John Harbaugh has some good news for Ravens fans. In an urge to boost their talented secondary, the team brought in Jaire Alexander. Signing with the Ravens, the former Green Bay Packers first-round pick reunited with Lamar Jackson. The two were teammates at Louisville from 2015 to 2017 and have been close friends since. His knee issues have kept him from showing his full potential on the field; however, it seems they’ll finally get the chance to get back in the action together again.

Amid the team’s recent roster cuts, the coach revealed that the cornerback will return to practice soon. Alexander has already missed much of the valuable practice time with the Ravens. “He’s been trying to break out of prison. He’s been locked away in there. It’s a nice place. It’s beautiful, but in his mind, it’s a prison nonetheless. And they’re doing they’re doing what they need to do to get them ready for that,” he told the reporters.

When asked about the team’s strategy with him, Harbaugh explained that Alexander is working hard on his recovery process. “He wants to practice. So, when he gets out there, I’m sure, he’ll be going at it, but it’ll be our job, too, to monitor that as well to make sure that we do it right. It’s a long season and we want to want to bring him back the right way,” he said.

Harbaugh and the Ravens have high hopes for the player and might be aiming to have him back on the field by September 1, when practice begins for the upcoming game. Now, that leaves the former Louisville standout roughly a week and a half to make progress and be ready for the game.

This comes after his long struggle with injuries during his time in Green Bay. After signing an $84 million contract extension that made him the highest-paid cornerback, he appeared in just 34 games over his final four seasons there, missing eight games before ultimately being cut. That explains why his injuries remain the biggest concern for the Ravens. However, when healthy, he can be a major asset to Harbaugh’s squad.

Not only could his performance help him secure better offers next year, but it might also give the Ravens a compensatory pick if he departs. In June, he signed a one-year, $4 million deal with the team (as per ESPN). For now, Harbaugh seems thrilled at the prospect of getting Alexander back on the field, but everything depends on how well he performs. With Alexander in the mix, Baltimore is also on the move.

The Ravens’ big goodbye to three players on the roster cuts

Ahead of the deadline, several teams have gotten an early jump on roster cuts to trim down to a 53-man roster, and the Baltimore Ravens are no exception. They started with offensive tackle Reid Holskey. The undrafted free agent out of Miami (Ohio) started 53 of 55 games in college, mostly at right tackle, and earned Miami’s 2024 Offensive Player of the Year honors. However, with players battling for two spots, Holskey is talented but not someone the Ravens can keep.

The second player who got cut is cornerback M.J. Devonshire. He joined the team earlier this month after rookie corner Bilhal Kone suffered a season-ending injury in the preseason opener. While Devonshire is also talented, his Ravens stint might have been a temporary depth move. Drafted by the Las Vegas Raiders last year, Devonshire spent much of his rookie season on the practice team.

The third player to get cut from John Harbaugh’s roster is tight end Baylor Cupp. He signed with Baltimore this offseason. The tight end was seemingly more of a depth move than a starter, as John Alfano reported. Now, this leaves Baltimore with 86 players, which means the team will need 33 more cuts to reach the 53-man limit. Apart from Alexander, Mark Andrews, Patrick Ricard, and Chidobe Awuzie, are also expected to return for practice. This will be an interesting year.