged secondary, has been released by the franchise. Tom Pelissero first reported the news on Monday, making it the first cut of the week ahead of Tuesday's deadline.

Already on the wrong side of 30, the former Chicago Bears signed with the Ravens off the streets a few weeks ago but didn't do enough to convince the franchise to carry him into the regular season.

Houston-Carson is a former sixth-round pick of the Bears and although he was waived by his former team one year after getting drafted, he rejoined the franchise later and played on one-year deals for Chicago of late.

Last season, Houston-Carson appeared in all 17 games while racking up 45 tackles (two for a loss), as well as picking one pass and forcing a fumble through the regular season.

3. Cornerback - Corey Mayfield

Even though the Ravens' secondary has been suffering endless maladies through the summer, Baltimore cut two members of the unit to get Monday going and followed DAHC's waiving with the release of Corey Mayfield, as reported by Aaron Wilson.

Mayfield Jr. is an undrafted rookie out of UTSA who the Ravens snatched off the street to bolster their practice squad through training camp.

He's a reasonably good-sized corner, boasts speed, and is athletic enough to find a place in the practice squad of the Ravens or other team interested in his services.

Mayfield Jr. spent five years playing NCAA football at UTSA, starting and breaking out through the 2020-22 span. While not invited to the Combine by the NFL hurt his stock even more, he still found a place in Baltimore.

4. Defensive Tackle - Trey Botts

The Ravens kept their defensive cuts coming on Monday with the release of defensive tackle Trey Botts to make it four and inch closer to their final 53-man roster to be submitted on Tuesday, Aug. 29. Jeff Zrebiec first reported the news on Monday afternoon.

Botts, a rookie defensive lineman who played college football at Colorado State-Pueblo, joined the NCAA ranks all the way back in 2017 though he redshirted a full season and was granted an extra year because of the 2020 pandemic.

An undrafted free agent, Botts joined the Ravens this summer already aged 24 years old, ancient for a rookie. Considering the age and the presence of many veterans in the defensive line of the Ravens, Botts was facing an uphill battle to make the cut.

Botts will hope to get re-signed to Baltimore's practice squad, though not even that is probable as the team can only carry 16 players into it.

Botts has not generated many headlines thorough training camp or preseason football outside of getting one sack against the Bucs last Saturday.

5. Defensive Tackle - Kaieem Caesar

Another cut, another defensive lineman getting axed. The Ravens left Kaieem Caesar out of their 53-man squad following the release of fellow defensive tackle Trey Botts. Jeff Zrebiec was the first reporter echoing the news on his social network.

Caesar went undrafted out of the University of Ohio last spring, and the Ravens pounced and signed him off the street. He was an Ohio standout in 2022, starting nearly all games an appearing in 13 of the total 14 contests played by the college last year.

The rookie was considered just a developmental prospect, as most of the kids that go undrafted, and he'll try to find a place in the Ravens practice squad for the 2023 season in order to keep honing his game.

That's still unknown, though, as many other players will try to get that coveted spot even if only to stay active as members of the NFL and keep their hopes of a future in the league alive.

6. Offensive Lineman - Jake Guidone

The Ravens made their first official offensive cut of the week by releasing offensive lineman Jake Guidone on Monday, as part of a three-man transaction that saw three other players getting cut. Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic was the first to report the news from the training ground on Monday.

Even though he's considered a versatile lineman with multi-position chops, Guidone is a long shot to make it to the Ravens practice squad, as many of his fellow teammates are on the verge or already getting cut.

Guidone played college football at Dartmouth in the 2019-21 span before transferring to UConn in time for the 2022 campaign. He played 133 games for the Huskies, and he can man the center spot smoothly.

The UDFA started his amateur career getting reps at the left guard position but he transitioned to the center role of late. Facing stout competition from veteran players already in Baltimore (mostly sophomore Tyler Linderbaum and FA-signing Sam Mustipher, his chances of making the roster or the practice squad are slim to none.

7. Inside Linebacker - Kelle Sanders

The first member of the linebacker room to get cut by the Ravens was surely a superstar, only not in the professional field you might have expected. Kelle Sanders, a feature star on the Netflix show Last Chance U, joined a few of his teammates on the chopping block Monday, with Jeff Zrebiec first reporting the news.

Sanders played last season at UAB getting to log 36 tackles and sacking opposing quarterbacks three times through 10 games. He played six contests as a freshman in 2020 before going for a career-high 13 appeareances two years ago.

The UAB standout finished his college career in 2022 having racked up 72 tackles and 5.5 sacks through 29 games, to go with a couple of recovered fumbles.

The Ravens have one of the better inside-linebacker duos in the NFL boasting Patrick Queen and Roquan Smith, and Sanders is still light years away from getting even remotely close to cracking the code of the position at the NFL level.

8. Wide Receiver - Dontay Demus

The first "surprising" or at least borderline-impactful cut made by the Baltimore Ravens on Monday hours before deadline day involved hometown receiver Dontay Demus, whose release was first reported by Jeff Zrebiec on Aug. 28.

Demus went undrafted coming out of Maryland and appeared in all three preseason games played by the Ravens this summer. The 6-foot-3 wideout hauled in three receptions for 97 yards on six targets, including a supernatural grab against the Tampa Bay Bucs last Saturday in Baltimore's preseason finale.

The UDFA suffered a serious knee injury two years ago and although he's now recovered there is a belief that he's still having some issues or at least that his game and ceiling got a bit limited because of it.

Odds are Baltimore resign him to the practice squad following a preseason in which Demus logged the second-most snaps in speacial-team plays among Ravens' wideouts only trailing Tarik Black.

9. Fullback - Ben Mason

The Ravens got their Tuesday cuts going by cutting veteran fullback Ben Mason, first reported by Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic.

Ben Mason, a 5th-round pick from Michigan in 2021, was initially considered a backup fullback for the Baltimore Ravens but the presence of Patrick Ricard and his slow development brought an early end to his tenure with the Ravens.

He was cut in 2021 and spent the entire 2022 season on the practice squad.

10. Cornerback - Tae Hayes

Recent signee Tae Hayes was cut just after signing with the Ravens of late, per Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic, as reported from Baltimore's training ground on Tuesday ahead of the deadline.

Baltimore claimed Tae Hayes off waivers following his release from the Detroit Lions roster after the first game of the preseason, barely two weeks ago.

His 2022 season included five games with the Panthers and two games with the Patriots. He put up similar numbers for both organizations, getting three tackles donning Pats and Panthers threads for a combined six over seven games.

Hayes also had a stint in the USFL in the spring of 2022, when he helped the Birmingham Stallions to conquer the championship as a vital member of their secondary. In the NFL, Hayes has appeared in a grand total of 13 games spanning four years.

11. Offensive Lineman - David Sharpe

David Sharpe, a career right tackle, has been with the Baltimore Ravens since 2021. Baltimore decided to cut ties with him, at least for now, on Tuesday as first reported by Jeff Zrebic of The Athletic.

He was a fourth-round pick in 2017 by the Raiders and spent three years with them before playing for Washington and then joining the Ravens in 2021. In 2022, Sharpe was only on the practice squad of the Ravens.

The Ravens expect more from Daniel Faalele and Sala Amuave-Laulu than from Sharpe, so the writing was always on the wall for him.

Ben Cleveland, who can also man the right side of the line at tackle, made it even more difficult for Sharpe to make the cut, and we'll see if also the practice squad.

12. Linebacker - Kristian Welch

Kristian Welch, a UDFA from Iowa, had been with the Baltimore Ravens since 2020. The franchise cut him on Tuesday after the team completed their second "regular season practice," per Aaron Wilson quoting a league source.

Welch only played 46 snaps on defense with the Flock. However, he has 888 snaps on special teams, making him a potential candidate to snatch a place in the practice squad.

The Ravens drafted Trenton Simpson last spring, a long-term replacement for Patrick Queen, but he will need to take special team snaps and prove he's better at it than Welch.

13. Offensive Lineman - Jaylon Thomas

Jaylon Thomas, a rookie UDFA from SMU, has a starting pedigree of over 3,500 snaps and plays on the offensive line. That will no longer be on the active roster of the Ravens, though, as the franchise cut him before the deadline, per Aaron Wilson.

He has played at all five positions for the Baltimore Ravens, including center, left tackle, and right tackle. Thomas is surely a versatile player with a future in the NFL if only for depth purposes.

The Ravens also have Patrick Mekari, who has started at both center and left tackle, and have Sam Mustipher as a backup center and Daniel Faalele as a backup right tackle. The Ravens have four interior linemen, Kevin Zeitler, John Simpson, Ben Cleveland, and Sala Amuave-Laulu, running too deep at the position and making Thomas expendable entering the regular season.

14. Running Back - Melvin Gordon III

Melvin Gordon's chances of making the Ravens' final regular-season roster were slim after Saturday's preseason finale. The worst possible outcome for him was confirmed on Tuesday as the Ravens released the veteran running back, per Adam Schefter.

Gordon signed with the Ravens when J.K. Dobbins was still holding in, so the move made sense then and there but not anymore. Gordon played all game on Saturday with nine rushing yards and 19 yards through the air on two receptions. His combined 28 yards on seven opportunities is mediocre at best and horrible at worst.

The veteran running back didn't do enough to merit a roster spot. It's hard to see any other franchise claiming him off waivers, so Gordon is penciled in the Ravens Practice Squad, as he's good for these days.

He's now 30 and unlikely to play more than a super-deep rotational role in Baltimore or elsewhere going forward.

15. Offensive Lineman - Tashawn Manning

Tashawn Manning, a rookie UDFA from Kentucky, spent four years at Auburn but was not a consistent starter. He's not considered a member of the Ravens anymore, either, judging by the reports echoed by Jeff Zrebiec on Tuesday evening.

He transferred to Kentucky with his last year of eligibility and played the best snaps of his career, logging 736 snaps at right guard.

Manning earned an invitation to the NFL combine but failed to get drafted. His 2022 tape indicates he was one of the more prized players based on his 2022 performance.

16. Offensive Lineman - Tykeem Doss

Tykeem Doss, a rookie UDFA from Southern Miss, has played at various positions for the Ravens, including left guard in 2020, left tackle in 2021, and right tackle in 2022. The Ravens released him on Tuesday, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic.

Doss' physical profile, being 6-foot-5 and 378 pounds, makes him an attractive option for the Ravens' practice squad after he missed on the 53-man roster.

The Ravens may also like Doss' size at guard, as they have brought in big bodies or former tackles to limit size issues. Doss could be the third-string left tackle eventually behind Patrick Mekari, who can move around, and both Daniel Faalele and rookie Malaesala.

17. Cornerback - Kevon Seymour

The Ravens have made another cut in their secondary by releasing vested veteran Kevon Seymour, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic.

Seymour, a former sixth-round pick from the 2016 NFL draft, has been in the NFL since then but he's only played 939 snaps in his career. He played for the Buffalo Bills in 2016 and the Carolina Panthers in 2017, but an injury ended his season early in 2018.

He returned to the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad in 2020 and was signed by the Baltimore Ravens in 2021. He played 247 snaps in 2021, earning a chance to make the roster again. However, he has only played 159 and 293 snaps on special teams over the last two years, making him hard to justify for the Ravens to include in the 53-man roster

Seymour could work into the slot role, but his experience is limited, and he was not a top option.

18. Wide Receiver - James Proche

Proche, a 2020 sixth-round pick, has finally been left out of the 53-man roster with a rather forgettable preseason put together in August, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.

Despite his impressive rookie season in Baltimore, he struggled to gain playing time due to numerous injuries on the depth chart. Proche received special teams snaps in 2022 but has not returned punts since 2020, which complicated his future in the franchise and forced the Ravens into eventually moving on from him.

The Ravens' depth chart shows Odell Beckham, Zay Flowers, and Rashod Bateman ahead of him, while Devin Duvernay and Nelson Agholor were signed due to their lack of trust and became locks to make the final roster as the offseason progressed.

Proche was seemingly competing for the sixth wide receiver spot, but he failed to make the cut and he'll now have to wait for a call to become part of the practice squad, if anything.

19. Tight End - Travis Vokolek

Travis Vokolek, a UDFA rookie from Nebraska, is known for his blocking skills and had an amateur career-high in yards 240 last year. He was waived on Tuesday, per Jeff Zrebiec.

Although he is not overly athletic, he has a longer NFL career and lacks passing game upside. The Baltimore Ravens needed a blocking tight end, as they currently have Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, Charlie Kolar, who is primarily a pass catcher.

Vokolek could have gotten the nod, but Kolar showed enough to the Ravens both catching passes and blocking to convince the franchise to go with him instead of the rookie.

20. Wide Receiver - Sean Ryan

Sean Ryan, a rookie UDFA from Rutgers, transferred from Temple to West Virginia to Rutgers after playing three seasons at WVU. He was released by Baltimore on Tuesday following the roster cuts deadline, per Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic.

He had a career year with 440 yards and three touchdowns in the last season before declaring for the draft, but even then he went undrafted due to his inability to exceed 500 yards in college even once.

Ryan's height and speed make him a potential candidate for the Baltimore Ravens practice squad, but with a lot of players boasting similar skill sets and much better resumes coming out of college it is hard to envision Ryan building himself a nice short-term future in the NFL and its whereabouts.

21. Quarterback - Josh Johnson

Ultimately, the veteran couldn't beat the youngster. Johnson ends up getting cut by the Ravens in favor of Tyler Huntley, who missed the last two preseason games nursing an injury but who will be the man backing up Lamar Jackson from Week 1 on.

Johnson put on a very strong effort this preseason, mostly through the last two games in the absence of Huntley, but considering his age and the small role any of the two quarterbacks would have played will Lamar clearly leading the way as the face of the franchise, it never made sense to carry Johnson over Huntley.

JJ could still make it to the practice squad if no other team in need of some veteran presence in their QB room claims him or offers him a better deal/role than Baltimore can give him for the 2023 season.

Johnson entered the NFL in 2009 when the Tampa Bay Bucs drafted him, and then went on to play for them as well as the Browns, Bengals, Washington, Jets, Ravens, and 49ers. He also had a stint in Baltimore in 2021 when he started a game donning Ravens' threads.

22. Quarterback - Anthony Brown

Brown went undrafted in last year's NFL draft but the Ravens quickly scooped him. He didn't do a lot a year ago, but he showed the Ravens enough to keep him around for another run, even if just as a member of the practice squad for most of the time.

Brown ultimately started a game with Lamar Jackson down injured, but it's not that Baltimore ever really counted on him to become anything else than just another warm bodie bolstering the quarterback room.

With Josh Johnson and Tyler Huntley around, Brown was never even close to making the final roster, and we'll see if the franchise keeps him around in the practice squad or not.

23. Running Back - Owen Wright

Wright went undrafted this past spring coming out of Monmouth, although he was initially a student at William & Mary before transferring ahead of the 2021 NCAA season.

Through his two seasons in Monmouth, Wright put up mediocre numbers rushing for only 666 yards in two campaigns combined, although he was a scoring machine finding paydirt 18 times in 2021 and then 16 last year.

That's because Wright is a rhyno measuring at 5-foot-nine and 214 pounds, and your typical unstoppable rusher on short distances and bull-rushing, goal-line plays.

24. Wide Receiver - Laquon Treadwell

Laquon Treadwell, a former first round pick by the Minnesota Vikings, found himself on the Baltimore Ravens after never really breaking out throughout his NFL career.

His career has yet and never really taken off even though was a former first-round selection by the Vikings, as he's peaked at 434 yards when he reached that figure in 2021 with the Jacksonville Jaguars... only to follow it with a ridiculous 42-yard campaign in 2022.

With an absolutely loaded pass-catching unit featuring Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, Nelson Agholor, Mark Andrews, and Odell Beckham, Treadwell was always expected to be cut if he didn't excell throughout the preseason, which he definitely did not.

25. Wide Receiver - Tarik Black

Tarik Black is entering his third NFL season and his second with the Baltimore Ravens. He went to Michigan to play NCAA football but his career did not take off there. He entered the NFL draft in 2021 but he went undrafted, only later getting signed by the Indianapolis Colts.

Black stuck on the practice squad of Indy until December, then signed with the New York Jets' to become a member of their active roster. However, he was waived again in 2022 although he found a way to remain with Gang Green's practice squad.

Black has faced challenges in his first two stops, as he failed to make the roster for the greatest part both times. He signed with the Ravens before knowing about Odell Beckham and Zay Flowers arrivals, those two additions as well as other and the presence of special-team-skilled wideouts brought a premature end to his chances at making the final roster.

26. Offensive Lineman - Sam Mustipher

Mustipher, a UDFA back in 2019, signed his first pro deal with the Chicago Bears that same summer and after a year spent with their practice squad he was promoted to the active roster in 2020.

Last year, the Bears' offensive line struggles led to their team falling apart, Mustipher was let go, and the Ravens pounced (at least for a few months).

Sam Mustipher was a better fit for the Baltimore Ravens than the Bears, but he was not going to start games in Baltimore with due to his age and the presence of second-year center Tyler Linderbaum, a former first-round pick, in tow.

27. Defensive Lineman - Angelo Blackson

Angelo Blackson, a former fourth-round pick in the NFL draft, has had a successful career with 42 starts. He started with the Tennessee Titans in 2015 and 2016, then joined the Houston Texans from 2017 to 2019. In 2020, he was with the Arizona Cardinals before spending the past two seasons with the Chicago Bears.

However, in 2022, he experienced a decline from 584 snaps to 393, and 25 pressures to just five. A coaching change in 2021 led to a coaching change, and Blackson was signed to play 5-technique with the Chicago Bears.

The team phased him out before moving on. Blackson is expected to stay within the Ravens practice squad, where he will play his normal defensive line role in training reps awaiting his chance at cracking the active roster.

28. Edge Rusher - Jeremiah Moon

Jeremiah Moon will be spending his second season with the Baltimore Ravens. Moon was a UDFA from Florida and spent his rookie season on the practice squad.

What he has going for him is that he has been in the system his whole career, and the coaches wanted to keep him around, so it's more than probable that he gets added to the practice squad.

Things that hurt Moon include his struggles to find a role on special teams.

29. Linebacker - Josh Ross

Josh Ross, a second-year UDFA from Michigan, missed most of his rookie season due to an injury. He quickly moved up the depth chart in training camp last summer.

He was playing special teams and thought he might progress into the starter seat, but that's not been the case, mostly because of that ill-timed injury and the Baltimore Ravens siging and extending Roquan Smith while drafting Trenton Simpson in the third round this spring.

30. Cornerback - Kyu Kelly

Kyu Blu Kelly, a Stanford fifth-round pick, is entering his first NFL season with 2,335 snaps. With length and speed, Kelly is expected to stay around in the practice squad as a developmental prospect.

Despite being a rookie and a fifth-round pick, Kelly's NFL upside has looked very limited. Ronald Darby or Rock Ya-Sin will start on the outside, opposite Marlon Humphrey. Kelly's experience from a special teams perspective makes him an unknown player and an interesting piece to at least keep around as he hones his skill set.

31. Cornerback - Jeremy Lucien

Jeremy Lucien, a 6-foot, 200-pound cornerback from UConn, was offered a transfer to Vanderbilt in 2021 after struggling early in his career.

Despite spending the year in the SEC, he struggled with competition and remained undrafted. Lucien's solid size and high 40-yard run during his pro day make him a valuable addition to the NFL roster at a practice squad level.

Lucien was never considered a trusted starter and fell behind other options including Rock Ya-Sin, Kyu Blu Kelly, Trayvon Mullen, Jalyn Armour-Davis, and Daryl Worley, as well as slot options like Pepe Williams and Kevon Seymour.

More Baltimore Ravens Depth Chart Content