In Baltimore, you could practically feel the locker room holding its breath hours before the 4 p.m. ET deadline. While everyone expected John Harbaugh to feel the pressure, the real weight fell on Chuck Pagano. The Ravens’ defensive assistant didn’t hold back when describing just how brutal it is to tell talented players they won’t make the team. He gave fans a rare glimpse into the human side of roster decisions.

Ravens secondary coach let us in on how these cuts are hard on the coaches as they are on the players. “Thirty-seventh year in coaching — 19th in the National Football League — this is as good a group as I’ve been around in those 19 years in the National Football League. They don’t miss on the football character of the guys that come in here, top to bottom. Yes, it is a tough day. There’s going to be some tough conversations to be had. We’re going to have to say goodbye to a lot of really good football players,” he said on August 26.

What makes it worse is that the Ravens have the most stacked roster in the league this season. Let’s talk about Chuck Pagano. He was back in Baltimore, guiding the secondary like only a former Ravens assistant and longtime NFL head coach can. With his perspective, you see how championship windows hinge on the kind of depth battles that feel cruel in August but pay off in January. The takeaway from his words? This roster is loaded with the kind of competitors you hate to cut, which makes every goodbye hit even harder.

Pagano’s shoutout to the secondary speaks volumes about where Baltimore thinks it’ll win games. He called it the best group he’s worked with in 19 NFL seasons. And that’s saying something with all the veterans and rising talent in that room. He didn’t just praise skills either, hammering home versatility and pure “football character.”

The part that really hit hard? The human cost. Chuck Pagano wasn’t sugarcoating it. He was telling players straight how brutal it is. Yes, even for those who truly earned it. For fans, it explains why some guys who looked like locks just a month ago suddenly didn’t make it past Tuesday. “We always tell them when they come in that the reality is we got 90 here, (but) only 53 make it,” he said. But those 53? They look solid.

John Harbaugh waives 25 players

By the cutdown deadline, Baltimore ran the full roster gauntlet. 25 players waived, six vested vets shown the door, and a few injury-list moves that hint at the team’s early-season plans. The vets hitting the street? RB Myles Gaskin, DB Thomas Graham Jr., RB D’Ernest Johnson, WR Keith Kirkwood, WR Anthony Miller, and DL Brent Urban. On the injury front, Adisa Isaac went to IR (designated to return), Dayton Wade to IR, and rookies Emery Jones Jr. and Ar’Darius Washington landed on Reserve/Non-Football Injury.

At QB, the first 53 made one thing clear: it’s Lamar Jackson leading the charge with Cooper Rush holding down the backup spot. Rush did just enough in August to earn the No. 2 job (273 preseason yards, 1 TD, 3 INT), while Jackson comes off another MVP-caliber 2024. It’s exactly the balance OC Tee Martin wanted.

Pagano’s influence was clear in the secondary. Three undrafted rookies: S Reuben Lowery III, ILB Jay Higgins IV, and CB Keyon Martin. They made the 53-man roster, while former third-rounder Jalyn Armour-Davis ended up as a surprise cut. Lowery’s knack for shifting positions and Martin’s nickel skills hit right in line with what coaches have been preaching all summer.

Step back and it’s easy to see why Baltimore can be so ruthless. This offseason, they added veteran firepower. WR DeAndre Hopkins and CB Chidobe Awuzie. The endgame is clear. When your QB threw 41 TDs and your RB racked up 1,900+ yards last year? You don’t cut to hit a number, you cut to meet a standard.