john simon

Each year the NFL becomes even more average and that forces the coaching gap between Bill Belichick and the other coaches to become greater.

The cat-and-mouse game involving Alabama wide receiver Calvin Ridley will make the team's first round interesting.

Las Vegas sees visiting Indianapolis as nearly a two-touchdown underdog.

The Ravens are considering their options at center and Nick Mangold was added to that list following his release over the weekend.

A list of former Ravens who are now in the playoffs with other teams.

At some point soon, the Ravens, who are enjoying good health, may have to make some really tough roster decisions.

Baltimore's draft classes from 2008-2014 didn't yield the type of playmakers who would have kept the team as a contender.

To make up ground in the AFC North as well as the conference, the Ravens need to have a quality draft because they might not have enough salary cap room to bring in high-profile free agents. The team's draft record has been disappointing since the late 2000s when the Ravens selected players who made an immediate impact, like guards Ben Grubbs and Marshal Yanda in 2007 and quarterback Joe Flacco and running back Ray Rice in 2008.

Ravens bring back several players waived yesterday and also add colorful cornerback Charles James from Houston Texans.

As they prepare for this year's draft, which gets underway with Thursday's first round, the Ravens seemingly have more needs on offense than defense. They want another running back and a tight end and they are thin on outside targets for quarterback Joe Flacco. If there was a draft where the Ravens would target offense, this would seemingly be it.

The Ravens were awarded tight end Ryan Taylor off waivers from the Green Bay Packers and cut tight end Phillip Supernaw from their roster to make room.

The Houston Texans have signed outside linebacker John Simon to their active roster off of the Ravens' practice squad, according to a league source.

Ravens players Torrey Smith and John Simon will be tracking what happens between Maryland and Ohio State on Saturday in College Park.

Thompson is being paid $17,000 per week for a seasonal rate of $289,000, well above the usual rate of $6,300 per week and $107,100 for the year,

Baltimore Sun columnist Mike Preston answers readers' questions about the Ravens' loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1 and more.

That includes a $255,000 upgraded salary for inside linebacker Josh Bynes.

Even after creating $3 million in salary-cap space by converting $4 million of Webb's $7.5 million base salary into a signing bonus, the Ravens are just $3.321 million under the NFL salary-cap limit of $133 million.

The Baltimore Ravens' 2013 draft class doesn't look great now, but four members of that group will start Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals and the class has plenty of time to change the narrative.

The Ravens have signed former New Orleans Saints offensive lineman Marcel Jones to their practice squad.

With nine players on their practice squad, the Ravens are one shy of the 10-player limit under expanded practice squad rules jointly approved this summer by the NFL and the NFL Players Association.

The Ravens pared their roster down to the NFL's required 53-player limit Saturday, choosing to keep two quarterbacks and seven wide receivers and leaving themselves thin at cornerback and along the offensive and defensive lines.

The Ravens have cut veteran offensive guard A.Q. Shipley and second-year offensive guard Ryan Jensen

The Ravens and San Francisco 49ers took the field in helmets and shorts at 10:30 a.m. and practiced for about two and a half hours under sunny skies at the Under Armour Performance Center.

The Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers came out under clear, sticky skies at noon for a full-pads practice at the Under Armour Performance Center. The teams came in around 2:30 p.m.

The Ravens have Pro Bowl nose tackle Haloti Ngata lined up as the first-team left defensive tackle at Arthur Jones' vacated spot.

During his rookie season last year, one of the toughest adjustments for Ravens outside linebacker John Simon was learning the nuances of pass coverage.

The Ravens 2012 draft class made an immediate impact but struggled in year two. The Ravens need their 2013 draftees to flourish to get back to playoffs.

While the Ravens like to add a developmental pass rusher every year, believing you can never have enough guys who can get to the quarterback, they are pretty well stocked at outside linebacker.

Ravens running back Ray Rice has made major progress since the end of a season where he struggled with hip and quadriceps injuries and played at the heaviest weight of his career.

Dr. Gordon Feldman, a Johns Hopkins physicist that contributed to discovery of the antiproton, died in his sleep Wednesday at Symphony Manor Assisted Living from complications of Alzheimer's.

Between practices Wednesday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, The Baltimore Sun conducted the following interview with Ravens assistant general manager Eric DeCosta.

With the Ravens sending another large delegation of executives, coaches and scouts to Mobile, Ala., to attend a week of practice beginning Monday, their concentration on the Senior Bowl isn't an aberration.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh talks about the team's rookies getting better in 2014.

Finally, in Sunday's 34-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, the Ravens were able to use tight end Dennis Pitta as they originally envisioned before training camp kicked off.

The quiet season of Ravens running back Ray Rice reached another low point Sunday when he stood on the sideline for nearly the entire first half.

As the Ravens held practice on their indoor field today to begin preparations for Sunday's regular-season finale against the Cincinnati Bengals, three starters weren't present during the portion open to reporters. That includes defensive lineman Arthur Jones. He suffered a concussion Sunday during a 41-7 loss to the New England Patriots at M&T Bank Stadium.

Following a week where he created unwanted headlines when he called Detroit Lions star Calvin Johnson "pretty old," Elam intercepted a Matthew Stafford pass in the final minute to preserve the Ravens' 18-16 victory Monday night at Ford Field.

Ravens strong-side linebacker Elvis Dumervil is active for tonight's game against the Detroit Lions.

Dennis Pitta made his season debut in Sunday's 29-26 win over the Minnesota Vikings and the Ravens tight end played 36 of the team's 85 offensive snaps and had six catches for 48 yards and a touchdown.

Marlon Brown, an undrafted free agent, secured the football, then dragged his feet inbounds at the back of the end zone. After a brief review, officials confirmed it was a touchdown.

Ravens outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil has been ruled out of today's game against the Minnesota Vikings at M&T Bank Stadium after not practicing all week.

Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin drifted onto the field with his back turned to the play in the third quarter Thursday night, narrowly avoiding a collision with Ravens wide receiver Jacoby Jones during a long kickoff return.

Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley is out for tonight's game against the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium, the third consecutive game he's missed due to a calf injury.

No matter where New York Jets rookie quarterback Geno Smith tried to throw the football Sunday, he was rarely able to elude Ravens cornerback Corey Graham.

Ngata has no ligament damage in an injury similar to what sidelined him in Super Bowl XLVII, according to a source.