You aren’t kidding. This is the most unsure I’ve ever been. Injuries have made the prediction impossible. We have no idea what the timelines are on some of these guys. Feel like we could be in for some surprises honestly.
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- Thread starter RavensMania
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You aren’t kidding. This is the most unsure I’ve ever been. Injuries have made the prediction impossible. We have no idea what the timelines are on some of these guys. Feel like we could be in for some surprises honestly.
i feel like there's 4 or 5 guys who could be on the 53 and then go to i/r...
mcsorely (if he makes it)
boyle (if they want him back before the 6 weeks for PUP)
bateman (if they want to i/r him instead of just deactivating him each week)
boykin (if he makes it)
jimmy smith (depending on how far away from being ready he is)
the practice squad elevation rules also complicate things...
does eric tomlinson need to make the roster if boyle's not ready to go or can he just sit on the practice squad and be elevated weekly depending on the gameplan?
does justin ellis need to be on the 53 or again can he be elevated depending on the gameplan that week?
i could even see that with kristian welch as a special teamer - only thing is he's the 4th LB at this point and 3 LBs on the 53 would feel very light
and then there's the whole stuff with potential vested veterans - i can only remember doing it with justin forsett but it feels inevitable that we'll be doing it this year and levine feels like the only obvious option which means we're gonna have to risk some young guys through the waiver wire
and there's the tackle situation - i think it's clear who the starting 5 are and that mekari, cleveland and tyre are all making the roster too but do we carry a swing tackle separate to tyre and mekari (who would both be backups in this scenario and therefore able to fill in) and is that schofield, ealy etc. and if it is do they last beyond the 24 hours after cutdowns after waiver claims?
ultimately i think the DB situation will sort itself out - and i wonder if/how we'll find a way to keep them all
but after all that, it's the WR injuries that i think throw so much of this roster into disarray in terms of its predictability
Exactly... it's one of those where you want to just build the roster how you normally would, but the rules make it so much easier to keep guys you want to keep, even if it means you're stacked heavily at a position. Like, I could see nearly the entire secondary making it because you have the flexibility to make decisions later.
Just my guess as of now:
QB (2): Jackson, Huntley
RB (4): Edwards, Williams, Hill, Ricard (FB)
WR (7): Brown, Watkins, Duvernay, Proche, Wallace, Bateman*, Boykin*
TE (3): Andrews, Oliver, Boyle*
OL (9): Stanley, Powers, Bozeman, Zeitler, Villanueva, Phillips, Cleveland, Mekari, Colon
DL (5): Campbell, Williams, Wolfe, Madubuike, Washington
OLB (5): Houston, Bowser, Oweh, Hayes, Ferguson
ILB (3): Queen, Harrison, Board
CB (7): Humphrey, Peters, Young, Averett, Smith, Westry, Warrior
S (5): Clark, Elliott, Stephens, Stone, Washington
ST (3): Tucker, Koch, Moore
3 guys going to IR... Levine, Ellis, and McPhee return to the roster as vested vets
Then you have guys like Welch (unlikely to be claimed on waivers) and Tomlinson (vested vet) who probably go to the PS and get called up for the first couple of weeks until a roster spot clears.
Enables you to pretty much keep everyone you want. Also wouldn't be surprised if they just move on from a guy like McPhee though.
Oddly enough, I think Jimmy is the biggest question mark. If he's going to be ready, maybe they go one less in the secondary and hope someone clears. If he's not going to be ready, maybe he goes to IR or maybe he finds himself off the team completely.
Also in an interesting spot with McSorley. If we were to cut him, he can’t be re-signed for the length of the injury settlement plus 3 weeks. So could he also be a guy that makes it and then goes to IR? I feel like they’d like to keep him in the fold but putting him out on the market for that long doesn’t make sense.
rmcjacket23
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Unless Jimmy has a legit long-term injury where he will miss most of the season rehabbing from, I think he gets short term IR or gets cut. I do not think they'd basically "screw" him over by making him sit on IR all year when he's healthy.
I honestly don't give a shit what happens to Boykin. He has no role on this team when all of our receivers are healthy, and he may be the last one to return from injury in that group. I'd rather just see them cut bait and move on, but you also really can't just cut players who are injured at this point.
rmcjacket23
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For me, he's similar spot to Boykin. What are you hoping to achieve by keeping him around? I guess he's not a terrible #3, but like Huntley was going to win that job outright and I don't see that changing in 2021 or in 2022.
I don't think McSorley is even really better than like a veteran you find in FA if your QB room gets destroyed (a la 2015). Season is over at that point anyway.
If he wants to stay and collect a paycheck for the year, put him on IR today. If not, I would waive him and move on.
Oh for sure. If Jimmy is going to IR, it’s a short term thing. I know we’ve debated in the past but I’m starting to wonder if he does make it. You’d think he’d be safe because he’s a good player but it feels like every recovery takes longer than expected. Not saying Warrior or Westry would be better than him but is it worth losing one of them when you can’t count on Jimmy? I’d love for him to stay but he’s making it difficult on himself.
I think the thing with McSorley is you’re going to need a QB3, even if just on the PS. You have one that knows the system. And of course not every QB can play in this system. If these were the Flacco years, I don’t think they’d care less. But it’s just so unique. Not sure who else would be available to run it and actually be a potential option should we make it to needing QB3 again.
rmcjacket23
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It's a case of like "veteran respect". I just don't know where the Ravens view Jimmy on the depth chart. If he's low, they could just move on and give him an opportunity to start and play more elsewhere.
That being said... he went to the market last year, and he didn't like what he saw, which means, at least then, the league didn't value him that much. And I'm sure he knows that and wants to stay.
So I think its likely he's either short term IR or just part of the 53. There's not been much interest or info on his injury to this point, so nobody beyond the Ravens seems to know what his timeline is.
i think averett and stephens make jimmy's spot more precarious than it would have been but i still dont see anyway he's not on the roster come Tuesday 4pm (he might then go to i/r)
i hadnt really thought about mcphee being a vested vet in that way just because he's clearly a starter on this defence (by the way they've lined up in preseason and used him) - there's a role for him here still and i would be surprised if they move on from him after the way they've treated him this offseason
he's also intimated that he thinks that he might be retiring when he's no longer a raven so hard to see him not make it at roster cutdown day
rmcjacket23
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Yeah its just hard not knowing what his injury status is.
Perhaps cutting him isn't a real option, given the relationship. If he's going to be out awhile and is looking at retirement, then maybe he goes on season-ending IR, Ravens pay him the $2.5M they owe him, and he calls it a career after that.
The only way he gets cut I guess is if they've mutually agreed he wants an opportunity to play elsewhere.
I do think McPhee is most likely back, for whatever that’s worth. But he could absolutely be a guy that’s cut and returned. Basically playing on the minimum so no cap ramifications. And he seems like the type of guy that would be amenable to that scenario. It’s really only 24 hours that he has to chill without a deal.
rmcjacket23
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Breshad Perriman is available...
idk but i doubt he's out for a while given the nature of the injury - maybe he recovers slowly so he's not ready for week 1 but this wasnt an injury that would put his season in jeopardy and with the depth on the roster at DB there's no need to rush him back - but nor is there a need to get rid of him especially as he still offers a lot of value to us
yeah some interesting names like tyrell crosby who has apparently not been good this offseason but has something to him at a position of need
rmcjacket23
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I don't doubt it.
If I looked at the situation broadly, you've got an aging veteran, on a cheap, one year deal, with little guaranteed money, who's had historical durability issues and is currently injured, competing for playing time in a very crowded, talented position group (probably easily the best position group on the roster). If I removed the name off the jersey, and just looked at it at a high level, that guy is a cut candidate all day long. That stuff happens league-wide all the time.
It's more complicated than that, and I agree, I think he stays. Just saying teams make tough roster decisions like this, with players just like this, all the time.
That's why I wouldn't completely discount a full season IR move. If that happened, it would likely again be a "mutual" thing, where the Ravens tell him they're probably going to cut him, he doesn't want to leave, etc.
not a surprise at this point but will have ramifications on who we cut and who we dont - if he stays on PUP then we can keep an extra player, if he gets activated then we have to find someone to cut to allow for him to be on the roster at 4pm tomorrow