3 thoughts on Baltimore Ravens recent IR decisions and roster moves

2. Baltimore Ravens place Keaton Mitchell on IR, Sign Josh Johnson

One of the key UDFA rookies to make the roster was Keaton Mitchell. However, they placed him on the roster to get him to the IR. He has a shoulder issue, and while it may be serious, the Ravens almost needed a reason to put him on the IR.

They have a healthy backfield as they stand. With J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards, and Justice Hill healthy and looking solid, the team has no offensive snaps for him. As a kick return option, he is not as good as Devin Duvernay, and he did not bring any other special teams abilities.

So, he was going to be inactive for the first four weeks while the team sorted out their running back depth chart. He has not had time off as he went from college to the draft process to grinding to make the roster as a UDFA. Now that he is here and locked into the roster, the Ravens can buy him time to heal his body while they are healthy. If anything happens and they need him down the stretch run, they have to feel good.

Without needing a running back, the correlating move is a third quarterback. The team can keep a third quarterback active and it does not count against the active roster on game day. This allows the Ravens to swap out Mitchell, who would have been inactive, for Johnson who will certainly be active. With this move, they can also easily call up players from the practice squad for game-day elevations.