With the regular season fast approaching, NFL teams must trim their rosters to get down to the 53-man requirement. For the Baltimore Ravens, they began their process on Monday, August 26 with the surprise release of veteran WR Russell Gage.
NFL insider Ian Rapaport posted on his X account, “The #Ravens have released veteran WR Russell Gage, source said. He was originally signed in early August.”
When the Ravens signed Gage earlier in the month, the thinking was his experience in the NFL would be valuable to a WR corps that is sorely lacking in that department.
The Ravens WR group is currently headlined by WRs Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman, who have a combined 50 games played and 170 catches between the two of them. WR Nelson Agholor is the only true veteran on the team with 375 career catches, and he is the WR 3 of the group.
The rest of the corps is made up of rookies (Devontez Walker), returners (Tylan Wallace and Deonte Harty) and a QB making a transition to WR in Malik Cunningham.
General manger Eric DeCosta could still be scouring the landscape as he looks to bolster the group with more established veteran players for QB Lamar Jackson to throw too.
Gage did not play in 2023, so Baltimore may look to add a veteran with less rust, but for a team with Super Bowl dreams, the current WR group may not be enough to get the job done.
WR Russell Gage Can Provide Solid Receiver Depth
For Gage, it is unfortunate bump in his journey, but he should have a chance to catch on with a different team. Drafted in the sixth round of the 2018 draft by the Atlanta Falcons, Gage provided solid numbers in Atlanta as a depth WR.
Gage had a three-year stretch for Atlanta where he provided solid numbers in their offense. In his third season he had 72 catches for 786 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns.
For reference, Rashod Bateman’s career highs are 46 catches for 515 receiving yards. Flowers as a rookie had 77 catches for 858 yards but should improve upon those numbers in his second season.
In four seasons with Atlanta, Gage had 193 catches for 2,065 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns (his first season he only had 6 catches for 63 yards).
The veteran was able to parlay that success into a 3-year, $30 million contract with the division rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In his first season with Tampa Bay, Gage had 51 catches for 426 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns in a deep group with Chris Godwin, Mike Evans and Julio Jones.
2023 brought bad news to Gage as he suffered a season ending injury in a joint practice with the New York Jets during the preseason. Tampa Bay released the receiver earlier this year as a cap saving move.
If Gage can land in the correct situation, and at only age 28, he could still provide serviceable snaps a WR 3 or 4.
Ravens Release Depth TE and Another WR From Corps
Gage was not the only Ravens’ player released on Monday, or even the only WR. The Ravens also parted ways with TE Mike Rigerman and WR Sean Ryan.
The Athletics’ Jeff Zrebiec broke the news on Monday, August 26 when he posted, “TE Mike Rigerman and WR Sean Ryan were part of the first wave of Ravens roster cuts.”
The Ravens are particularly deep at the TE position with Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar. The release of Rigerman is not a surprise as it was unlikely Baltimore would carry four tight ends into the regular season.
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