Ravens Waive Troy Smith, Shayne Graham and 13 Others
Earlier today the Baltimore Ravens released their official 53-man roster. Two of the bigger names not included on that list are quarterback Troy Smith and kicker Shayne Graham.
There had been rumours that the Ravens were comfortable carrying only two quarterbacks to start the season. Those rumours came to fruition when odd man out Troy Smith was waived. Ravens' management has confidence that starter Joe Flacco and back-up Marc Bulger will be sufficient to carry the team at the start of the season.
Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome said that the release of the former Heisman Trophy winner was strictly a numbers game. "The competition to make our team was very heated, and we decided to keep a position player rather than a third quarterback."
The Ravens have carried only two quarterbacks in the past. In 2006 Steve McNair was backed up by Kyle Boller.
The battle for the kicking position went down to the wire between Billy Cundiff and Shayne Graham. Cundiff had the edge during training camp, hitting his field goal attempts at 85.4% compared to Cundiff's 80.5%. The nod went to Cundiff in pre-season field goal attempts; he went three for three compared to Graham's 2 for 3. In the end, the Ravens went with the incumbent, Billy Cundiff, over Graham, the fourth most accurate kicker in NFL history.
Outside Linebacker Antwan Barnes Traded
Earlier in the day the Ravens opened a roster spot by trading outside linebacker Antwan Barnes to the Philadelphia Eagles for an undisclosed draft pick in the 2011 draft.
Other players waived today include TE Davon Drew, CB Travis Fisher, DB K.J. Gerard, WR Justin Harper, CB Chris Hawkins, DB Brad Jones, G Bryan Mattison, OLB Albert McClellan, T Joe Reitz, WR Eron Riley, RB Curtis Steele, T Devin Tyler, and WR Demetrius Williams.
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