RAVENS ROSTER IS FINALLY SET…BUT DID THEY KEEP THE RIGHT PLAYERS?!

So, the Baltimore Ravens initial 53man roster is officially set. And the reason why we use the word initial is because we know Eric Dasa has plenty more moves to make. We know more changes are on the way. And with this 53man roster, there were some pleasant surprises on here, but there was also some moves that I wasn't the biggest fan of. Getting straight into it, starting off with the offense, uh Lamar Jackson, Tyler Huntley, we knew they were going to make it, but one of the biggest surprises from Jump, they kept third string quarterback Joe Fenano on the roster. I love that. We love that because Joe Fiana was somebody that I was worried that they were going to let go simply because it's a third string quarterback and a lot of third string quarterbacks if they hit the waiver wire they don't get claimed so they could have possibly signed him back to the practice squad but they value Joe Feniano enough to give him a roster spot and he certainly earned it. Now, here was a surprise that I was not the biggest fan of. Uh Dererick Henry, Justice Hill knew they were going to make the roster, but Rashene Ali made the roster, and that was a bit of a surprise, but that that's not even what I'm talking about. Adam Randall, they put him on injured reserve. Now, not season ending injury reserve, but injury reserve to where he's going to miss at least the first couple of games. So, they got a little stash going on with him. So, we'll see exactly how they handle that. But I thought that he looked better than Rashene Ali in the preseason and he showed more potential than a Rashene Ali. But I guess the Ravens were like, you know what, let's go with more of the proven thing early on in the season and then we'll go from there. Uh at wide receiver, no surprises there. At tight end, no surprises there either. Offensive line, really no surprises there either. They did cut Cory Bulock. I expect him to be uh back on the practice squad, but we'll see when we see. Now flipping to the defensive side of the ball, we got a nice surprise here because we weren't sure what was going on with Nami Madabique. He just started ramping up, getting more acclimated in practice, but he hasn't gone full goal yet, but they did not put him on injury, which is what a lot of people thought they may do. So that means he is eligible, will be eligible to play from the very beginning in week one against the Colts. Now, will he play in that game is still to be determined, but he does have time and he is available. So, that's a beautiful thing and I love to see that. Another surprise here was with Anias Peebles because he was somebody that I think was definitely on the roster bubble. Initially, I thought Anias Peoples was safe for sure cuz I'm like, man, we getting Jesse Mentor. That's going to help our whole defensive line out. That's going to help our pass rush. It's going to really help unlock Anias Peeles a lot more than the previous regime did. But when he was out there playing late in the preseason, playing in the third game of the preseason, I said, "Uh-oh, this is not looking good for him." But they did cut late round pick Rashawn Benny. So that was a bit of a twist right there. Now, another pleasant surprise. This is one that I expected, but at the same time with the Ravens, I'm like, I don't know. They released Adisa Isaac. But that's not the pleasant surprise. I'm not celebrating him being released, but more so the Baltimore Ravens keeping Ethan Burke. I really think we might be in a new regime because the reason that I thought they may possibly keep Adisa Isaac is because he was a former third round pick of the Baltimore Ravens and you know Eric Dasi he loves keeping all the picks that he can possibly get and even if a pick is underperforming you know he don't want to move off on that pick but he was actually willing to do it. So I'm like man we might actually be in a new regime. Uh but continuing at linebacker, Teddy Buchanan, he was another bit of a shocker because he's somebody that just recently returned to practice, too. And while he hasn't been full goal in practice all the way yet, they could have put him on injury reserve, but they said, "No, no, no. Teddy, tell you, we want you just in case you available for week one." You know what? That goes well in hand with what Jesse Mentor said. And he said he expects everybody on the roster to be ready and available for week one. He said that weeks ago when the Ravens first started training camp and look here like Jesse Mentor, we trust you, man. We we love you. You really did save us for for sure. Uh continuing at quarterback again, no surprises here. Keon Martin made the roster. Everybody else, we figured they were going to make the roster, but Keon Martin, he continued to stand out all preseason just like he did last year in the preseason. So, two years straight, he's with the team. And staying in the secondary, again, no surprises here. Keandre Jackson, he's holding it down for that fourth safety spot. So, shout out to him. So, this this roster is had a couple of surprises in it. Nothing too crazy, but this we set. And Ravens, it's time. September 13th, like Colts, we coming for you. We are. So, y'all better be ready. Now, Bal Kone, honorable mention. Um, he was put on injury reserve to start the season. So, again, they're doing another temporary stash with him. So, we'll see how that goes. And just to make it clear, when people start the season on injury reserve designated to return, they can come back to the game after 4 weeks. So Adam Randall and Bal Kone, they can come back in week five. Now, we done made it to my favorite part of the videos where we get to hear from you. Subscribe to the channel, click that thumbs up button, leave a like on the video. Let's get straight to it. First question came from my guy Braden. He said, "Derek Henry's legacy. What's good engraven? Hope you family are doing well. It's currently 3:00 a.m. It's late right now. I'm recording this at 1:42 a.m. So, yeah, I feel you. Anyway, he said, "And I've been thinking heavily about the future of our Ravens. More specifically, what could be in store for Derrick Henry and his legacy as one of the greatest running backs, not only of our era, but of all time." Think about this. Derrick Henry is currently sitting at 10th alltime in rushing yards with 13,18 yards. Em Smith sits at number one with 18,355. Henry has been climbing the ranks since joining the Ravens. In 2025, he passed legends like Jim Brown and Tony Dorset. And if he rushes for another 1,200 or so yards this upcoming season, he could jump all the way to sixth place passing Eric Dickerson, Denian Townson, and Jerome Bettis right above Curtis Martin and behind Adrien Peterson. That's crazy. I didn't even realize Adrien Peterson was that high. [snorts] He said, "Now, here's where it gets interesting. If Derrick Henry ultimately wants to surpass Em Smith for number one all time, he'd need roughly 5,338 more rushing yards." That's about 1,335 yards per season over four years or around 1,68 yards per season over 5 years. So my question is, do you think Derrick Kenny would actually be willing to make the final stretch of his career about chasing that record while simultaneously trying to win a Super Bowl with the Ravens over the next four or five seasons? Yes. Yeah. Two birds, one stone. So yeah, I think so for sure because why not? You're here, you this close. Why not go for it while helping your team gain success as well? Uh he said uh and just as importantly, would the Ravens be willing to continue to give him a significant workload deep into his mid to late 30s, including potentially giving him another contract extension to make it happen? I think they would uh out of respect and out of skill. Skill first then respect. Well, actually both. They go hand in hand for Derrick Henry cuz he has he he's earned both. Um with Derrick Henry, he's somebody who again, he still hasn't shown any signs of slowing down. Now, if they do give him another contract extension, it's going to it's not going to be nearly as big as the contract extension he got now. So now for for the rest of Der Kur's career, his contract, the amount of the dollars that he's getting paid, it's going to go down because he's another year, another couple years older and the the money just they're not going to pay him that money like they're paying him now. And even like he got paid in the past and and that's okay. That's not necessarily a bad thing. That's just the the nature of the game. But yes, I can see them doing that. Anyway, he said Henry has shown virtually no signs of slowing down and he doesn't seem to have any intention of retiring anytime soon. If he continues producing at a high level, could Baltimore realistically keep him around long enough to give him a legitimate shot at becoming the NFL's all-time leading rush? Now, that's where it would get really tricky because would they be willing to keep him around that long because yeah, he would be closer and closer to the record. Now, if he's still going like the Derrick Henry that we know and we see every single week, then yeah, but he would he would be older and so you got to have some other weapons, some other some other ammo in your arsenal. But I I think it all just depends on how he's doing, depends on how he's producing, it depends on how he's feeling, depend on how he looks. So so much depends on the future that we just really don't know yet at this time. [snorts] Um, but he said, uh, what are you thinking, Graven? Would you prioritize the Super Bowl and let the record chase happen naturally, or do you think Henry and the Ravens should actually actively pursue Emtt Smith's record? I I think it's a mix of both, but obviously Super Bowl first because it's a team sport. It ain't just Derrick Henry chasing the numbers. If he if we was on some team, we were just sorry, we were just garbage, then yeah. Oh, yeah. Chase the records strictly for you all day, every day, but we shouldn't be garbage. We won't be garbage and we should be and will be Super Bowl contenders. So, they can do a healthy mix of both because Derrick Henry is going to be a big part of this offense. Next question came from my guy James. He said, "What's up, Greg? It's me, James. It's been a really long time since I sent an email. Hope you and the family have been great." Oh, yeah. We've been pretty good. I appreciate you. He said, "I have been doing great. Life has been amazing and just waking up every day and happy and living and thanking God for a new day. Oh, I like that. That's I love that positive outlook, man. He said, "Sucks. I won't be playing football my senior year because our entire coaching staff quit because our head coach is really bad." And this new coaching staff from my high school pretty much said, "Screw me because I don't have offers and barely played. I worked really hard since my freshman year and lost 55 pounds to become the player I wanted to be, but it's God's plan." Oh, man. That's that's unfortunate, man. So, um I I feel like you, especially going what you went through, unfortunately, um you would understand in a different light, just a new era, a a new front office, a new coaching staff. Uh obviously, it sounded like your experience, it sounded more negative, um that you went from a coaching staff that was better to a coaching staff that's like that that wasn't better. Um, but it I feel like that can help help you. Stuff like that can make you understand different aspects of just not even just football, but just life in general. But anyway, continuing, uh, he said, "Nothing will ever take the love of the game away of football." I thought I would share with y'all since y'all since, uh, you love talking to everyone. Oh, yeah, for sure. And I love hearing personal stories about everything going on. Um, and obviously we love hearing great stories more than unfortunate or sad ones or disappointing ones, but uh it's it's all part of life, man. It's all part of life. I know for me uh personally um just recently I've been like stuff a lot of stuff has been weighing a lot heavier than it normally does for me. And it's been hard. I've been having some very very tough It's been a tough uh couple of months, man. It it really really has been. Uh but we got to keep pushing and and that's just part of life. Like stuff is going to be frustrating, stuff is going to be tough, but we just got to keep going. Uh but anyway, continuing. He said, I think the last time I sent an email was before the loop miss, but man, it changed everything. To be honest, it was heartbreaking, but it's a new era now. John Haraw getting fired and us bringing uh Mike McDonald 2.0 Jesse Mentor. Man, I'm so happy we got a coach play calling with a play sheet on the sideline and not seeing those John Haraw face reactions. Finally, no more Zack or defense, which I'm so happy. last year was so bad with his zone coverages and not getting any pressure to the quarterback. That changes this year. Also, Declan Doyle, I'm very excited for as well. Getting a Ben Johnson and Shawn Peyton type of offense for Lamar and Derk Henry. I'm to so excited to see that. This coaching staff is so amazing after us getting mentor offseason hit. Uh we know the trade that uh we made that we backed out of, but to be honest, it worked out with us getting Trey the Beast Hendrickson, which he's going to be a sack machine and a great run stopper. O that runs stopper part. I hope so. We'll see. Um he said Jay Jaylen Ball Hawkins who had a great season with New England and we got Madabik back. He said man it gets better with the draft. Venger Yawan is an absolute dog and man in preseason he goes out and blocks anybody if he doesn't have anyone to block. Zion Young is going to be such a great pass rusher and giving me Terrell Suggs vibes with his size and the one and only who we are all excited for. Jacobe Lane. Man, make him wide receiver too. Now he has such amazing hands. Jump ball, deep threat. Finally got that big body for number eight. I would say he needs to work on his route running but it gets better. Oh, it's getting better. Excuse me. I'm so excited for this year. We seeking vengeance and revenge. What is there not to be excited for? We have so much to look forward to. One thing Jesse mentioned, play calling has been amazing. I'm sending this before the preseason game against the Washington, but the stats we have with our backups. Just you wait till we have our starters. And that didn't change with the game against Washington. He said, "I know [snorts] it's a long email." Yes, it is. But it's okay. It's okay. He said, "But I love sending in an email. I still love all the videos you're making." I appreciate that. Thank you, man. He said, um, "Thank you for making your videos every day for Ravens Flock. Us and the team, Keep It Clean Family support you every day." Thank you. Seriously, and I I I appreciate y'all watching. I I appreciate y'all supporting. I I appreciate it a lot. It makes such a big difference. It helps out so much and it just it makes it that much more fun for us to do it. It's a lot of work and it's a whole lot of work. Again, this right now it's 1:50 a.m. This video is going to be out in uh about 8 hours and 9 minutes. Uh and it's it's 1:50 a.m. right now and I'm just recording. I still got to edit the video. Got to upload the video. Got to do all the little um the little things you see at the bottom of the screen that separates the different Oh, the chapters. The video chapters. That's what it's called. Still got to make the thumbnail. Uh still got to title the video. So, you got to do the description for the It just It can be a lot, man. It can be a whole lot. And again, I I I I appreciate y'all appreciating the work that goes into it, cuz again, it could be a 15, 20, 25 minute video, but it's a lot more time that goes into it than that. Um, so I I thank y'all for watching them. I thank y'all for supporting. I thank y'all for sending in questions. I thank y'all for leaving likes on the video. I thank y'all for subscribing. I thank y'all for everything, man. Thank you so much for what y'all do on a day and and every day put for now videos every day. In season, offseason, it's a lot, man. It really is a lot. That's why again when I say I appreciate y'all, I ain't saying that just to say it. I ain't saying it just cuz it sounds good. I'm saying it cuz I mean it. I I really do. I ain't wasting words with that. I really do appreciate y'all so much. For real, man. Anyway, uh continuing. He said, um, of course, I got a question to ask. Who is your three breakout players for the 2026 season? Um, breakout. Give me uh Mike Green, uh, Nate Wiggins, Malachi Starks. Mike Green, Nate Wiggins, Malachi Stark. I said all defense. Yeah. I mean, hopefully we got a lot on offense, too, but yeah, I'm I'm going to say them three. He said, "I got Trenton Simp." Oh, Trenton Simpson is a good one. That's a good one. I think he's gonna do really well. That's a really really good one cuz now I think Mike McDonald is going to really find a role for him. Uh he said, "I got Trent Simpson, Mike Green, and I think Zay is going to have 14 on the receiving, but another player I'm looking I'm thinking is the rookie Matt Hner." He said, "Let me know your players and man, I'm so excited for this year. I'll be going to the home open against the Saints." Oh, get ready to wear that all white. I mean, I'm ready. I ain't going, but just in case we were going, we'd be ready. Anyway, uh he said uh also revenge game for King Henry against the Titans and first road game that I got invited to is going to see them on the road against in against Cleveland. Oh, you going to be active this season. You going to a lot of games. He said, "Got a lot to look forward to. Let's absolutely destroy the Colts week one and we know what we chasing." Uh the bullies of Baltimore and defense mentality is back. Ravens on top. Let's go Ravens. Uh we'll always be a Ravens fan forever. Love y'all and let's let's have an absolutely amazing seasons. Raisin. I [snorts] said Ravens. It's 1:53 in the morning, so I I get a pass for that. But he said, "Ravens forever." Hey, appreciate you, man. Next question came from my guy Chanty. He said, "Rostster cuts." He said, "I think," and this was before the roster got officially set. He said, "I think it's Stash Joe Faniano cut Ali time." So, well, neither one of those happened. At least not yet. We'll see if things change cuz it is possible. But let's read the rest. He said, "Usually Ravens only keep two quarterbacks on the 53, but keep four running backs. Cut in Joey Faniano is too risky. See, they didn't do it. So, he got that right. He said, "We're probably keeping four tight ends." Boom. You'll write on that. And six wire receivers. Boom. You'll write on that, too. He said, "Just cut Ali and add him to the practice squad if he clears waiverss. If he doesn't, oh well." He hasn't shown us anything to feel like he's irreplaceable in two whole years. [sighs] [gasps] I don't want to say it like that, but I I just think Adam Randall just showed more potential. Um, he showed like more explosiveness in my opinion than Rashine Ali. Um but so we'll see how everything works itself out. He said Faniano seems to have it. I agree with you. If we get to QB3 three, the season is over. However, I rather sit him on my bench than possibly play against him. Oh, my guy even got the fear of Joe Faniano in him. Uh but yeah, so we got Joe Fiano on the roster for now and we'll see if he stays. He said likely time in Baltimore and his foot was in the Chiefs game. Why you had to bring that up? But he said I'm out. Next question came from my guy Buck Bezy. He said, "I got two questions. What's up, bro? Hope all is well with you and the family as always. Two questions here. First, let's go get to five and a half months into the future. The season is over. The Baltimore Ravens have won Super Bowl 61. Okay. See, I like your thinking. He said, "Lamar has won MVP and Super Bowl MVP. But who do you think was the second most valuable player for the Ravens in Super Bowl run this season? For me, secretly, it's going to be Wenger. I think him having to replace that abomination we had last year that wore the number 77 will make dividends happen for this offense." We hope so. Really, just the whole offensive line. And um and Dwayne Leford, he should be an MVP this season as well. We hope he does. Anyway, he said, "Sc, you aren't far from having 1 million subscribers. I'm really excited for you because I remember when you only had 18,000. Have you thought about what you're going to do for that milestone for for 1 million?" No, I haven't. I' I've never thought about that before. I would love to have that, but I've never thought about that uh before because I I feel like we're just especially because our content is extremely niche focused. Like it's extremely it's Ravens, Ravens, Ravens, Ravens, Raven, Raven. Like Raven's official channel, they ain't even got a million subscribers. They ain't even got 500,000. I think they got like 300 something thousand, which is nice, which is amazing, which is great. So, I I I I never think of terms of having a million subscribers on here. It'd be great, and I would love it, but I mean, we we'll see. Who knows? Uh he said, "Me personally, I think you should be interviewed uh by your wife. I think that would be an excellent video just to show how far you've come and hear her side as well." Uh but oh, that's that's an interesting idea. that that that that could be something. I I'm not really the biggest fan of talking about me, though. I love talking about other people. Love talking to other people. I don't really like when it's about me like that. Like I just Yeah, but I I I would be willing to do that. Uh and she probably would too. Um but anyway, he said uh but I understand if she or you is not comfortable with that. It was just an idea. Anyways, I let you go, man. God bless team. Keep it clean. Hey, appreciate you, Buckle. So, we'll see. May maybe one day. Next question came from my guy Eman. He said, "I hope you and your family are doing well. I got three questions for you. Number one, what type of numbers do you think our defense will put up per game this upcoming season?" Man, if I base it off the preseason game, then we only giving up one score per game. Like, man. But more realistically, I'm going say I'm going to say 13 points a game. I'm going say that's going to be the average. That's And that would be great. 13 points a game. That would be crazy. But hey, Jesse Minton, he said, "I personally think they will have four sacks and two interceptions in a force fumble and give up 25 points or less." Oh, well, per game. Oh, yeah. Well, I would hope it would be way less than 25 points a game. Uh, but [snorts] anyway, he said number two, in your honest opinion, uh, who will be our best defender this upcoming season? A super duper Kyle. I think that continues and he gets even better. He said number three, this may say sound a little bit ludicrous, but I think the Ravens can sweep all three AFC North rivals. What do you think? Oh, the sweeping the Browns, Bengals, and Steelers. Oh, that would take a lot. That would take a whole lot. But we got a coaching change now. We got a big coaching change now. And Jesse Mento was brought in to help us finish the job. And that's something that we've struggled with the Steelers for the longest with. Now, they don't got Mike Tylen no more. They got Mike McCarthy. Um, so they just went from Mike to Mike. But, um, hoping that Jesse Mentor can get off on the right foot against Mike McCarthy, against Zack Taylor, and against, it's funny, Todd Mon too. So yeah, it it's possible. Um, it's possible. It's possible. We got everything that we need in order to do it, but it's going to be up to coaching. It's going to be up to execution. It's going to be up to all three sides of the ball, three phases of the ball, uh, to make sure they get it done. So, it it can happen for sure. Will it happen? It all just depends on how the season is going, depending on how this team is going. Depends on how things are flowing. Depends on how obviously the offense is, the defense is, the special teams, which oh boy, that's a whole topic in itself. We're going to talk more about that uh throughout the week, but yeah, it just all depends, but I think it's definitely doable. Speaking of special teams, next question came from my guy John. He said, "Feedback loop." He said, "What's up, Graven? I'm sure your email is being bombarded with messages about how we need to drop a trade Tyler Loop." Oh, man. You should see the comment section. Anyway, he said, "Don't get me wrong. I think right now he is the weakest link on the team, and I would not be shocked or sad if EDC moved on from him. However, I don't think it's going to happen." As you recall, the big boss man himself, Mr. Steven, endorsed Luke during the offseason press conference. I believe this public backing has got us and EDC caught in a feedback loop. Uh where nothing we say or whatever happens can change what happens with the kicker position because the owner put his foot down. No one wants to make their boss look wrong or embarrassed him. So I believe that is why we never brought in competition and we are stuck with him. Yeah, that's that's how I felt initially, but after the preseason I I feel like that's going to change. It has to, right? cuz I know everything that Bashotti said and I was saying the same exact thing you were saying all off all season long that hey Stephen Bashotti came out there and said let everybody know like hey Loop ain't going nowhere. Loop is our guy this year. But something got to give after how the preseason went. But then it's like on the flip side if you get rid of Loop who do you bring in? You ain't bringing back Tucker. You ain't bringing back Justin Tucker but who do you bring in? What what kickers are out there that you sign and okay here we go. And how are they? How would they do? I mean, it would be one of those things we we wouldn't know till we tried. Anyway, he said, "I truly think it will take multiple regular season misses from under 50 until it is even considered to trade or drop Loop." Uh, do you think the front office is being stubborn with Loop or do they sincerely believe he's our best option? Um, I I I think it would be stubbornness because if you like if you look at a lot of other positions on the football team and if somebody was struggling, somebody just wasn't looking good, they were it they were having a really rough off season. They had a really rough uh even the season before that like Tyler Loop again the numbers. Oh yeah, Tyler Loop was pretty accurate and whatnot, but then you look at the penalties on the kickoff. Look at the misses from uh the the the long field goal misses. Um and then how the season ended obviously, but then you look at how this preseason has been, how he just he's been looking shaky. A lot of positions on offense, a lot of positions on defense. If they were looking like that at that position, they'd be replaced. And I know it's a lot easier. So, it's different because it's a lot easier in a sense to replace a defender because you have a lot of other people playing that same position. Like if it's a quarterback, if it's a running back, if it's a wide receiver, if it's a tight end, if it's a linebacker, you have several other people playing that position. With a kicker, boom, it's just him. That's it. So, it can be harder to replace him. So, it's it's just tricky, man. Anyway, he said, "How many games can we afford to lose due to missed field goals?" I don't think any. I I don't think any. But oh, man. I just I don't even want to see it get to that. I I I really don't. So, if they're going to keep Tyler Loop, hopefully he could just knock it out the park and it'd be an accurate knock out the park and he could just be on point. Um it's it is very worrisome though, for real, man. He said, "Fun fact, did you know the French word for loop is pronounced kundiff?" I'm sorry, man. Couldn't help myself. Get out of here, man. Why you had to do that, man? What you doing, John? Anyway, he said, um, "It's just easier to laugh. Otherwise, these mix these miskicks are going to make me cry. I'm beyond stoked about this season and hopeful and looking forward to watching your content." Hey, appreciate you, my friend. And he said, "PS." Oh, look, he got what he wanted. He said, "Let's keep three quarterbacks." Boom. Thank you, Ravens. The flock flies to [music and singing] the wise. It's a wonderful thing. Look what vision and commitment is and some discipline brings. [music] When eight becomes one, the moon swings and the flock sings for another ring. Man, we tuning in. Engraving vids in that scene tonight. [music] Team keep it clean. Hold it down. The sparks ignite. A name in the lights. A north star ain't feeling when you run that north every year. That's just Heat. [music] >> [music]