Rookie minicamp is underway for the Ravens this week. It's a subtle reminder that the NFL season is really not that far away.
Already the Ravens have cut five hopeful rookie free agents.
Perhaps the most well known of the first group of casualties is Murphy Holloway, the former college basketball star…
Holloway is a 23-year-old, 6-7, 240-pound forward from Ole Miss. He was trying to transition to a tight end position in the NFL. Not to say that it still can't happen…but it won't happen in Baltimore.
Holloway signed with Baltimore as an undrafted free agent and just last week seemed to be very confident about his chances of sticking with the team. The former Ole Miss forward had not played football in seven years, but said he felt like Baltimore had the best plan to convert him into a tight end.
“It’s a tough adjustment,” Ravens head coach John Harbaugh told the Baltimore Sun. “The thing about Murphy is he’s got some skills. He can catch, he can run. He’s got nice ball skills. He showed that. He has no problem snatching the ball. The rest of it — just everything from his stance to understanding the plays and all that, the way you move in football — is a little different than in basketball.”
The Rebels’ alltime leading rebounder and a career 1,000 point scorer, Holloway does have the opportunity to work out for NBA teams, but his chances of being selected in the NBA Draft are slim.* That was part of the reason for Holloway to try the NFL (with two young children, he is hoping to avoid Europe’s pro basketball leagues). That may turn out to be his most likely, or at least lucrative, option.
[* DraftExpress.com, probably the best site out there for NBA Draft perspective, does not have Holloway among its top 100 prospects for this year’s two-round draft.]
Among the other players the Ravens cut were former Ole Miss QB Nathan Stanley. Stanley had transferred to Southeast Louisiana from Ole Miss.
The Ravens also cut defensive tackle Swanson Miller, who the team first signed in early February. Miller had previously been with the New Orleans Saints, but has yet to see any game action.
Also waived were running back Ray Holley (Louisiana Tech) and cornerback Jose Cheeseborough (Florida International).
It's always tough to be cut, let alone to have to report the cuts. Holloway later tweeted about the crossroads in his life Monday morning, saying he had some "life changing decisions" to make in the coming days. He's decided he'll go back to trying basketball…though right now that looks like it will mean relocating his family to Europe.
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