Sergio Kindle has gotten another chance.
The Ravens outside linebacker made the cut, as Friday's 9 p.m. deadline release confirmed.
Kindle, 24, sat in the locker room, watching teammates pack up their bags around him this afternoon. He went through the team's walkthrough, but did not yet know his fate.
So what's his reaction to making the roster?
"Jump for joy and do a back flip if I could," Kindle said. "I wouldn't want to land on my head though. I'll do a ninja turtle roll or something."
The first two years of Kindle's career were a struggle. He fell down a flight of stairs on the eve of his first training camp and fractured his skull, an injury that forced him to sit out his entire rookie season and caused permanent hearing loss in his left ear.
Kindle made the 53-man roster last year, but was only active for two games. He has yet to register a tackle.
He will get another opportunity in 2012 to make an impact.
Kindle figures to mix into the pass rush situation at outside linebacker, playing behind starters Paul Kruger and Albert McClellan or Courtney Upshaw.
Kindle performed well at times during training camp. He had his best practice ever when he notched four sacks and an interception on July 27, flashing the potential he showed as a pass rusher in college.
"I thought I had a good camp and performed so much better than anything else I'd done previously," Kindle said. "I could have performed better in the [final preseason] game, I think."
Kindle had a chance to prove himself with extensive playing time in the team's fourth and final preseason game against the Rams Thursday night. He didn't take advantage.
The Texas product registered no tackles and had a costly 15-yard roughing the passer penalty that extended an eventual Rams touchdown drive. Kindle said he was pushed into quarterback Sam Bradford well after he released the ball.
"I went in with a game plan of what I wanted to do and what I wanted to accomplish and I don't think it worked out that way," Kindle said. "I didn't play bad, but I didn't play nearly as good as they've seen. It could have been a lot better."
Ravens Go With Two Quarterbacks
Perhaps the most notable cut that the Ravens made was third-string quarterback Curtis Painter.
The Ravens will go with just two quarterbacks for the third straight season, and Tyrod Taylor remains as the No. 2 behind starter Joe Flacco.
Flacco has yet to miss a start in his four seasons, so there hasn't been much of a need for a backup on gamedays, let alone a No. 3.
The Ravens have said Taylor's role could grow this year, especially in running situations. A third quarterback would have provided more security had Flacco and Taylor both gotten injured in the same game, but that's highly unlikely.
Painter played well in the four preseason games, particularly in the third against Jacksonville. The former Indianapolis Colts starter tossed six touchdowns to four interceptions this preseason, and finished with a 79.3 quarterback rating.
Hard Work Pays Off For Hall
No other Ravens player outworked defensive tackle Bryan Hall this season.
He had near perfect attendance at all the Ravens' offseason voluntary and mandatory workouts, and stayed healthy throughout a demanding training camp.
Now, Hall's hard work has paid off. After spending a year on the practice squad, the second-year defensive tackle has made the Ravens' active 53-man roster.
"I'm just blessed, man. I'm humbled by the opportunity," he said. "It's a long time coming."
Hall is an explosive 6-foot, 291-pounder. Playing the entire game Thursday night, Hall had a tackle for a 1-yard loss and showed his versatility by playing middle linebacker the entire second half. He dragged down Rams quarterback Kellen Clemens for a nice tackle in space.
Hall played linebacker in high school and said it was a "dream come true" to do it for the Ravens.
"He is very versatile," Head Coach John Harbaugh said. "He plays every position on the [defensive] line. He plays a little bit of special teams. He could probably give you something on offense as a fullback or something, and now he has middle linebacker on his resume."
Hall is listed behind Haloti Ngata on the depth chart at defensive tackle, and could see action as a pass rusher along the line.
"I'm not too excited about it because I know I've got to keep working," Hall said.
Harewood's Finally On The 53
It took offensive tackle Ramon Harewood three years to make the active roster, but he's finally done it.
The 2010 sixth-round pick was placed on injured reserve the past two years because of knee injuries, meaning he has yet to suit up for a regular-season game.
He described the feeling of making the roster as "tremendous" and was asked how difficult it was to regain his form this preseason after two years of injuries.
"Regain form? It's tough to regain form when you never really had it," he said. "I think I've come leaps and bounds this offseason."
The small-school Morehouse prospect was considered a developmental project at the get-go, yet had little time to hone his skills with coaches before this preseason. He was locked out the summer before.
"Last preseason, my grades every game were in the 60s or 50s," Harewood said. "This year, I managed to break 70, 80. To have that is great improvement. That's what I was looking for, just getting better."
The 6-foot-6, 334-pounder was shifted to guard in the preseason finale. That versatility may come in especially handy once Jah Reid returns from his calf injury and adds more competition at tackle along with Michael Oher, Bryant McKinnie and Kelechi Osemele.
Harewood said it was fun playing guard, something he hadn't done since minicamp. "At tackle, you can get beat on the edge so you've got to always be careful not to be too aggressive," Harewood said. "At guard, you just maul people. That's the part I like."
