The Baltimore Ravens are shuffling the deck in their secondary, less than week after losing one of their key contributors.
Baltimore announced Monday that it has signed journeyman cornerback Brandon Boykin and Al-Hajj Shabazz and has released veteran defensive back Kyle Arrington.
After three serviceable seasons in Philadelphia, the Eagles traded Boykin to Pittsburgh in 2015 where he lasted just one season. Since then, Boykin bounced to Carolina for less than two months and then to Chicago where he was placed on injured reserve during training camp with a pectoral injury.
One year after joining Baltimore, Arrington missed all of 2016 with a concussion. The ninth-year cornerback played the bulk of his career in New England where he started 56 games over six seasons and won a Super Bowl. Cutting Arrington in the final year of his three-year deal saves the Ravens roughly $2.1 million in cap space, according to Spotrac.
Boykin and Shabazz will fill the void on Baltimore's roster left by Tavon Young, a promising nickel cornerback entering his second season in Charm City who suffered a torn ACL during organized team activities last week. However, given the Ravens' cornerback depth and the former's injury history, there's no guarantee either see significant playing time or is even on the roster by the end of the preseason.
Here are the other notable transactions from Monday:
- In light of Colin Kaepernick-to-Seattle rumors, the Seahawks have decided to go in a different direction. Seattle signed backup quarterback Austin Davis on Monday. In a concurrent move, the Seahawks released third-string quarterback Jake Heaps.
- The 49ers added pass rusher Elvis Dumervil to its promising front seven, agreeing to terms with the veteran on Monday.
- The Jets signed wide receiver Devin Street after placing recent signing Quinton Patton on injured reserve. Street last saw action in five games for the Colts in 2016.
- Rams cornerback Trumaine Johnson returned to OTAs on Monday. He said that he was dealing with a personal matter last week and it was not a contract-related absence, according to the team. Johnson will play on the franchise tag in 2017.
