billy bajema

Roster cuts made by Ravens, down to 53 players

With most of their projected starters not even suiting up for the game, the Ravens were beaten, 31-17, by the St. Louis Rams in their preseason finale last night. Here are five players who impressed and five who disappointed.

Backup tight end who has started in each of past two preseason games intent on surviving final cuts on Friday

Appearance of top two tight ends ends almost month-long absence

Appearance of top two tight ends on practice field ends almost month-long absence

It's unclear whether Pro Bowl right guard is still smarting from apparent leg injury suffered during Monday's session

Three weeks away from the first weekend of the NFL season, injured tight ends Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta are on the mend and optimistic that they will be ready for the Sept. 10 season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals.

John Harbaugh said potential candidate would have to be healthy and fit in team's salary cap

Baltimore Ravens tight end Ed Dickson only suffered a sprained right shoulder against the Atlanta Falcons and didn't incur any structural damage Thursday night as a magnetic resonance imaging exam confirmed the initial diagnosis, according to a source.

Dickson, the starting tight end who caught 54 balls for 528 yards and five touchdowns last season, sustained an apparent arm injury on the touchdown catch.

Even the special teams got into the disappointing act by allowing Dominique Franks to return a punt to the Ravens' 15-yard line.

Billy Bajema, 29, an eight-year veteran, started 25 games for the St. Louis Rams from 2009 to 2011, including 12 starts last season. After his three-year contract expired in St. Louis, he remained on the free-agent market until NFL training camps kicked off in late July. The Ravens were the first team to host Bajema for a tryout, and he's excited to be here.

Aaron Wilson delivers his impressions on the Ravens roster from training camp.

With the secondary covering the receivers, the rest of the defense turned up the heat on the quarterbacks. Inside linebackers Ray Lewis and rookie Nigel Carr, defensive tackle Haloti Ngata and outside linebacker Albert McClellan each got to the quarterbacks ¿ with Taylor getting tagged three times. McClellan and fellow outside linebacker Sergio Kindle also posted at least one quarterback hit each.

Jeff Zrebiec offers his take on the latest news and notes from Baltimore Ravens training camp.

So far, Paul Kruger hasn¿t done anything to disappoint observers. The outside linebacker dove and tipped a pass from quarterback Tyrod Taylor to rookie wide receiver Deonte Thompson. On the very next play, Kruger sacked Taylor. Kruger then sacked Flacco twice.

Williams continued to burnish his highlight film for the coaches. His touchdown catch in the red-zone drill involved a leaping grab in the end zone. During a third-down exercise, he hauled in two passes good for first downs, including a leaping back-shoulder catch over rookie cornerback Jordan Mabin.

Reserve tight end getting some of the reps that would have gone to Pitta, who is nursing broken right hand

Incumbent starting tight end misses teammate, but views extra work in camp as beneficial in his development

Second-year defensive end Pernell McPhee, who has been sidelined since organized team activities with a knee injury, returned to the practice field on Wednesday, his first full-participation practice of Ravens training camp.

Thin on tight end depth after Dennis Pitta broke a bone in his right hand in Monday's practice, the Ravens today signed veteran Billy Bajema, who started 11 games for the St. Louis Rams last year.