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The Ravens released multiple people on Saturday, still working towards getting the roster down to 53 people. Of those people, one of them was running back Bobby Rainey. Why did Rainey get cut?
Bobby Rainey was, by far, the most impressive running back in the preseason. He racked up 89 yards and two touchdowns on 23 attempts. The two touchdowns came in the Ravens' last preseason game against the St. Louis Rams. Rainey dominated that game, and it looked as if he would definitely be making the final roster. His return skills were also amazing in the preseason. On kickoff returns, Rainey had a total of seven returns for 223 yards, with his longest being a 58-yarder.
RB Damien Berry was cut last Sunday. RB's Anthony Allen and Delone Carter were both cut on Friday. After these roster moves, it would seem that Rainey would most definitely be on the final 53-man roster, right?
Wrong.
On Saturday, the Ravens announced the release of 2-year RB Bobby Rainey, who spent most of last year on the practice squad. It is expected that he will be on the practice squad once again this season, but that has not yet been confirmed.
It seems a little...odd that the Ravens would release Rainey. This leaves the Ravens with two running backs on the active roster, Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce. It would make sense that the Ravens would have more than just these two running backs on the roster, but it may be that they feel confident in their full backs. If the Ravens are confident enough in their full backs to run the ball, block, and sometimes receive the ball; it may have been unnecessary to keep three or more running backs.
Pro-Bowl FB Vonta Leach, rookie FB Kyle Juszczyk, Pro-Bowl RB Ray Rice, and two-year RB Bernard Pierce are the only real rushers left on the roster. Will this be enough to help the Ravens running game this upcoming season? Only time will tell.
We here at Baltimore Beatdown want to hear from you guys, the readers, and see what you think about Rainey's release. Was it a good move? What was the reason for it? The floor is all yours, Baltimore.