Childs Walker: 5 things we learned from the Ravens-Commanders game

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The Ravens obliterated the Washington Commanders, 41-3, to complete an undefeated preseason. Of more interest is their looming roster cut, from 90 players Friday to 53 by Sunday evening. Here are five things we learned from the final audition for players hoping to make the team.

There’s not a lot to sort out in the Ravens’ impending roster cutdown

We went into training camp knowing this was a largely set team, with only the three-way fight to replace center Tyler Linderbaum looming as unsettled business for the projected starting lineup.

Nothing we’ve seen over four weeks of practice and three preseason games has changed that big picture.

So what are we left to argue about with the trim coming Sunday? The last spots on the defensive line and defensive edge? The utility of keeping four running backs vs. three quarterbacks?

Coach Jesse Minter did his best Wednesday to play up the remaining stakes going into Friday night: “I see this as there being a bunch of spots that guys are fighting for. It is a great eval opportunity to not only figure out the latter part of the 53-man roster but also the practice squad.”

The Ravens gave us a few hints on which roster questions remain unanswered.

Neither John Jenkins nor Broderick Washington suited up for Friday’s game, indicating that both veteran defensive linemen have made the 53-man roster or had nothing left to prove either way. That meant lots of work for second-year defensive tackle Aeneas Peebles, who has been productive in the preseason and might benefit from continuing uncertainty around the speed of Nnamdi Madubuike’s recovery from neck surgery. If Madubuike is a candidate to start the season on the injured list, we’d have to think Peebles will stick around to play behind Travis Jones, Calais Campbell, Washington and Jenkins.

Third-string quarterback Joe Fagnano was effective again, adding to the sense that he might be snatched away if the Ravens waive him Sunday in hopes of sliding him to their practice squad.

“To his credit, yeah,” Minter said when asked if Fagnano has forced the Ravens to consider using a 53-man spot on him. “He’s put it on tape. … That’s definitely something we’re going to have to take a look at.”

They’d prefer not to use a roster spot on Fagnano, but if they feel compelled to keep him, who might lose out? Possibly a fourth running back.

Rasheen Ali and rookie Adam Randall played significant snaps Friday, with neither making a definitive statement that he has to be No. 3 behind Derrick Henry and Justice Hill. Randall delivered his most productive work of the preseason, averaging 5 yards per carry and, just as important, catching three passes for 45 yards. Afterward, Minter praised his “versatile skill set.”

Hill is essential enough on special teams that he probably has a leg up on contributing this season. Randall, the fifth-round pick famously made by owner Steve Bisciotti, had not stood out before the Commanders game, but his size and open-field speed make him tantalizing. Though history says the Ravens will keep both, a fourth back probably won’t do much to help their 2026 team.

The Tyler Loop discourse just won’t go away, and that’s the problem

In a vacuum, you can’t annihilate a kicker for missing a 58-yard field goal, especially not when he struck the ball well enough to make the kick from several yards farther back.

But Loop can’t exist in a vacuum. Not after he missed for the second and third times this preseason. Not after he missed twice in seven attempts during the Ravens’ joint practice against Washington. Not when the ghost of his season-ending miss against Pittsburgh hangs over everything he does.

Minter had expressed unreserved optimism about Loop before Friday night. His tone changed after the second-year kicker’s latest misses. Though he stopped short of saying the team will bring in another kicker, he acknowledged there are “a million scenarios” the Ravens could consider before their Sept. 13 season opener.

“You want to see makes in games,” he said before reiterating that Loop has had “a good camp overall.”

Contrast the uneasy vibes around Loop to the giddiness a year ago after he hit from 61 yards in the preseason finale against the Commanders. What a colossal difference 12 months make.

The Ravens are in an impossible spot now. Either they open the season with a kicker their fans have little reason to trust or they risk further undercutting Loop’s confidence by bringing in competition at the last possible moment.

When asked about that possibility, he said: “It doesn’t change anything for me. I’m confident in my ball striking.”

At the same time, Loop understands he’ll be judged on his failures in games more than his successes in practice. “I just did not strike the ball the way I have been striking it in practice,” he said.

The Ravens made their bed by not acting sooner, by betting that a full summer of positive reinforcement would put their kicker in the best position to succeed. It hasn’t worked, and they’re left with only unwanted choices.

Ethan Burke has made it difficult to take Adisa Isaac over him

One of the least expected roster battles of the summer has picked up steam over the last two weeks, with undrafted outside linebacker Burke making a loud case that he can help the Ravens more than Isaac, who’s trying to come back from elbow surgery, not to mention two lost seasons.

Burke didn’t flash as a pass rusher as he had six days earlier against the Minnesota Vikings, but he was solid setting the edge against Washington, adding to his all-around preseason portfolio.

Even if we concede that Burke has outperformed Isaac, that won’t be the only factor in the Ravens’ decision. Isaac was a third-round pick just two years ago, while Burke is an undrafted rookie. Though injuries have prevented Isaac from making his mark, he’s still the player more likely to be claimed by another team if the Ravens try to get him to their practice squad. If they keep Burke over him on their 53-man roster, it would be a clear sign they’ve decided Isaac is unlikely to be a meaningful part of their future. Conversely, they could hedge by keeping Isaac on the roster and betting Burke won’t be claimed. That way, they could continue evaluating both young edge rushers.

Isaac, who had a sack against Washington, said he “put a good foot forward” coming off his injury travails, though he added there’s “always more to do.”

Minter seemed to confirm how close the competition is when asked if Burke has forced the Ravens to make a difficult choice. “You could really throw that whole edge room in there,” he said.

The Ravens keep signaling that Jovaughn Gwyn is going to be their starting center

Despite Minter’s protestations that there’s a live battle between Gwyn and Ethan Pocic, the bottom line is we have yet to see Pocic work with the first team.

Could that change in the two weeks between now and the season opener in Indianapolis? Perhaps, but you’d think, if Pocic were in serious contention to play against the Colts, we would have seen Lamar Jackson take at least a few snaps from him in the team’s joint practice against the Commanders.

Instead, Gwyn has kept his grip on pole position since Danny Pinter went out with a season-ending knee injury. That doesn’t mean he’ll hold off the vastly more experienced Pocic all season, but for now the evidence couldn’t be clearer.

It’s an interesting gamble, probably driven by offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford’s belief in Gwyn, who spent three developmental seasons with him in Atlanta. Gwyn’s athletic upside is higher than the 31-year-old Pocic’s, but as we’ve covered, he has no track record as an NFL starter, while Pocic has started 97 games over nine seasons.

You can’t blame Minter for having faith in the opinion of a coach he’s trusting to fix his offensive line, and Gwyn didn’t do anything in his two series Friday to suggest he shouldn’t be the guy.

“I feel like I’ve done a pretty good job of showing I can be out there and do what needs to be done,” he said.

Just don’t be surprised if this situation remains fluid.

The Ravens have found needed depth at inside linebacker

Given his established value on special teams and his solid performance this summer, Jay Higgins IV has earned a spot on the team behind Roquan Smith, Trenton Simpson and Teddye Buchanan.

Though we don’t expect the Ravens to use more than four roster spots on the position, Dominic DeLuca has played well enough this preseason to make them think about it. At the very least, don’t be surprised if he’s one of the team’s early-season call-ups as Buchanan works back from knee surgery.

The 6-foot-1, 228-pound DeLuca went undrafted because of his unremarkable physical traits and uneven college performance. He didn’t even start his career at Penn State as a scholarship player.

What he has established is his eagerness to be a special teams stalwart, a mentality the Ravens always value when filling the last few spots on their roster. As Minter said, Friday night was as much about nailing down the practice squad as about battles for the main roster. It would be a shock if DeLuca isn’t on that supplemental unit come Monday.