The Ravens have released 31-year old fullback Jason McKie.  The handwriting was on the wall for McKie after the Ravens signed free agent fullback Vonta Leach.  McKie didn’t get into any games last year for the Ravens.  He has played in 88 games (47 starts) in his first 8 years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 29 times for 84 yards (2.9 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  McKie has also caught 68 passes for 364 yards (5.4 avg) with 3 TD grabs in his NFL career.  The Ravens won’t miss McKie at all this year.

The Ravens have released 34-year old DT Kelly Gregg.  Gregg played in 16 games for the Ravens last year and he had 38 tackles including 1 tackle for a loss.  Gregg played in 134 games in his 9 years with the Ravens and he had 510 tackles, 34 tackles for a loss, 19.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, he recovered 6 fumbles and he defensed 9 passes.  The Ravens want to get younger at DT and Gregg seemed to lose a bit performance wise last year.

The Ravens have released 29-year old running back Willis McGahee.  McGahee played in 15 games (all starts) for the Ravens last year and he carried the ball 100 times for 380 yards (3.8 ypc) with 5 TD grabs.  He also caught 14 passes for 55 yards (3.9 avg) with 1 TD grab last year.  McGahee played in 59 games (26 starts) in his four years with the Ravens and he carried  the ball 673 times for 2,802 yards (4.2 ypc) with 31 TD runs.  He also caught 96 passes for 544 yards (5.7 avg) with 4 TD grabs with the Ravens.  McGahee made it to 1 Pro Bowl with the Ravens and he is the franchise’s #3 rusher with 2,802 yards.  He is also #2 in rushing TDs (31) and he’s #14 in receptions (96) in team history.  The Ravens will have a shiny new backup RB for Ray Rice in 2011.

The Ravens have released 37-year old WR Derrick Mason.  Mason played in 16 games (15 starts) for the Ravens last year and he caught 61 passes for 802 yards (13.1 avg) with 7 TD grabs.  He played in 96 games (94 starts) in his six years with the Ravens and he caught 471 passes for 5,777 yards (12.3 avg) with 29 TD grabs.  Mason is the Ravens’ all-time leader in both receptions (471) and receiving yards (5,777).  Mason is also #2 in TD grabs with 29 in Ravens’ history.  Mason was a warrior for the Ravens as he had no fear over the middle and he had a great set of hands.

The Ravens have released 31-year old TE Todd Heap.  Heap played in 13 games (all starts) for the Ravens last year and he caught 40 passes for 599 yards (15.0 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  He played in 133 games (128 starts) in his 10 years with the Ravens in which he has caught 467 passes for 5,492 yards (11.8 avg) with 41 TD grabs.  Heap also carried the ball 8 times for 61 yards (7.6 ypc) for the Ravens.  Heap made it to two Pro Bowls with the Ravens and he is the all-time franchise leader in TD grabs with 41 of them.  Heap is also #2 in receptions (467) and #2 in receiving yards (5,492) in Ravens’ history.  The Ravens would like to re-sign Heap at a lower salary but with a soft free agent market as far as TEs go, he might get a nice offer from another team.

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 released 35-year old DE Trevor Pryce who had not played in the Ravens first three games of the year.  Pryce played in 53 games in his time with the Ravens and he had 120 tackles, 4 passes defensed, 26 sacks and 3 forced fumbles.  The Ravens have enough deep to cover for this move so they won’t miss Pryce.

The Ravens have released 29-year old safety Ken Hamlin.  He didn’t even get on the field with the Ravens.  The Ravens must feel comfortable with Dawan Landry, Tom Zbikowski and Haruki Nakamura at safety until Ed Reed is ready to come back.  Who am I to argue with their thinking with the way the Ravens are playing pass defense.

UPDATE:  (9/29/2010) – The Ravens have re-signed Ken Hamlin.

The Ravens have released 26-year old QB Troy Smith.  Smith played in 4 games  (0 starts) for the Ravens last season and he completed 5 of 9 passes (55.6%) for 24 yards with 0 TDs and 1 INT (21.3 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 8 times for 31 yards (3.9 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Smith played in 14 games (2 starts) in his three years with the Ravens and he completed 49 of 89 passes (53.9%) for 558 yards with 3 TD passes and 1 INT (79.7 QB Rating).  Smith also carried the ball 29 times for 109 yards (3.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs in his time with the Ravens.  The signing of Marc Bulger in the off-season pretty much ended Smith’s time in Baltimore.

The Ravens have released 27-year old WR Demetrius Williams.  Williams played in 12 games (0 starts) for the Ravens last season and he caught 8 passes for 142 yards (17.8 avg) with 1 TD carry.  He finished his time with the Ravens having played in 44 games (4 starts) in which he caught 63 passes for 1,008 yards (16.0 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  The Ravens grew frustrated with Williams in his four years with the team so they decided to let him go.