Baltimore Beatdown
Following a rash of injuries along the defensive line, the Ravens announced on Wednesday that they were adding two defensive tackles, Taven Bryan and Josh Tupou, to the practice squad.
The moves came on a day when Baltimore’s entire starting defensive line was absent from practice. Star defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike remains sidelined with a neck injury with no clear timetable for a return to the field. Defensive tackles Travis Jones (knee) and Broderick Washington (ankle) did not participate, either, though head coach John Harbaugh said he has “a good feeling” about their availability for Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Bryan is a former first-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars who has also had stints with the Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, and Cincinnati Bengals. The Jaguars selected the Florida defensive tackle with the No. 29 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, just three picks before the Ravens selected quarterback Lamar Jackson with the final pick of the round.
Tupou, on the other hand, has spent time in Baltimore before as a member of the team’s practice squad in 2024. Tupou originally went undrafted out of Colorado in 2017 before signing with the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent. He spent his rookie season bouncing back and forth from the Bengals’ practice squad to the active roster. Tupou most recently spent time on the Colts’ practice squad this year before being released at the start of September.
After being run over by the Detroit Lions for 224 rushing yards on Monday Night Football without Madubuike in the lineup, the Ravens will need all the extra help they can get to get back on track defensively with a 1-2 record and a trip to Arrowhead on the slate this Sunday.
Bryan and Tupou were both signed after successful workouts in Baltimore. Former Jaguars and Buccaneers DT Jeremiah Ledbetter was tried out for the Ravens, but he was not offered a deal. In a corresponding move, the team released wide receiver Anthony Miller and running back D’Ernest Johnson from the practice squad.
