On Thursday, the Baltimore Ravens announced moves at the practice squad level. The Ravens re-signed offensive lineman, Marcus Applefield to the practice squad, and released wide receiver, Sean Modster from it.

Marcus Applefield spent his collegiate career at Virginia. The former Cavalier went undrafted in the 2019 NFL Draft but was signed by the Baltimore Ravens in free agency. Applefield spent the entire 2019 offseason with the Ravens but did not make the initial 53-man roster. Despite not keeping him on the 53-man roster, the Ravens were impressed with Applefield and signed him to the practice squad. Applefield was released from the practice squad in early September to make room for defensive tackle, Trevon Coley. Applefield remained a free agent until he signed with the Ravens practice squad again.

To make room for Applefield, the Ravens released wide receiver, Sean Modster. Like Applefield, Modster was a member of the 2019 draft class that remained undrafted. Many fans and analysts were impressed by Modster, but the young receiver simply did not do enough to stick out from the crowd and earn himself a roster spot this past preseason. Baltimore waived Modster during the initial round of cuts at the end of the preseason but signed him to the practice squad. Baltimore parted ways with Modster in early September but re-signed him to the practice squad in October.

This practice squad shakeup signals that the Ravens are more concerned with offensive line depth than with wide receiver depth. Left tackle Ronnie Stanley got a bit banged up in Baltimore’s game against the New England Patriots but appears to be fine. The style of offense the Ravens run is very physical, and it is possible that an offensive lineman gets hurt. Baltimore is extremely aggressive on the ground this year, a scheme that calls for more aggressive line play. Offensive linemen take more hits, and as a result, the risk of injury is greater.

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