Ravens promote Nick Boyle to 53-man roster; make a handful of other roster moves

Victory Monday was a little bittersweet for the Baltimore Ravens. While they officially welcomed veteran tight end, Nick Boyle, back to the active 53-man roster, they had to place starting safety DeShon Elliott on season-ending injured reserve. Elliott suffered a torn pectoral and bicep muscle in the team’s overtime win over the Minnesota Vikings.

Boyle is arguably the best blocking tight end in the entire league and essentially serves as an extra offensive lineman when he’s on the field. He is also an eligible and underrated receiver. The seven-year veteran missed the Ravens’ first eight games of the regular season and all of the preseason after he had a minor procedure done on his knee. His knee was surgically repaired after he tore his ACL and suffered additional damage last November.

He returned to practice three weeks ago and will be eligible to play against the Dolphins when the Ravens hit the road for a primetime matchup in Thursday Night Football. If he does indeed make his 2021 debut, it will mark his first time being on the field in live-action in almost a full calendar year since he went down on Nov. 15, 2020.

In other roster-related news, the Ravens designated rookie offensive lineman Ben Cleveland to return from injured reserve and re-signed veteran safety Jordan Richards to the practice squad. The 2021 third-round pick was rotating at the starting left guard spot with Ben Powers before he went down with a minor knee injury in Week 5. Richards has been on and off the Ravens practice squad and active roster for the past two and a half years and provides a strong presence on special teams.