The Baltimore Ravens have signed former Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker Quincy Roche after suffering another injury on their defense, the team announced on Tuesday.
The Ravens placed linebacker Malik Hamm on their injured reserve list and signed Roche to replace him on their 90-man roster.
Hamm joined the Ravens as an undrafted free agent out of Lafayette in 2023, and made the team’s initial 53-man roster, but ended up spending almost his entire rookie season on the injured reserve list and now seems poised to miss even more time, and could be out the entire 2024 season with a knee injury. Hamm had been in the mix for a reserve role behind projected starters Odafe Oweh and Kyle Van Noy.
In addition to Hamm, the Ravens have been practicing without rookie Adisa Isaac from Penn State, who is on the non-football injury list with a lingering injury that has been bothering him since the NFL Combine. Former second-round pick David Ojabo, who missed most of last season after ACL surgery, is just getting back into the rotation, as well.
Roche will immediately provide experienced depth to the Baltimore outside linebackers room. The Steelers’ sixth-round pick out of Miami in 2021, Roche has had two stints in Pittsburgh. He was with the club in training camp in 2021, but claimed on waivers early in that season by the New York Giants.
Roche appeared in 17 games over two seasons with the Giants, recording 40 tackles and excelling as a special teamer in addition to providing depth as a pass rusher.
Last season, the Steelers re-signed Roche and he spent camp in Pittsburgh once again, only to be released in August. He caught on with the Minnesota Vikings and spent the rest of the season on their practice squad, but did not play in a game. Roche was not re-signed by the Vikings and has been a free agent since January.
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