After leading the Ravens in tackles in consecutive weeks to close the preseason, former Maryland safety Beau Brade made Baltimore's 53-man roster on Tuesday.
The rookie was one of six safeties announced by Baltimore on Tuesday night alongside Kyle Hamilton, Sanoussi Kane, Marcus Williams, Ar'Darius Washington and Eddie Jackson. Brade was expected to be in a battle with seventh-round pick Sanoussi Kane but the Ravens will instead take a deep safety room into the season as the former Maryland safety became the lone UDFA to make the final roster.
“He’s a locked in young guy. I love to see that as a UDFA,” Orr said earlier this month. “We knew he was talented coming from Maryland and all he’s done is come in and work. I know he had the injury in the spring but ever since he’s been back, he’s continued to get better and better and better and I’m real excited about him. I’m excited about him in the game. I’m excited about him to see what he’s going to do this week as well.”
On the other side of the ball for Baltimore, offensive lineman Corey Bullock was among those waived despite grading as the Ravens' highest-graded offensive lineman through preseason.
There were no surprises for a handful of veteran Terps in the NFL as roster cuts came on Tuesday with Stefon Diggs and DJ Moore headlining their revamped receiver rooms heading into the 2024 season. While Diggs heads to Houston just five yards shy of 10,000 career receiving yards, DJ Moore enters this year with a new quarterback after the Bears took Caleb Williams with the first overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft. One of the more underrated players in the NFL, Moore has had 1,000 yards in four of the last five years but has been snubbed from the Pro Bowl.
A few secondary guys are looking to make huge impacts for their respective teams. Giants corner Deonte Banks goes into his second year following a successful rookie campaign and will shadow opponents’ top receivers. Raiders second-year corner Jakorian Bennett got high praise from the coaches during training camp. Teammate DJ Glaze also saw praise for his work at tackle. The third-round pick could see starting action as a rookie. So could Chargers rookie corner Tarheeb Still.
Colts safety Nick Cross was in a fight for a starting role during training camp. Even if he isn’t a starter, expect to see a lot of him in the team’s secondary. After signing a one-year deal in Jacksonville, Darnell Savage is looking to show the pick-six in the Packers playoff game against the Cowboys was a sign of things to come for the season. Browns defensive tackle Quinton Jefferson is coming off his best season last year with the Jets.
Titans tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo had a solid first year as the starter and will be a potential safety net for quarterback Will Levis, while teammate Jaelyn Duncan is back as a top reserve at tackle after making five starts as a rookie. Steelers offensive lineman Spencer Anderson looks to be the team’s top reserve on the interior and might be the most versatile lineman in the NFL. Bills running back Ty Johnson opens the season as the team’s number three back behind James Cook and Ray Davis. Meanwhile, Jake Funk (Detroit) and Anthony McFarland (Miami) will both look to hang onto the practice squads after being waived on Tuesday.
Both Jeshaun Jones (Minnesota) and Ja'Quan Sheppard (Las Vegas) turned heads during preseason, but were waived in the final round of cuts on Tuesday. Tight end Tyler Mabry was also waived by the Seattle Seahawks.
One former Maryland star who hung on through cut day was Sam Okuayinonu, who is part of a loaded defensive line room for the San Francisco 49ers heading into his third year into the league.
Commanders linebacker Keandre Jones was waived last week as both Broncos linebacker Durell Nchami and Bucs wide receiver Rakim Jarrett are all currently on IR, while Browns guard Michael Dunn was placed on the reserve/non-football illness list.
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