The Ravens have released 27-year old TE Quinn Sypniewski.  He has missed the last two seasons due to injury and the Ravens just didn’t want to pay him for nothing once again in 2010.  Sypniewski has played in 31 games in his NFL career and he has caught 36 passes for 261 yards (7.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Even if another team decides to give Sypniewski a chance the Ravens won’t miss him.

The Ravens have signed 29-year old WR Donte’ Stallworth to a 1-year, $900,000 dollar contract.  Stallworth didn’t play at all last season as he was suspended by the NFL for running over a man  and killing him while driving drunk in Miami last summer.  Stallworth last played in the NFL in 2008 with the Browns.  He played in 11 games for the Browns in 2008 in which he caught 17 passes for 170 yards (10.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Stallworth has now played in 95 games in his NFL career and he has caught 296 passes for 4,383 yards (14.8 avg) with 32 TD grabs.  This just goes to show that even criminals get second chances quickly in the NFL.  Still, it was a good gamble for the Ravens who could use some help at WR.

34-year old inside linebacker Ray Lewis just keeps rolling along for the Ravens.  He made 134 tackles, 7 tackles for a loss, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and he defensed 7 passes last season for the Ravens.  Lewis has now played in 194 games in his career with the Ravens and he has made 1,759 tackles, 107 passes defensed, 36.5 sacks, 14 forced fumbles and he has 28 interceptions (one returned for a TD).  One of these days Lewis is going to lose his effectiveness but it hasn’t happened yet.

The Baltimore Ravens selected OT Michael Oher (1st round, #23 overall) out of Mississippi.  He had a great rookie season for the Ravens starting all 16 games for them.  He did catch 1 pass for -8 yards last season.  Oher’s life story was portrayed in the movie the Blind Side which was very good and I recommend it to everyone.  DE Paul Kruger (2nd round, #57 overall) out of Utah didn’t show much as a rookie but he did have one huge play intercepting a Dennis Dixon pass in O.T. against the Steelers setting up a nice win over the Ravens’ rivals.  He played in 9 games in which he made 11 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, he defensed 3 passes and he picked off 1 pass.  CB/KR Ladarius Webb (3rd round, #88 overall) out of Nicholls State wound up being a great pick for the Ravens.  He played in 14 games for the Ravens last season and he made 35 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, had 1 sack and he defensed 6 passes.  Webb also returned 35 kickoffs for 918 yards (26.2 avg) with a TD return (95-yarder).  Linebacker Jason Phillips (5th round, #137 overall) out of TCU spent his rookie year on the Injured Reserve List.  TE Davon Drew (5th round, #149 overall) out of East Carolina didn’t get into any games as a rookie for the Ravens last season.  RB Cedric Peerman (6th round, #185 overall) out of Virginia got cut by the Ravens and he is on the Lions.  He didn’t play in any games as a rookie last season.

GRADE FOR 2009:  B-

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  B+