The Ravens named their initial 53-man roster on Tuesday following the NFL deadline to trim their squad and then built a 15-man unit to form their practice squad ahead of Week 1 of the 2023 regular season on Wednesday.
It was on Thursday, however, when the Ravens finally made the final addition to their 16-man complete practice squad as well as other ancillary transactions on the margins of the roster.
Here is a breakdown of the seven players involved in Thursday's transactions, including a returning veteran quarterback and the addition of an external free agent to wrap up the 16-an practice squad.
FA Signing - QB Josh Johnson
Veteran quarterback Josh Johnson was probably the most impactful player cut on Tuesday considering his role in the Ravens offense and the training camp battle he fought against fellow QB Tyler Huntley for the rights of backing up Lamar Jackson.
Ultimately, Baltimore went with the younger Huntley, although the dude is injured and expected to miss at least a few weeks and most probably the Week 1 matchup against Houston.
That means that the Ravens needed to add someone to be the QB2 in a little over a week, and that man is 37-year-old and fan-favorite Johnson.
Johson completed 24-of-33 preseason passes for 285 yards, for touchdowns, and only one interception through three mid-summer games, starting all three of them.
With Huntley out for the last two preseason games and missing the last training camp practice on Wednesday, odds are Johnson is Baltimore's QB2 next week.
FA Signing - Bravvion Roy
The Ravens signed 15 players to their practice squad on Wednesday, leaving a spot open for a final addition. The opportunity emerged late on Thursday, as the Flock was able to add former Carolina Panther defensive tackle and most recently Chicago Bears' training camp boy Bravvion Roy.
Roy, who was a sixth-round pick in 2020, spent three season in Carolina starting 15 games but appearing in 45 of them. He's a freakish bulldozer measuring at 6-foot-1 and a smooth 330 pounds. Roy is better in pass-rushing and bull-rushing than identifying and stopping run plays.
The former Baylor lineman joins the practice squad as the final member of the unit pending further moves made in the next few days and weeks.
Pro Football Focus graded Roy as the 86th-best interior defensive lineman in the NFL last season with a mediocre 54.0 grade. He was better in pass-rush duties in particular, where he was graded with a reasonably better 60.9 mark.
FA Signing - CB Kevon Seymour
Veteran corner Kevon Seymour ultimately missed on making the cut last Tuesday but considering his "vested veteran" status (that is, more than three seasons of NFL experience) this felt like a move done on purpose by the Ravens.
Knowing Seymour wouldn't have to clear waivers, Baltimore decided to release him while expecting to re-sign him later, which is exactly what happened, most probably after both parties agreed to terms beforehand.
Seymour can man the outside and the slot in a nickel corner role, which is something the Ravens are going to need help with. Arthur Maulet is expected to take snaps at the position but he's been injured all training camp long, and Ar'Darius Washington is the only other player capable of playing there.
The 29-year-old Seymour is more suited for an outside-corner role, and he should give fellow cornerback Rock Ya-Sin fits at the CB2 position opposite Marlon Humphrey when the leader of the Ravens D returns from his own injury in a few weeks.
For now, Seymour will enter battle royale for available snaps against the likes of Ya-Sin, Brandon Stephens, and Ronald Darby.
FA Signing - DE Brent Urban
Urban was one of the Ravens "vested veterans" released on Tuesday, most probably hitting the waiver wire with a deal already pre-arranged to re-join Baltimore following Wednesday's waiver wire deadline as he couldn't be claimed off by any other franchise.
A seasoned veteran, Urban fell just one snap short of logging 300 last season on defense through 16 games played for the Ravens in 2022. He topped that figure if you bake in his special-team snaps, which ended at 86 making it a smooth 385 total snaps played by Urban last year.
Throughout his eight-year career, Urban has played a grand total of 92 games starting 31 of them and taking 1,960 defensive snaps to go with 539 more on special-team plays.
After his addition to the roster on Thursday, Urban became the fifth member of a defensive line that will feature Justin Madubuike, Travis Jones, Michael Pierce, and Broderick Washington.
Injured Reserve - RB Keaton Mitchell
The Ravens believe so much in UDFA Keaton Mitchell that they named him into their initial 53-man roster instead of banking on proved-and-tested veteran Melvin Gordon III, who ended up on Baltimore's practice squad.
Considering that Mitchell would have entered the waiver and inevitably gotten claimed by another franchise (see: Kyu Kelly, who got claimed by the Seattle Seahawks...), the Ravens did the right thing by naming and protecting him.
Mitchell, however, will miss the first month of play after Baltimore added him to injured reserve on Thursday. Mitchell got injured in the second-to-last game of the preseason and missed the finale with a "shoulder stinger."
By naming the undrafted rookie into their intial 53-man roster (along with fellow UDFA Malik Hamm), the Ravens added such type of player for the 19th time in the last 20 seasons, something the franchise has always been proud of doing.
Injured Reserve - LB Malik Hamm
Hamm was an undrafted free agent following last spring's NFL draft and the Ravens added him to their roster including naming him into the initial 53-man active squad. That's no longer the case, though, as Hamm joined Pepe Williams and Keaton Mitchell in the IR to start the season.
The transaction, made by the Ravens on Thursday, will keep the trio of players out for four weeks even if they're fit and ready to play earlier than Week 5 as stipulated in the NFL rulebook.
Hamm is reportedly recovering from an ankle injury suffered in the preseason and training camp, but he was one of the standouts of that portion of the offseason along with fellow UDFA Mitchell. In order to protect both undrafted-and-signed players, the Ravens were forced into adding him to their 53-man squad so no other franchise could claim them off waivers.
The outside linebacker will join a talented unit with ample upside once he's able to return for Week 5. The current edge rushers of the Ravens are Jadeveon Clowney, Tyus Bowser (also on IR), David Ojabo, Tavius Robinson, and Odafe Oweh.
Injured Reserve - CB Pepe Williams
Damarion "Pepe" Williams was the final member of the initial 53-man roster to hit the IR on Thursday, meaning he'll miss the first four weeks of play in the 2023 regular season.
The transaction made it possible for the Ravens to re-sign veteran quarterback Josh Johnson so he can back Lamar Jackson up in Week 1 if Tyler Huntley (hamstring) is still not fully available nor ready to take on QB2 duties against the Houston Texans.
Before getting injured, Williams was one of the main candidates in contention to get the starting nickel corner role for the 2023 season in Baltimore, though an injury setback forced the Ravens to sit him on IR for the next month and change.
Williams has undergone ankle surgery in late August and will be out until mid-October, per John Harbaugh, and he already missed a good chunk of the Ravens training camp through last month.