The Baltimore Ravens have signed 26-year old strong safety Bernard Pollard to a 2-year deal.  Pollard played in 15 games for the Texans last year and he had 111 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles and 5 passes defensed.  He has now played in 76 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 412 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 5 sacks, 7 fumble recoveries, 10 forced fumbles, 21 passes defensed and 7 interceptions (1 returned for a TD).  Pollard’s game is lighting up ballcarriers and receivers.  With Ed Reed behind him, Pollard will be free to bring the pain in 2011.  This is a perfect fit for the Ravens as Pollard is a nasty player.

The Baltimore Ravens have signed 33-year old center Casey Rabach to a 2-year deal.  Rabach played in 16 games (all starts) for the Redskins last year.  He has now played in 137 games (118 starts) in his first 10 years in the NFL.  Rabach started his career with the Ravens as he spent the first four years of his career with them playing in 42 games (23 starts).  Rabach will likely get a lot of P.T. for the Ravens this year as starting center Matt Birk is having issues with his knee.  Rabach can also help out at guard if needed there.

UPDATE:  (8/4/2011) – Casey Rabach has failed his physical.  So it’s back to the drawing board at center for the Ravens.

The Ravens have signed 29-year old fullback Vonta Leach to a 3-year, $11 million dollar deal.  Leach played in 16 games (5 starts) for the Texans last year and he didn’t carry the ball even one time.  He did catch 8 passes for 91 yards (11.4 avg) and he also made it to the first Pro Bowl of his NFL career because of his blocking.  Leach has now played in 98 games (43 starts) in his first 7 years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 3 times for 3 yards (1.0 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He has also caught 76 passes for 537 yards (7.1 avg) with 4 TD grabs so far in his NFL career.  Ray Rice has to be very happy as Leach is a outstanding lead blocker in the running game.

The Ravens have signed 28-year old WR Brandon Jones.  Jones did not play in the NFL last season.  He has played in 59 games so far in his NFL career and he has caught 113 passes for 1,398 yards (12.4 avg) with 9 TD grabs.  Jones also has carried the ball 6 times for 76 yards (12.7 ypc) and he has returned 20 punts for 130 yards (6.5 avg) in his NFL career.  Jones is going to have a hard time making the Ravens next summer, but credit the team for snapping him up and not waiting around to add talent to the team.

UPDATE:  (9/4/2011) – The Ravens have released Brandon Jones.

The Ravens have signed 33-year old long snapper Kevin Houser.  He will replace rookie Morgan Cox who has been placed on I.R.  Houser played in 14 games for the Seahawks last season.  Houser has played in 158 games in his 10 years in the NFL so he has a lot of experience which is good because the playoffs start next weekend and the Ravens can’t afford to leave any points on the field.

The Ravens have signed 30-year old fullback Jason McKie.  McKie played in all 16 games for the Bears last season and he caught 5 passes for 13 yards (2.6 avg) but he didn’t carry the ball.  McKie has now played in 82 games in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 29 times for 84 yards (2.9 ypc) with 3 TD grabs.  McKie has also caught 68 passes for 364 yards (5.4 avg) with 3 TD grabs in his career.  With Le’Ron McClain dinged up a bit the Ravens felt they needed to sign McKie just in case McClain isn’t ready to go against the Pittsburgh Steelers this Sunday Night.  To make room on the roster for McKie, the Ravens decided to cut 29-year old safety Ken Hamlin.  Hamlin played in 7 games for the Ravens this year and he had 3 tackles, 1 pass defensed, 1 interception and 1 fumble recovery.

The Ravens have signed 32-year old WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh to a 1-year deal.  Houshmandzadeh played in 16 games (all starts) for the Seahawks last year and he caught 79 passes for 911 yards (11.5 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He has now played in 121 games (90 starts) in his nine years in the NFL and he has caught 586 passes for 6,693 yards (11.4 avg) with 40 TD grabs.  Houshmandzadeh has also carried the ball 23 times for 142 yards (6.2 ypc) with 1 TD run in his career.  This was an outstanding signing for the Ravens as Houshmandzadeh was a Pro Bowler in 2007 so he likely has a lot left in the gas tank.  He will be the Ravens’ #3 WR in 2010.

The Ravens have signed 24-year old QB Hunter Cantwell to the practice squad.  Cantwell played in 2 pre-season games (1 start) for the Panthers in the pre-season and he completed 12 of 26 passes (46.2%) for 104 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (57.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 1 time for 10 yards in the pre-season.  Cantwell was the Panthers’ #3 QB in 2009 and that will be his role with the Ravens in 2010.

UPDATE:  (9/10/2010) – The Ravens have cut Cantwell.  They will go with Anquan Boldin as the emergency #3 QB as that was his position at Florida State.

The Ravens have signed 33-year old QB Marc Bulger to a 1-year, $3.8 million dollar deal with another $1.5 million in possible incentives.  Bulger played in 9 games for the Rams last season in which he completed 140 of 247 passes (56.7%) for 1,469 yards with 5 TD passes and 6 INTs (70.7 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 8 times for 22 yards (2.8 ypc) last season.  Bulger has now played in 96 games in his NFL career and he has completed 1,969 of 3,171 passes (62.1%) for 22,814 yards with 122 TD passes and 93 INTs (84.4 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 118 times for 300 yards (2.5 ypc) with 8 TD runs in his career.  Bulger has a 41-54 (43.2%) record as a starting QB in his career.  This was a excellent move for the Ravens as it gives them a veteran they can trust behind Joe Flacco.  Look for them to try harder to deal Troy Smith now.

The Ravens have signed 35-year old CB Walt Harris to a 1-year deal.  Harris has not played in the NFL since the 2008 season with the 49ers.  Harris has played in 193 games in his NFL career and he has made 748 tackles, he defensed 166 passes, has 3 sacks, forced 18 fumbles and he has 35 interceptions (4 returned for TDs).  This was a good depth signing for the Ravens as Harris has been a pretty good cornerback in the past.

UPDATE:  (8/6/2010) – The Ravens have placed Walt Harris on Injured Reserve with an Achilles problem.

UPDATE II:  (8/13/2010) – The Ravens have reached a injury settlement with Harris making him a free agent.