The days until the NFL season gets here are coming closer as we inch towards the top 53 players on the Baltimore Ravens roster. We are looking into which players will have the biggest impact on the season, and with this part of the list, we are focusing on who can make the Ravens roster.
Today we are down to number 54, Josh Ross.
Baltimore Ravens 2023 roster ranking: No. 54 Josh Ross
Josh Ross is a second-year UDFA from Michigan. Last year around this time, he had a lot more hype than where he stands today. That is because he missed most of his rookie season with an injury after playing just two games.
Josh Ross came from Michigan and happened to be the only player to have run the defense that Mike MacDonald would be bringing to Baltimore. So, Ross quickly moved up the depth chart in training camp, and he was getting work as the play-caller in the preseason.
Of course, he was still a UDFA, and he is limited, so it did not result in a starting role, but he was playing special teams, and the thought was that he may progress into the starter seat. Then, the injury came.
As a result, the Baltimore Ravens signed and eventually extended Roquan Smith. They also drafted Trenton Simpson in the third round. All of a sudden, those two are clearly ahead of him on the depth chart, and the roster is much deeper than it was last season.
Last year at this time, the team still had Josh Bynes ahead of Ross, but after Bynes, Patrick Queen, and Malik Harrison, he was the fourth and was the presumed player to step in for Bynes.
Now, he is the fifth at best, and even in that role, Kristian Welch and Del'Shawn Phillips are going to be chasing after him. All three have special teams ability, so Ross is not going to run away with this.
Because he was ahead of all three before his injury and because he is younger with more team control, we are ranking him ahead of Welch and Phillips. However, he is not a lock for the roster, and his best case is probably special teams as a fifth linebacker, so he settles in at 54 in our list.