quinton pointer

Wide receivers Daniel Brown, who caught a touchdown and blocked a punt in Thursday night's preseason-closing loss to the Atlanta Falcons, and Tom Nelson, offensive tackle Blaine Clausell, inside linebacker Andrew Bose and cornerback Quinton Pointer were all let go. Their releases leave the Ravens with 70 players, meaning that they'll have to make 17 more moves by 4 p.m. on Saturday.

The Ravens' 20-19 loss to the Atlanta Falcons gave the coaching staff plenty to think about as it attempts to formulate the 53-man roster.

The Ravens, whose late rally from a 20-6 deficit fell short after a two-point conversion attempt failed with 45 seconds left, have to cut down their roster from 75 to 53 players by 4 p.m. Saturday.

The fourth preseason game in the NFL's bloated August schedule is reserved for reserves like them, with a few dozen players vying for a handful of spots on the back end of the Ravens roster entering a game that has meaning only to them.

What happened to all of the roster competitions? It¿s a fair question to ask as the Ravens prepare to trim 22 players from their roster to get down to 53 by Saturday.

As the Ravens get ready to face the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday night at Lincoln Financial Field in their second preseason contest, their cornerback situation is far less concerning than it was a year earlier. Even with Lardarius Webb again sidelined with an injury, the team has a healthy Jimmy Smith, along with a mix of battle-tested veterans and young unheralded corners who are finally getting an opportunity.

After Sunday's off day, the Ravens were in full pads for Monday's workout, which started at 10 a.m. and finished up at 12:45 p.m. It was one of the hottest days of camp and several Ravens struggled to deal with the heat. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh had the players take an extended water break a little more than halfway through practice.

A pair of quick three-and-outs meant the Ravens starting defense watched the final three quarters of Thursday's last-second 30-27 win over the New Orleans Saints as satisfied but interested spectators when their backups took over. They watched the reserves concede five scoring drives in seven tries, not counting the Saints' Hail Mary attempt at the final whistle, and saw a unit that lacked experience struggle to meet the Ravens' lofty standard.

¿Right now, he¿s playing at a good level,¿ defensive coordinator Dean Pees said.

It was a relatively sloppy practice, characterized by several offside penalties and a flurry of drops.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh isn't concerned about Matt Schaub's interceptions, but wants them from his secondary.

Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco had a strong start to Wednesday's training camp practice.

The Ravens emerging young defensive stars showed well on Sunday as many veterans sat out.

Baltimore Ravens injury updates on Elvis Dumervil, Breshad Perriman, Rashaan Melvin, and Tray Walker.

Ravens rookie wide receiver Breshad Perriman is as advertised so far.

After striking out in earlier pursuits for a veteran free agent corner, the Ravens finally got their man, agreeing to a three-year deal with former New England Patriot Kyle Arrington.

Veteran corner Kyle Arrington isn't officially available yet, but his release from the New England Patriots is imminent and the Ravens could have interest.

Until April 30, the first round of the 2015 NFL draft, The Baltimore Sun will examine the Ravens¿ depth at each position, the potential of them adding to that spot early in the draft and some of the players who they could target.

The Ravens signed quarterback Keith Wenning and eight other players to reserve-future contracts Monday.

Cornerbacks Anthony Gaitor, Quinton Pointer, LeQuan Lewis and Brandon Smith worked out for the Ravens at their training complex, according to sources, and Pointer was signed to the practice squad.

The Ravens placed rookie running back Lorenzo Taliaferro on injured reserve due to a sprained foot suffered against the Miami Dolphins, signing former New England Patriots defensive tackle Casey Walker to the active roster.