Could Ravens Cut LB Malik Harrison?
The Baltimore Ravens are well aware of the ripple effects a single transaction can carry. This is the team that took a pricey chance on Odell Beckham Jr. and engaged in a game of financial chicken with its franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson, after all.
With the traditional transactional period's days winding down in the NFL offseason, Bleacher Report compiled a list of potential late cut candidates as players start to make their way back to their respective facilities. Baltimore's entry on the 32-team list was linebacker Malik Harrison, who's set to enter his fourth NFL season after arriving as a third-round out of Ohio State in 2020.
"The Ravens drafted Trenton Simpson, and linebackers Kristian Welch and Del'Shawn Phillips—like Harrison—are core special-teamers," list curator David Kenyon notes. "If the team needs a roster slot and is comfortable with Simpson's readiness, Harrison could be the odd 'backer out."
Harrison has been serviceable, earning 100 total tackles in 47 appearances (19 starts) He has also established himself as a threat in special teams coverage affairs. In Baltimore lore, he's perhaps best known for blocking a potential tying field goal in a win over Cleveland last October. It came a year after he suffered a non-life-threatening calf injury from a stray bullet that required placement on the non-football injury list before he was activated less than a month later.
Even the blurb explaining his inclusion acknowledges that "in all likelihood, he's safe" from departure. But the Ravens' returns and arrivals to their linebacker room could potentially render him expendable.
Set to enter his fourth year, Harrison would save the Ravens just over $1.1 million against the cap upon his supposed release. While that's likely not enough to justify anything drastic, it's certainly something worth keeping an eye on as voluntary workouts get underway in Owings Mills.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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