OTL: Time to Scour the Waiver Wire!

As of 4:00 p.m. today, the second wave of NFL free agency begins in earnest.

The Ravens — if tradition holds — will be making roster moves right up until Tuesday’s cutdown deadline.

So where does Baltimore’s roster stand, two weeks out from its season opener?@jeffzrebiec has observations: https://t.co/nf6CtHruXT

— The Athletic NFL (@TheAthleticNFL) August 26, 2024

Traditionally, this is a time of the year that Baltimore’s front office thrives. While cutdown day does sometimes see some talented players unfortunately depart, 31 other teams are going through the exact same process. Depending on the position groups of strength around the league, the Ravens have chances to pick up players that could help them round out some spots that need some work. At the time of writing this piece, it looks like Baltimore has already made up their minds about some of their own personnel moves…

In total, 20 players absent.

Players expected to be cut/on the bubble:
RB R. Ali, O. Wright (foot)
WR R. Gage, S. Ryan
TE M. Rigerman, R. Sharp
OT D. Simpson
LB J. Ross, D. Jennings
DB C. Matthew, T. Mullen (shoulder)
DL J. Tupou, D. Senat, T. Walthour
P J. Browning

— Kyle Phoenix (@KylePBarber) August 26, 2024

…but elsewhere, where could they look for help, and who’s out there?

Quarterback

I touched on it a few weeks ago, but the free agent QB market entering the offseason was pretty barren. The veteran options for a backup were essentially Ryan Tannehill and… everyone else. Because Baltimore didn’t have the cap space that it likely would’ve taken to entice Tannehill, they entered the preseason trying to establish a hierarchy behind Lamar Jackson with rookies. While Josh Johnson appears to have secured the QB2 spot for now, Devin Leary and Emory Jones are likely cut candidates. Further complicating matters was the news from yesterday regarding the NFLPA’s decision to repeal the emergency gameday QB rule.

Important note as teams construct their initial 53-man rosters:

NFL teams were informed that the NFLPA vetoed the revised Emergency 3rd Quarterback rule that would have allowed teams to elevate a bona fide QB from the practice squad an unlimited number of times.

So, the rule…

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 26, 2024

With that in mind, who is out there that’s worth consideration?

Source: Dolphins are releasing QB Mike White. pic.twitter.com/cIhXWnsqV0

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 25, 2024

Mike White was cut fairly early in this wave of free agency, and surprisingly so. Miami currently only has Tua and Skylar Thompson at QB, so maybe the hope is that they can sneak White to the practice squad, but I’m surprised that they would give the Jets the opportunity to poach White back now that he’s familiarized himself with Miami’s playbook. White is by no means a world-beater, but when he’s at his best, he’s considerably better than what we saw at the end of the QB depth chart, and he could be worth a look for Baltimore.

Otherwise, I’d be keeping a close eye on the Browns QB room. I touched on this a while back, but I highly doubt Cleveland carries three QBs on their starting 53, let alone the four serviceable options they have. If Tyler Huntley and/or Dorian Thompson-Robinson is crowded out, Baltimore should pick up the phone in a hurry. I’ll also be keeping an eye on New England’s QB room, since Bailey Zappe and rookie Joe Milton are their current QB3 and QB4. Starter Jacoby Brissett was injured against the Commanders on Sunday, which could mean that the Pats may end up hanging onto an extra QB, but Zappe would be a nice depth upgrade right away. Milton, meanwhile, is certainly a project, but his arm strength is undeniable, and something tells me that the Ravens were eyeing him during the draft before the Pats grabbed him, and they opted for Leary as their next option.

Running Back

There are a ton of options out there at RB, especially given the league’s trend toward devaluing the position as a whole. Not only are you going to see a lot of cuts, but there are still viable veteran options in the free agent pool. In a perfect world, Owen Wright’s preseason performance would have seen him land the RB3 position, but a foot injury will cost him a few weeks, and now that third spot is uncertain. Derrick Henry and Justice Hill are obviously going to get the major bulk of the work, but ideally, the Ravens want a guy who can contribute on special teams, and I just don’t know that they’ve seen enough out of Rasheen Ali to feel like he can contribute at a high level.

Among the names that I’ve seen floating around out there, the most intriguing one for me is Samaje Perine. While he likely wouldn’t have that special teams impact that the team is looking for, Perine is a veteran guy who still has a fair amount of pop, and he appears to be the odd man out in Denver. Elsewhere, I’ve seen second-year Jets RB Israel Abanikanda mentioned, and I wouldn’t mind seeing what he can do either. He was solid at Pitt, but it never felt like he got a real shot at the NFL level, and he would likely be a relatively inexpensive option while the team waits for Keaton Mitchell’s return.

Asked if team is comfortable with its internal options at No. 3 RB or they need to bring a guy in, Harbaugh said, “It’s all speculative. It just depends on who the names are. We’ll be open to anything.”

— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) August 26, 2024

Before I wrap up here, I’m going to stray off the path of cut candidates to a bit of a luxury ask at wide receiver. Receiver isn’t even an active need right now, but next season, the Ravens may be looking to add guys based on how many free agents they have. With that in mind, this piece of news out of Houston was extremely enticing.

Sources: Multiple teams have reached out to the #Texans to see if WR John Metchie III would be available in trade due to the plethora of receivers on their roster. It’s unclear if Houston would move him, but several team are keeping a close eye.

The former 2nd-round pick out of… pic.twitter.com/2CmV2nMrbY

— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) August 26, 2024

Don’t get me wrong, I highly doubt that the Texans trade Metchie to a fellow AFC contender, at least without charging a premium. Still, with the Ravens expecting a ton of comp picks, it wouldn’t hurt to pick up the phone. Metchie’s potential is through the roof, and we still haven’t seen him at his best after he missed his rookie year undergoing treatment for leukemia. He’s shown great perseverance to battle back, and I would love to see him get the kind of shot he deserves. It would be even better if it could happen in black and purple.

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