Raven Country

Reason For Ravens Roster Delay Revealed

The Baltimore Ravens were one of the last teams to announce their 53-man roster.

Jon Alfano

Aug 24, 2024; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; General view of a Baltimore Ravens helmet prior to the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 24, 2024; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; General view of a Baltimore Ravens helmet prior to the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports / Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
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Much to the agony of fans and media members everywhere, the Baltimore Ravens were one of the very last teams to announce their moves to reach the 53-man roster limit on Tuesday. It took until 8:22 p.m. ET, almost four and a half hours after the 4 p.m. deadline, for Baltimore to finally announce its moves publicly.

As it turns out, there was a reason for that delay. According to Pro Football Talk, an issue with the waiver wire is to blame for the Ravens taking so long to announce their moves. The same issue also impacted the New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"As one source explained it to PFT, there’s an apparent issue with the waiver wire, the league’s daily document listing all moves," PFT's Mike Florio writes. "Although the transactions appear in the league’s internal database, the teams haven’t announced the moves.

"There’s no requirement to announce then, just to communicate them to the league. Some teams (specifically, three) see no benefit in announcing their moves to the world, especially before 4:00 p.m. ET on cut-down day."

That seems like a good reason for the delay, but is it the only one? As Kevin Oestreicher of Ravens Wire points out, Baltimore waited almost as long to announce its moves last year, doing so at 7:48 p.m. ET.

That's not to say that waiver wire had nothing to do with the delay, but this could be a classic case of the Ravens keeping their cards close to their chest. After all, this is the same team that has decided on its three new starting offensive lineman, but won't announce anything until the season opener on Sept. 5.

"I'm not going to make any announcements on any starting announcements going into the Chiefs game," head coach John Harbaugh said Monday. "What would be the point? We'll just go play the game."

Clearly running a tight ship works for the Ravens, even if it drives some onlookers up a wall sometimes.

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Jon Alfano

JON ALFANO

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