The Ravens continued their roster cutdown Friday by waiving 10 players and placing other injured players on the shelf.
The roster moves left the Ravens at 72 players. NFL teams must trim their rosters to 53 players by 4 p.m. (ET) on Saturday afternoon.
Players waived:
- CB Robertson Daniel
- G/T Andrew Donnal
- G Justin Evans
- ILB Alvin Jones (injured)
- TE Nick Keizer
- DE Christian LaCouture
- S Kai Nacua
- CB Jackson Porter
- WR DeVier Posey
- LS Trent Sieg
Placed on injured reserve:
- S DeShon Elliott (fractured forearm)
- DB Bennett Jackson (unknown)
- CB Stanley Jean-Baptiste (broken arm)
- T Greg Senat (foot)
Remain on Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform:
- WR Quincy Adeboyejo (leg)
- CB Jaylen Hill (knee)
- LB Bam Bradley (knee)
Nacua made an impact as a ball-hawking safety during training camp and preseason, capped by his 24-yard pick six Thursday night against the Washington Redskins. Anticipating a pass from Redskins quarterback Kevin Hogan, Nacua jumped in front of the Redskins' intended receiver, made a terrific catch, then scampered to the end zone, where he was mobbed by his Ravens teammates.
However, the Ravens remain deep in the secondary with Eric Weddle, Tony Jefferson, Chuck Clark, and Anthony Levine at safety, and Jimmy Smith, Brandon Carr, Marlon Humphrey, Tavon Young, Maurice Canady, and Anthony Averitt at cornerback. Smith will be miss the first four games due to an NFL suspension (conduct policy), but the Ravens decided they had enough secondary depth without Nacua.
Jean-Baptiste would have likely earned a roster spot had he not fractured his forearm during Thursday night's game. It was an unfortunate turn of events for Jean-Baptiste, who had performed as well as any of the Ravens' corners during the preseason.
The Ravens still have difficult decisions remaining to reach the 53-player limit. The fate of quarterback Robert Griffin III had not been announced Friday, as the Ravens debated whether to keep three quarterbacks for the first time since 2009. Neither Griffin nor starting quarterback Joe Flacco played Thursday night, as rookie Lamar Jackson played the first half at quarterback and Josh Woodrum played the second half.
Waiving Griffin could leave the Ravens vulnerable at quarterback should anything happen to Flacco, because Jackson will likely be used in special offensive packages during the regular season. Griffin has played well enough during training camp and preseason to prove he belongs in the NFL, after remaining unsigned last season.
"There's no doubt that you want Robert Griffin on your team," Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh said Thursday night. "He makes our quarterback room better and stronger. He's a very good quarterback. He looks like a starter to me. He has been a starter. Certainly a backup in this league, without question. I mean, that's not even close. I would like to have him on the team, we'll just have to see how the math works."
