The Ravens have released 32-year old CB Samari Rolle.  Rolle played in 10 games for the Ravens last season and he made 23 tackles, defensed 8 passes, forced 1 fumble and had 3 interceptions.  In four seasons with the Ravens, Rolle has played in 48 games in which he has made 136 tackles, defensed 34 passes, had 1 sack, forced 3 fumbles and he intercepted 8 passes.  The Ravens have decided to turn the page at the cornerback position.

UPDATE:  The Ravens have re-considered and they have re-signed Samari Rolle to a 4-year, $10 million dollar contract.  This was likely a smart move for the Ravens who are hurting at CB. 

The Ravens have signed 28-year old tight end L.J. Smith to a 1-year contract.  Smith played in 13 games for the Eagles last season and he caught 37 passes for 298 yards (8.1 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He has now played in 86 games in his NFL career and he has caught 231 passes for 2,525 yards (10.9 avg) with 18 TD grabs.  This was a great signing for the Ravens as Smith will team with Todd Heap to give them a lethal tight end combination in 2009.

The Ravens have signed 25-year old CB/PR/KR Chris Carr to a 2-year, $2.5 million dollar contract.  Carr played in all 16 games for the Titans last season and he made 31 tackles, defensed 5 passes and had 1 interception.  Carr also returned 32 punts for 323 yards (10.1 avg) and 35 kickoffs for 984 yards (28.1 avg) last season for the Titans.  Carr has now played in 64 games in his NFL career and he has made 86 tackles, defensed 10 passes, forced 2 fumbles and he has 2 interceptions (including one that he returned 100 yards for a TD).  Carr has also returned 109 punts for 777 yards (7.1 avg) and 236 punts for 5,825 yards (24.7 avg) in his career.  The Ravens essentially signed Carr to return kicks and be either the nickel or dime CB.  With that in mind this was a good signing for them.

The Baltimore Ravens went into the draft last April trying to help out the offense and it worked out well for them.  In the first round the Ravens selected Joe Flacco and he started all 16 games for them as a rookie and won two games in the playoffs.  Flacco completed 257 of 428 passes (60%) for 2,971 yards with 14 TD passes and 12 interceptions (80.3 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 52 times for 180 yards (3.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs last season.  Flacco even lined up at receiver on occasion and he caught 1 pass for 43 yards last season.  Look for the Ravens to start giving Flacco more leeway starting in 2009 to throw the ball.  The Ravens also made a nice pick in the 2nd round with running back Ray Rice.  Rice played in 13 games (4 starts) for the Ravens last season and he carried the ball 107 times for 454 yards (4.2 ypc).  He also caught 33 passes for 273 yards (8.3 avg) last season.  Rice also helped out on special teams once in a while as he returned 7 kickoffs for 161 yards (23.0 avg).  Look for Rice to be more involved in the Ravens’ offense in the near future.  The Ravens expected much more out of third round pick Tavares Gooden (OLB).  He played in only 4 games (0 starts) as a rookie last season and he only made 5 tackles.  Safety Tom Zbikowski looks like he could develop into a starter in the very near future.  He played in all 16 games (0 starts) for the Ravens last season and he made 19 tackles.  He also returned 2 kickoffs for 48 yards (24.0 avg) as a rookie last season.  With Jim Leonhard leaving the Ravens in free agency, Zbikowski might get his chance in 2009.  3rd rounder Oniel Cousins (OG) and 4th rounder David Hale (OT) both got some playing time off the bench in 2008.  Cousins played in 5 games while Hale played in 6.  It will be interesting to see if either of these guys steps up and starts any time soon.  WR Marcus Smith was drafted in the 4th round by the Ravens last season and he didn’t show much in 7 games (0 starts).  He didn’t catch any passes as a rookie and made 6 tackles on special teams.  6th rounder Haruki Nakamura played in all 16 games (0 starts) for the Ravens last season and he made 12 tackles mostly on special teams.  The Ravens hope he can develop into a solid backup safety in the near future.  7th round pick Justin Harper (WR) was placed on the Injured Reserve List last September missing all of his rookie year.  The Ravens released their other 7th round pick (RB) Allen Patrick last August and he finished the season with the Browns.

GRADE FOR 2008 SEASON:  B

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  B+

The Ravens have signed 25-year old WR Marcus Maxwell.  Maxwell didn’t play last season.  He has played in 5 games in his NFL career and he has caught 1 pass for 5 yards.  Maxwell has the size (6′3″, 210 pounds) that impresses the Ravens and that’s likely why they are giving him a chance this season.