Owings Mills, MD (My Sportsbook) - Return specialist Yamon Figurs and cornerback Evan Oglesby were among the veteran players released by the
Baltimore Ravens on Saturday, as the team reduced its roster to 53 players in accordance with NFL rules.
Figurs, a third-round draft choice out of Kansas State, returned 39 punts and 75 kickoffs for Baltimore over his first two seasons in the league, scoring a touchdown via both avenues during his rookie season of 2007. But Figurs was made expendable when the team signed ex-Titan and Raider Chris Carr as a free agent this past offseason, and was unable to crack the top of the wide receiver rotation either.
Oglesby played in nine games last season, his second tour of duty with the team after participating in 19 contests during his initial stint (2005-06). But the North Alabama product, who was mainly used on special teams, could not prove his usefulness in a revamped secondary that welcomed free agent Domonique Foxworth and third-round draft choice Lardarius Webb to the fold during the offseason.
Also released were defensive tackle Nader Abdallah, fullback Jason Cook, tight end Davon Drew, wide receiver Jayson Foster, linebacker Tony Fein, center Robby Felix, kicker Graham Gano, safety K.J. Gerard, wide receiver Justin Harper, defensive tackle Will Johnson, guard Bryan Mattison, running back Cedric Peerman, tackle Joe Reitz, wide receiver Eron Riley, tackle Stefan Rodgers, tight end Isaac Smolko, guard Tre Stallings, linebacker William VanDeSteeg and wide receiver Ernie Wheelwright
Notables among that group include 2009 draft choices Drew (5th round, East Carolina) and Peerman (6th Round, Virginia); Foster, the 2007 Walter Payton Award winner as a quarterback at Georgia Southern; Gano, who was beaten out by holdover Steve Hauschka for kicking duties, and Mattison, the son of Ravens defensive coordinator Greg Mattison.
In other moves, the Ravens placed fifth-round rookie linebacker Jason Phillips (knee) on season-ending injured reserve, and traded defensive back Derrick Martin to Green Bay in exchange for offensive lineman Tony Moll.
Martin played in 28 games with Baltimore from 2006-08, including a trio of starts during the 2007 campaign.
Moll, the Packers fifth-round choice in the 2006 draft, made 18 starts with Green Bay over his first three seasons in the league.
The Ravens will begin their regular season on Sept. 13, when they welcome the Kansas City Chiefs to M&T Bank Stadium.
