No surgery date has been announced for Cody who was drafted to operate as the
Ravens’ situational pass rusher and has been replaced by four-time Pro Bowl
linebacker Peter Boulware.
Meanwhile, the Ravens signed Richey one day after cutting struggling kickers
Rhys Lloyd and Owen Pochman after determining they weren’t the answer for
special teams coordinator Gary Zauner.
Richey had been with Baltimore each of the past two seasons, but wasn’t retained
as an unrestricted free agent after last season. He handled 53 kickoffs last
season with seven touchbacks in a dozen games.
“Gary Zauner called me early in the offseason and told me what the plan would
be: that other guys would be given every opportunity to win this job and if
things didn’t work out they would call me,” said Richey, who's back in his old
spot in the locker room next to kicker Matt Stover and punter Dave Zastudil. “I
kept in shape and worked out on my own. Being a kicker is a lonely world.
“If you don’t have a job lined up, you don’t know if you’re working out for
nothing. I had a productive offseason.”
The Ravens moved running back Musa Smith, who broke his leg against the Dallas Cowboys last season, from the active physically unable to perform list to the
reserve physically unable to perform list.
That means that Smith can’t be activated during the first six weeks of the
season. If he’s not activated during the three weeks after that period, he would
then be placed on injured reserve.
The Ravens released two injured undrafted rookie free agents: wide receiver Ron
Bellamy (Michigan) and linebacker Tyson Smith (Iowa State).
J. LEWIS UPDATE: Running back Jamal Lewis remains a question mark for Thursday’s
game against the Washington Redskins, although he practiced for the second
consecutive day.
“He is a little sore, but that is to be expected,” Ravens coach Brian Billick
said.
Elaborating on Lewis’ bone spur in his right foot, Billick emphasized that it’s
not related to the surgery on his right ankle. He said that it’s a preexisting
injury.
“It is more of a concern because it’s something he has had for a while,” said
Billick, who hopes to have Lewis carry the football four of five times Thursday.
‘It’s unrelated to the injury that forced him out last year and the surgery he
had. One doesn’t connect with the other.”
Billick denied that Lewis is missing preseason games because he’s protesting the
possibility that the team will designate him as the franchise player once his
contract expires after this season.
“Let’s make sure we are very clear-cut and that it is a physical issue,” Billick
said. “The trumped up, ‘He is doing this for some kind of contract reason,’
which was totally fabricated, didn’t exist.”
MULITALO IS BACK: Offensive guard Edwin Mulitalo is dealing with grieving his
father, who died last week from a long illness, along with the rust of missing
the past two games. He’s expected to play a quarter and perhaps longer against
the Redskins.
“The death of my father obviously is important, but that’s part of life,”
Mulitalo said. “Everyone has to go through it. It’s great to be back. The team
has shown tremendous support and I appreciate that.”
J.O. FALLOUT: One day after All-Pro offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden criticized
the team for cutting his younger brother, Marques Ogden, and vowed that he’ll be
professional no matter how he feels about people in the organization, Billick
said he understood the sentiment.
“It’s his brother,” Billick said. “You are talking about a relative. J.O. cares
and we all care about Marques. It would have been great to have Marques here,
but it just wasn’t going to work out.
“J.O. understands that, but they are a very close-knit family. We understand the
frustration.”
TRAINING ROOM: Fullback Alan Ricard (calf) practiced, but will likely be a
game-time decision along with nickel backs Dale Carter (back spasms) and Deion Sanders (hamstring). Sanders and cornerback Samari Rolle (knee) didn’t practice
and won’t play Thursday. Tight end Todd Heap (shoulder) is expected to make his
season debut along with Boulware.
In addition to being a long time contributor to RavensInsider, Aaron Wilson writes for the Carroll County Times in Westminster Maryland.
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