Baltimore Ravens final cuts: Biggest roster surprises on cutdown day

The Baltimore Ravens on Tuesday narrowed their roster down to 53 players for the regular season.

For a team returning much of the core of a 13-4 team that went to the AFC Championship last year, there simply wasn’t much wiggle room to give undrafted players and training camp invites a roster spot.

That is reflected in some of the decisions of who made the roster and who didn't.

Here's a look at the roster:

And here's who didn't make it.

Here are some of the biggest surprises.

A sixth-round rookie QB misses the roster cut

The Ravens are entering the season with just two quarterbacks: Lamar Jackson and Josh Johnson.

The roster does not include Devin Leary, who was drafted in the sixth-round this year.

Leary, who played college ball at North Carolina State and Kentucky, has a big arm but struggled with accuracy and turnovers. He had strong moments in training camp and preseason, but apparently not enough to make the 53-man roster.

If Leary clears waivers, he could be a candidate for the practice squad.

In the meantime, it's worth wondering if the Ravens will target quarterbacks who were waived today like Bailey Zappe or Mike White, both of whom could be boosts to the backup quarterback depth.

The Ravens may also be confident enough in Johnson that they save the roster room for other positions.

'Breakout' undrafted wide receiver Dayton Wade gets waived

Wade generated a lot of buzz through OTAs, training camp, and preseason. Fullback Patrick Ricard named him as a breakout candidate . Wade made some big plays in practice and led the Ravens in receiving in two of three preseason games, including grabbing a 56-yard touchdown off of a double move in the second game.

News broke during the day that veteran receivers Russell Gage and Anthony Miller did not make the roster, giving Wade a glimmer of hope of making the team.

But the Ravens simply don't have a lot of room in receiver. Though few in the NFL world would peg the Ravens as being loaded at receiver, they have a veteran core of Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, and Nelson Agholor. They drafted Devontez Walker in the fourth round, and they like Deonte Harty and Tylan Wallace as well.

In the end, the team might not view Wade's ceiling as high enough to be worth a roster spot.

Still, Wade was waived, so if he doesn't get picked up by another team, he could be a practice squad candidate.

A local kid makes the roster

One feel-good rostered player is safety Beau Brade.

Brade grew up in Clarksville, Maryland, just outside of Baltimore, and played at University of Maryland.

He didn't get drafted, but signed with the Ravens as an undrafted free agent.

Brade began training camp slowly, but came on during preseason, logging 19 tackles, including two for losses.

The Ravens are loaded at defensive back, meaning Brade is unlikely to see the field much, if at all. But he'll also have a chance to learn under players like Kyle Hamilton and Eddie Jackson. Getting that experience on his hometown team is one of the more fun storylines of this Ravens season.