On Tuesday the Baltimore Ravens held a tryout for former Patriots and Jets linebacker Harvey Langi, who became available on Monday after New England released him from its practice squad to make way for fellow linebacker Jamie Collins.
Langi, 30, entered the NFL in 2017, signing with the Patriots as an undrafted free agent out of BYU. He appeared in just one regular season contest during his first two years in the league, having missed nearly his entire rookie year after his car was rear-ended at a stoplight in Foxborough, Mass. in Oct. 2017.
But his career took off in 2019-20, when he played in 30 games for the Jets (with nine starts). He went on to return to New England in 2021, a year in which he appeared in seven games but finished the season on injured reserve.
This year he failed to make New England’s opening day roster, but signed to the practice squad and was elevated for two different games (at Miami, vs. Baltimore) before getting released.
Langi Has 40 Games of NFL Experience
Thus far in his NFL career, Langi — 6-foot-2 and 250 pounds — has played in a total of 40 games and has been credited with 80 tackles (49 solo), including one tackle for loss, one quarterback hit, one fumble recovery and two passes defensed, as per Pro Football Reference. He has experience at both inside and outside linebacker — both being positions of need for Baltimore.
But even if the Ravens decide to sign Langi, it seems like a longshot that he would provide significant help on defense. He played a total of 16 snaps on ‘D’ for the Patriots in the past two years, meaning the last time he was a significant contributor in the middle of a defense was in 2020, when he played 513 snaps for the Jets.
That said, Langi’s tryout came two days after a game where “the Ravens again lacked consistent and impact play from their inside linebackers,” as Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic put it.
“The Ravens need better play from that position. It’s become just as glaring as their situation at outside linebacker, which has garnered far more attention,” he added, before highlighting Patrick Queen’s “third straight rocky game,” which was lowlighted by a dropped interception that would have allowed the Ravens go into halftime with a 20-3 lead over the Bills, as opposed to 20-10.
“He also took a bad angle on Allen’s 11-yard touchdown run, got caught in the wash on a few running plays, and got lost a few times in coverage. Veteran Josh Bynes was more steady on fewer snaps, but he’s been a step behind or a step late far too often in the young season,” added Zrebiec, who expects general manager Eric DeCosta to pursue trade options prior to the Nov. 1 deadline.
Kristen Wong of Ebony Bird is of much the same opinion, calling the play of Baltimore’s inside linebackers “particularly pitiful” this past Sunday.
49ers Release WR Willie Snead
In other news from Tuesday, the San Francisco 49ers released former Ravens wide receiver Willie Snead IV.
The #49ers have released WR Willie Snead IV.
Snead, 29, played for the Ravens for three seasons (2018-20). During that time frame he appeared in 45 games (with 29 starts) and caught a total of 126 passes for 1,422 yards and nine touchdown receptions, an average of 11.3 yards per catch.
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Ravens Try out Ex-Patriots ILB After Position Group’s ‘Pitiful Showing’ vs Bills