Getty Jake Ryan makes a tackle in the NFL playoffs.
The Baltimore Ravens have had a busy offseason on defense, and coming off a loaded 2020 NFL Draft, have realized that they do not need a veteran defender anymore.
Thursday evening, the team revealed they had released linebacker Jake Ryan from the squad. Ryan had signed a short contract a few months ago, but may have been let go due to the fact that the team has added plenty of talented players to their defense following the draft.
We have waived inside linebacker Jake Ryan.
Now that Ryan is gone the focus will turn to what roles the rookie players on the team and the defense will play moving forward.
Ravens Signed Jake Ryan
A few months ago, the Ravens signed linebacker Jake Ryan to a contract. Ryan is a 5 year veteran of the league, and is a linebacker who can play a role all across the field. Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network was the first to report the team adding Ryan at the time of his arrival.
It was a reported 1 year contract with Ryan after an injury riddled 2019 season with the Jacksonville Jaguars led to his release. Ryan spent the first 4 seasons of his career with the Green Bay Packers, a spot he was pretty productive early in his career. Providing Ryan can get back to health, was a move that seemed it could pay off for the team this season.
Jake Ryan Stats
Ryan has 213 tackles and 1 sack during his NFL career thus far. He was a 2015 fourth round pick of the Packers out of Michigan, a spot where he was first team All-Big Ten in 2014. After his time in Green Bay, he signed in Jacksonville, but saw injuries dampen his impact in 2019.
Known for his aggressive motor, Ryan is a player who doesn’t slow down and that was something which should have figured to make him a great fit for the Ravens and their aggressive defense.
Plan Revealed for Ravens Rookie Linebackers
While everyone will have to wait and see where the rookies actually play and how much, at the very least, folks now have been given some type of an idea how the team plans to use him. John Harbaugh recently joined BaltimoreRavens.com and spoke about the plans for Queen as well as fellow rookie Malik Harrison this season.
As he said, there figures to be some diversity in what they will do, but the duo will see the field a ton.
“Let him use his speed and instincts to run around and make plays in all three phases, be a three-down guy both in our base package and our sub package.”
Coach Harbaugh expects big things from @Patrickqueen_.
“We’ll play him probably at MIKE for the most part, right there in the middle. Let him use his speed and instincts to run around and make plays in all 3 phases and be a 3 down guy both in our base package and sub package,” Harbaugh explained. “Those guys will be rolling in there at those linebacker spots and we’ll see how much play time they earn. We expect them to earn a lot of playing time and play a lot of football this year. We’re really fired up about those guys.”
Given the team’s needs on defense, it’s safe to understand why anyone would be fired up about Queen and also Harrison. The pair are aggressive and tough, and are rock solid at positions where the Ravens had a big need after last season’s epic playoff collapse.
Now that these rookies are in the fold, it only helped to make a player like Ryan expendable in the end. We’ll have to see where he ends up in the future.
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