NFL
The preseason is over for the Baltimore Ravens. The roster has been trimmed to 53, and the countdown to meaningful football has officially begun for the Baltimore Ravens.
Baltimore enters September 11 days away from its season opener and eight days away from the start of the NFL regular season. After weeks of training camp, position battles and roster evaluations, the Ravens finally have a clearer picture of the team they will carry into the first season under head coach Jesse Minter.
There is plenty to feel good about after August. Baltimore finished the preseason undefeated at 3-0, outscoring its opponents 78-13. It was the fewest preseason points by an NFL team since the league moved to a three-game preseason format in 2021. The Ravens saved their most dominant performance for last, defeating the Washington Commanders 41-3 at M&T Bank Stadium. Baltimore outgained Washington 456-177 and built a 24-0 halftime advantage. They allowed the Commanders to convert just one of 12 third-down attempts.
The performance was a fitting conclusion to a preseason in which Baltimore’s defense consistently controlled games. Opponents converted just six of 35 third-down opportunities across the three-game schedule. Furthermore, the Ravens surrendered only 13 total points. The results will not carry into the regular-season standings. However, for a team beginning a new chapter under a defensive-minded head coach, the consistency was an encouraging sign.
More importantly, the preseason allowed Baltimore to evaluate the players competing behind its established starters. Several took advantage.
Quarterback Joe Fagnano became one of the biggest stories of Baltimore’s summer. After arriving as a rookie minicamp tryout, Fagnano finished the preseason as the NFL’s leading passer with 509 yards. He completed 74.7% of his passes and threw three touchdowns against one interception. His performance convinced Baltimore to keep three quarterbacks on its initial roster for the first time since 2020, joining Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley.
Outside linebacker Ethan Burke created a similar story. The undrafted rookie finished the preseason with six tackles, two forced fumbles, two passes defended, two quarterback hits and a sack. Against Washington, he forced a fumble on the Commanders’ first offensive play. It set up Baltimore’s first touchdown. Burke’s summer ultimately earned him a roster spot. It continues a Ravens tradition in which at least one undrafted rookie has made the initial 53-man roster in 22 of the past 23 seasons.
Baltimore’s young receiving group also survived some of the biggest decisions of cutdown weekend. Ja’Kobi Lane, Elijah Sarratt and LaJohntay Wester all earned roster spots alongside Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman and Devontez Walker. Rookie tight ends Matt Hibner and Josh Cuevas made the team as well. That gives Baltimore several young pass catchers who turned strong summer performances into opportunities beyond August.
For those players, making the roster was the first challenge. Finding meaningful roles once Jackson and the rest of Baltimore’s starters are playing full games will be the next.
From 90 to 53
Cutdown weekend also provided the other side of preseason football. Not everyone who made plays throughout August could stay.
Baltimore parted ways with players including Austin Reed, Chris Moore, Dayton Wade, Dontae McMillan, Adisa Isaac, Kaimon Rucker, Robert Longerbeam and K’Von Wallace as the organization worked its way toward the initial 53-man roster. Some were later brought back on the practice squad, allowing the Ravens to continue developing players who did not survive the initial cut.
Some of those decisions illustrated just how difficult the process can be. Moore caught three passes for 54 yards and a touchdown in the preseason finale. McMillan broke loose for a 63-yard run. Other players made defensive and special teams plays that strengthened their cases. However, preseason production alone does not determine an NFL roster. Positional depth, special-teams value, long-term development, and the construction of the roster all factor into those decisions.
The Ravens were even able to turn some of their depth into future assets rather than simply losing players during the cutdown process. Defensive lineman C.J. Okoye was traded to the New York Giants, while offensive tackle Diego Pounds was dealt to Kansas City.
Injuries also played a role in shaping the roster. Running back Adam Randall and cornerback Bilhal Kone initially made the 53-man roster before being placed on injured reserve with designations to return, meaning both could still contribute later in the season.
Then there is Nnamdi Madubuike, whose status remains one of the more serious situations to watch as Baltimore moves closer to regular-season football. The defensive lineman continues working his way back from the neck injury that ended his 2025 season. Baltimore chose to keep him on the active roster rather than place him on injured reserve, which would have required him to miss at least the opening portion of the season. That decision provides some optimism that his return may not be far away, even if his exact timetable remains uncertain.
Questions that Remain
Finalizing the 53-man roster does not mean Baltimore has answered every question.
One of the most significant remaining decisions is at center.
Veteran Ethan Pocic and Jovaughn Gwyn both survived roster cuts, but the Ravens have yet to settle the competition for the starting job. With the regular season approaching, that decision becomes increasingly important. Baltimore’s center will be responsible for working directly with Jackson, communicating protections, and anchoring the middle of an offensive line expected to play a major role in an offense built around Jackson and Derrick Henry.
The kicking situation also remains worth watching.
Tyler Loop made five of his eight field-goal attempts during the preseason, including two of four against Washington. Baltimore kept him on the initial roster but later added former third-round pick Jake Moody to the practice squad, giving the organization another option at a position where consistency can quickly become the difference between winning and losing once the regular season begins.
Those remaining questions do not erase what Baltimore accomplished throughout August. If anything, they are reminders that an NFL roster is rarely a finished product simply because cutdown day has passed.
The Ravens emerged from the preseason undefeated. Their young players gave the coaching staff difficult decisions to make; two undrafted rookies forced their way onto the roster, and a defense filled largely with backups and developmental players established an impressive standard before Baltimore’s stars return to full action.
Now the purpose changes.
August was about finding out who deserved another opportunity. September will be about what those players do with it.
For Fagnano, Burke, Lane, Sarratt and the rest of Baltimore’s young players, making the 53-man roster represented the reward for what they accomplished throughout training camp and the preseason. It also marked the beginning of a much harder challenge. Their opportunities will become more limited, the competition will become significantly better, and every mistake will carry more weight.
For Minter, the transition is even bigger. Three preseason victories provided an encouraging beginning to his tenure, particularly for a defense that surrendered just 13 points all summer. But his first regular season will ultimately be judged by what happens after the preseason standings are forgotten.
The evaluations are nearly complete. The cuts have been made. The lockers inside Baltimore’s facility belong to the players the Ravens believe give them their best chance this season.
In eight days, the NFL regular season begins.
In 11 days, Baltimore’s season begins.
The Ravens have spent the summer figuring out what they have. Now they are getting ready to find out what it can become.
