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The Ravens continued their journey to whittle down the roster and get down from 90 players to 75. They moved 5 players onto injured reserve, including one big surprise:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ravens?src=hash">#Ravens</a> have placed S Matt Elam, LB Steven Means, CB Chris Greenwood, OL Darryl Baldwin, and TE Allen Reisner on injured reserve.</p>— Luke Jones (@BaltimoreLuke) <a href="https://twitter.com/BaltimoreLuke/status/638476560081813505">August 31, 2015</a></blockquote>
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Elam was expected since his injury, Greenwood, Baldwin, and Reisner would all have been cut and/or moved to the practice squad if not for their injuries. None of them made a strong claim to a roster spot for this season.
OLB/DE Steven Means, however, is a surprising move. Means was making a strong case to make the roster, as well as make it into the rotation at OLB behind Terrell Suggs, Elvis Dumervil, and Courtney Upshaw. Za'Darius Smith, his main competition at OLB has also played well, but most of us were expecting him on the roster following a strong showing through the first preseason game.
Means is dealing with a groin injury suffered in the first preseason game against the Saints. This is not the first time he has had groin issues, and he struggled with them in his 2nd preseason with Tampa Bay
Means will be an exclusive right free agent after the seasons, so if the Ravens want him they can hold on to him for a minimal cost. Barring a designation to return, which could also be a possibility for Elam, Dennis Pitta, and Brent Urban, we will have to wait until 2016 to see Means attack quarterbacks. Hopefully he will be worth the wait!