Ravens Sign National Championship-Winning WR to Practice Squad

Originally selected by the Los Angeles Chargers in the seventh round of the 2024 NFL Draft out of the University of Michigan, Johnson spent the bulk of his rookie season on the Green Bay Packers' practice squad. They signed him to a reserve futures contract in the offseason and spent training camp with them before being waived during final roster cutdown.

In three preseason games with Green Bay, he finished as the team's leading receiver with six catches for 50 yards in the preseason. As a rookie in the preseason for the Chargers, he caught three of his nine targets for 34 receiving yards.

During his time on college, he helped the Wolverines capture the program's 12th national championship and first in a quarter century as a fifth-year senior and finished his career with 138 catches, 2,038 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns. He averaged 14.8 yards a catch, led the team in receiving yards as a junior in 2021, led the team in touchdown receptions in 2022 and eclipsed 600 receiving yards twice.

Johnson joins a practice squad receiving group that includes veterans Anthony Miller and Keith Kirkwood. After helping former NFL and college head coach Jim Harbaugh win a championship at the collegiate level in a prominent role, he'll get a chance to help John Harbaugh strive to snap a 12-year Super Bowl drought from behind the scenes for the time being. If he shows some value on special teams, he could even get elevated for a game or two this season.

The corresponding move to release Hamm ends his tenure with the team for the moment after he spent the first two years of his career with them on injured reserve. In 2023, he was one of two undrafted free agents to make the Ravens' initial 53-man roster, but even after he seemed healthy enough to return to action, the logjam of proven veterans having career years left the team with no option but to leave him on IR.

Last year, a torn ACL he suffered in the preseason cut his sophomore campaign short before it could even begin. He entered this year's training camp as one of a pair of returning edge defenders on the roster bubble and ultimately got beat out by former second-rounder David Ojabo despite recording 6 total tackles, including 4 solos and 2 for a loss to go along with half a sack, three quarterback hits and a fumble recovery.

It wouldn't be surprising in the slightest if he gets signed to the practice squad of Seattle Seahawks, Miami Dolphins, Los Angeles Chargers or Tennessee Titans, as former defensive coaches who were on the Ravens staff when he made the team as a rookie are calling plays with those teams.