BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore Ravens open the 2023 NFL regular season against the Houston Texans on Sept. 10 at M&T Bank Stadium.
Who will be Lamar Jackson's primary backup? One of the biggest training camp battles wasn't much of a competition with Tyler Huntley outplaying Josh Johnson before tweaking a hamstring. But uncertainty remains because coaches remain complimentary of Johnson, and Baltimore can save $1.5 million by going with Johnson.
The Ravens have been known to make plenty of trades before the cut-down, and former third-round offensive lineman Ben Cleveland could be the top player on the move.
The roster will be cut to 53 players by 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Here is a projection for the Ravens:
QUARTERBACK (2): Lamar Jackson, Tyler Huntley
There's a question mark around the No. 2 quarterback job even though Huntley has clearly been better than Johnson. But the Ravens have been looking to upgrade the backup job all offseason and didn't rule out Johnson winning the competition after his strong showing in the second preseason game. Anthony Brown will serve as the No. 3 quarterback on the practice squad.
RUNNING BACK (4): J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards, Justice Hill, Keaton Mitchell
This will mark the first time that Baltimore has both Dobbins and Edwards available at the start of a season since 2020. Mitchell, an undrafted rookie out of East Carolina, has really impressed with his speed and shows a lot of potential for the future. Melvin Gordon III, the former two-time Pro Bowl back, will start the season on the practice squad and serve as experienced insurance for Dobbins and Edwards.
FULLBACK (1): Patrick Ricard
After spending a few days working with the offensive linemen in training camp, Ricard is back at fullback, where he has made the last four Pro Bowls. But in his first season under new offensive coordinator Todd Monken, Ricard likely won't come close to his participation level from last year, when he was on the field for a career-high 64% of the offensive snaps.
WIDE RECEIVER (6): Odell Beckham Jr., Rashod Bateman, Zay Flowers, Nelson Agholor, Devin Duvernay, Tylan Wallace
This is the deepest wide receiver group in Jackson's six seasons in Baltimore. His top four wide receivers are all first-round picks: Beckham, Flowers, Bateman and Agholor. It will be costly to keep Duvernay, who is making $4.3 million this season, as the No. 5 receiver and returner. Wallace held onto the final receiver spot with a strong preseason.
TIGHT END (3): Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, Charlie Kolar
This was the most drama-free position of the summer. Andrews is back as Jackson's go-to target, although he won't freelance as much in Baltimore's new offense. Likely needs to show more consistency after being held to one or no catches in eight games last year. Kolar, who was limited to two games as a rookie after having sports hernia surgery, bulked up this offseason by adding 10 pounds.
OFFENSIVE LINE (9): Ronnie Stanley, Tyler Linderbaum, Kevin Zeitler, Morgan Moses, Patrick Mekari, Daniel Faalele, Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu, John Simpson, Ben Cleveland
One of the bigger roster decisions is what the Ravens will do with Cleveland, a 2021 third-round pick who never figured into the left guard battle but has looked solid in five career starts. The final spot on the offensive line will be between Cleveland and Sam Mustipher, the top backup at center. Simpson beat out Aumavae-Laulu for the starting left guard spot, coach John Harbaugh announced after the preseason finale.
DEFENSIVE LINE (4): Michael Pierce, Justin Madubuike, Broderick Washington, Travis Jones
The Ravens won't go into the regular season with just four defensive linemen. Baltimore can cut Brent Urban and bring him back one day later, because as a vested veteran, he doesn't have to pass through waivers. That allows the Ravens to keep cornerback Damarion Williams (ankle) on the 53-man roster for a day and makes him eligible to return off injured reserve. Angelo Blackson can provide defensive lineman depth on the practice squad.
OUTSIDE LINEBACKER (4): Odafe Oweh, David Ojabo, Jadeveon Clowney, Tavius Robinson
The Ravens will keep former starter Tyus Bowser (knee) on the Non-Football Injury list, which means he'll miss at least the first four games of the regular season. With Bowser taking longer than expected to return, Baltimore added much-needed experience with Clowney.
INSIDE LINEBACKER (5): Roquan Smith, Patrick Queen, Trenton Simpson, Malik Harrison, Del'Shawn Phillips
Baltimore has plenty of depth at this position, which makes it a tough call for the fifth and final spot. But Phillips has had a strong training camp and provides more value on defense than Kristian Welch and Josh Ross.
CORNERBACKS (8): Marlon Humphrey, Rock Ya-Sin, Brandon Stephens, Ronald Darby, Jalyn Armour-Davis, Kyu Kelly, Kevon Seymour, Damarion Williams
Injuries have taken a toll on this position this summer, but only Humphrey (foot) and Williams (ankle) are in jeopardy of not being available for the start of the regular season. Williams will go on injured reserve after being on the 53-man roster for a day. Seymour gets the nod over Arthur Maulet for the final cornerback spot, although the Ravens could try to find a way to keep both.
SAFETIES (4): Marcus Williams, Kyle Hamilton, Geno Stone, Ar'Darius Washington
Stone missed time in training camp with an ankle injury, but he is one of the core special teams players. Washington beats out veterans in DeAndre Houston-Carson and Daryl Worley because of his versatility to line up as a slot cornerback. Both Houston-Carson and Worley could end up on the practice squad.
SPECIALISTS (3): Justin Tucker, Jordan Stout, Tyler Ott
The Ravens were extremely happy Ott was available at long-snapper after Nick Moore tore an Achilles before training camp. Baltimore is even happier that it has Tucker, the most accurate kicker in NFL history, and Stout, a second-year punter who has been booming the ball this summer.