Ravens cut Shareece Wright and Kendrick Lewis

The Ravens announced they are parting ways with cornerback Shareece Wright and safety Kendrick Lewis on Tuesday, per the team’s official Twitter account.

The Baltimore Sun’s Jeff Zrebiec reported the moves will free up almost $5 million in cap space for GM Ozzie Newsome to work with in free agency.

Wright was set to count for $5.3 million against the cap, but the team will save $2.7 million after releasing him. In two seasons with the team, Wright played in 23 games, recording 78 solo tackles and 11 passes defensed. The move was an expected one as the Ravens look to free up some cap room heading into free agency.

Wright didn't play well at all last year and eventually lost his starting job to rookie Tavon Young, who helped solidify himself as a cornerstone for the future. Factor in a deep cornerback draft class along with Wright’s performance and Young’s brilliant rookie year the move becomes more and more comprehensible. Going forward the Ravens will need to look at adding depth at the position, as the team will be thin after this cut. Some names to watch as the team looks to bolster the roster in free agency include Dre Kirkpatrick and Logan Ryan.

The release of Lewis will eliminate the near $2.3 million cap hit the safety was previously set to incur. The Ravens signed Lewis to a three year $5.4 million deal before the start of the 2015 season with hopes he would become the solution to the Ravens hole at safety in the post-Ed Reed era. This plan never came to fruition as Lewis did not see the field much, and when he did play, he did not play well. As a result, the Ravens brought in Eric Weddle and moved Lardarius Webb to safety, all but eliminating Lewis from the lineup. Considering how well the safety duo of Weddle and Webb played in 2016, the release of Lewis was a near guarantee.

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