Getty Ravens QB Anthony Brown was signed to the 53-man roster from the practice squad.
The Baltimore Ravens made a trio of roster transactions to add more depth ahead of their primetime home divisional matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 17. The most notable was the signing of quarterback Anthony Brown to the 53-man roster.
We have made the following transactions ahead of tomorrow’s game vs. the Steelers.
Since they used up all three of the undrafted rookie’s standard elevations from the practice squad in the past three weeks, their only other option was to either leave him on the practice squad and elevate veteran journeyman Brett Hundley.
The former Oregon Duck will serve as the backup to third-year pro Tyler Huntley who is going to be making his fourth straight start and the eighth of his career in place of star starter Lamar Jackson who was ruled out for the fourth consecutive game.
Brown has only seen the field for 23 snaps, all of which came in emergency duty after Huntley exited the team’s last matchup with the Steelers in Week 14 with a concussion. He showed calm, cool, and collected as he finished the game and led a crucial time-consuming scoring drive, and went 3-of-5 for 16 passing yards.
Ravens Call Up More Depth From Practice Squad
The other two transactions that the team made on Saturday were the elevation of fourth-year wide receiver Andy Isabella and undrafted rookie defensive tackle Rayshod Nichols from the practice squad.
Both players will be providing additional help at their respective positions and could play key roles as a part of a rotation. This marks Isabella’s second straight standard elevation and the first for Nichols.
In the Ravens’ 17-9 win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 16, Isabella saw just 8 total snaps with three coming on offense and the other five coming via special teams. The former second-rounder in 2019 made an impact in both phases of the game even though he didn’t touch the ball in either.
He made an impressive solo tackle on the opening kickoff of the second half and brought the returner short of the 25-yard line at the 21. On offense, he didn’t see a target come his way but he did serve as a decoy on jet sweep play that allowed the Ravens to pick up a first down on the ground. Isabella will likely continue to serve as two-time Pro Bowler Devin Duvernay’s replacement on such plays and could possibly get his first touch as a Raven this week.
Nichols was a preseason standout but his being called up for the first time could mean the likelihood of six-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Calais Campbell making his return to the lineup is not high.
The 15-year veteran missed last week’s game with a knee injury he suffered in the previous game. He didn’t participate in the first two practices earlier this week before returning on a limited basis on Friday and being listed as questionable on the final injury report.
Final Predictions
Both teams have something to play for in this matchup with the Ravens trying to stay in contention for their first division title since 2019 and the Steelers fighting to just keep their playoff hopes alive.
However, I believe that the home team will prevail and complete the season sweep of their archrivals, eliminating them from playoff contention and ensuring their first losing season in the 16-year tenure of head coach Mike Tomlin.
Offensively, the Ravens will stay committed to the run game from start to finish and see running backs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards both rush over 100-plus yards and pair of touchdowns between them.
On defense, they likely won’t force a trio of turnovers as they did in the first meeting a few weeks ago but they will rattle Steelers’ rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett and force him into some ill-advised decisions for takeaways and/or turnover on downs.
Final score: 20-13