The cuts have begun.
The Ravens have started to trim the roster from 75 players to get down to the 53-man squad before Saturday's 4 p.m. deadline. The team waived five players Friday in the first round of cuts.
The five players cut were tight end Nathan Overbay, outside linebacker D.J. Roberts, center Reggie Stephens and defensive tackles Levi Brown and Derrick Hopkins.
All five players were considered long shots to make the active roster because they were competing for jobs at some of the deeper positions on the team.
Overbay and Stephens are both veterans who signed with the Ravens after bouncing around other teams' practice squads in previous years. Stephens was on Baltimore's practice squad last year and Overbay was with Houston. Both players have used up their practice squad eligibility.
Roberts, Hopkins and Brown were all undrafted free agents who signed with the Ravens in May.
Roberts played his college career at Tennessee-Martin and saw limited reps in the preseason as he competed with a talented group of outside linebackers that includes Pro Bowlers Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil. Brown and Hopkins also saw limited work in the preseason, as they were behind Haloti Ngata, Brandon Williams and fellow rookie Timmy Jernigan on the depth chart.
Roberts, Hopkins and Brown are all eligible for the practice squad if they clear waivers and the Ravens wanted to offer them spots.
The five cuts get the Ravens to a 70-person roster. Other expected moves are to put running back Ray Rice and safety Will Hill on the suspension list, which does not count against a team's 53-man squad. Defensive tackle Terrence Cody could also be placed on the physically unable to perform list, which would make him ineligible for the first six games, Â but he wouldn't count against the roster numbers.
