As the 4 p.m. Tuesday roster deadline drew nearer, Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta had the unenviable task of deciding to cut a player he really liked. Yet so many NFL executives would trade places with him.

The Ravens came into training camp with such a strong roster that many talented players were competing for few jobs.

“Very, very tough decisions this year, again, which speaks to the amount of talent we feel like we’ve got on the roster,” DeCosta said. “It was an emotional day yesterday … I would expect that we’re going to lose some guys just based on the amount of phone calls that we’ve received over the last two or three days about the roster and about our players.”

He said he talked through trades for different players. Nothing came to fruition. In the end, he decided to retain three undrafted rookies for the first time since 2018 — safety Reuben Lowery, cornerback Keyon Martin and linebacker Jay Higgins IV — whom other teams showed interest in.

And he had to cut former players he had been a fan of, such as cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis and safety Beau Brade. Armour-Davis was claimed by the Tennessee Titans — reuniting him with former Ravens secondary coach Dennard Wilson, who now serves as Tennessee’s defensive coordinator — and Brade landed with the New York Giants.

As hard as the decisions were, DeCosta feels good about the final roster, one that Pro Bowl safety Kyle Hamilton — the recipient of a four-year contract extension — said is “greedy” for a Super Bowl.

Here are takeaways from DeCosta’s comments about his roster decisions:

Running with four

The Ravens might prefer to utilize just three running backs, but as DeCosta previously pointed out, they’ve struggled over the past few years to keep three on the active roster. That’s why they’re going with four this year.

Two seasons ago, the Ravens had J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards and Justice Hill, with undrafted free agent Keaton Mitchell on injured reserve to start the season. Dobbins got hurt in the first game, leaving the Ravens to enlist the services of Melvin Gordon and Kenyan Drake before Mitchell could be activated.

Last season, the Ravens started with Derrick Henry, Hill and fifth-round draft pick Rasheen Ali. Mitchell started the season on the physically-unable-to-perform list as he recovered from a torn ACL that derailed his promising rookie campaign.

This year, Henry, Hill and Mitchell are all back, and they’re carrying Ali as a safety net. Mitchell looks like he’s back to full health, but he’s already dealt with a minor hamstring injury through the preseason.

“The way that we run the football, we made a decision, I think, to keep those four running backs because we’re a physical running team, and it made sense to do that at this time,” DeCosta said.

On top of the depth Ali provides, he has also proven he can be a special teams contributor. He had an impressive kick return in the first preseason game. Overall, DeCosta felt like his performance deserved a spot on the roster, and so he sacrificed a spot for another position to carry four running backs.

Minimizing misses

After scouting Lowery, Martin and Higgins, the Ravens decided not to use draft picks on them. Luckily, no one else decided to use draft picks on them, either.

As soon as the draft ends the Ravens area scouts “go to work,” DeCosta said, and they brought those three in for training camp as part of the team’s undrafted free agent class. The goal each year, DeCosta said, is to hit on just one.

This year, they ended up keeping three – waiving drafted players to do so. DeCosta said five undrafted free agents played well enough to make the team if the Ravens had space.

Lowery, Martin and Higgins were all players DeCosta received trade calls about. They made big plays in the preseason and had consistent performances. DeCosta said the interest from other teams validated how the Ravens felt about them. So they kept them.

“It just became abundantly clear that these were talented players that for whatever reason were overlooked by the entire league, including us, and deserved to be on teams and who can help us be our best.”

Projecting the Ravens depth chart

Down the (offensive) line

A year after DeCosta acknowledged he expected hiccups along the offensive line, he delivered a much more hopeful message ahead of this season.

“We think the best is yet to come,” DeCosta said.

And the position group is already better, in his opinion, than the line that helped the Ravens have a historically good offense last season. He pointed out that starting right tackle Roger Rosengarten will inevitably be better with a full year of NFL experience. He said he expects right guard Daniel Faalele to get “better and better and better” and said left guard Andrew Vorhees played well enough that he “seized the job.”

The group is anchored by two former Pro Bowlers in left tackle Ronnie Stanley and center Tyler Linderbaum.

DeCosta also likes what he sees from the young depth players in the group. Corey Bullock, a practice squad player last year, proved to be a “sponge.” In addition to everything he learned, he became quicker and stronger over the offseason, making his way solidly on to the 53-man roster.

The Ravens are also awaiting third-round pick Emery Jones Jr.’s return. Although coach John Harbaugh had said he hoped to get Jones back earlier, DeCosta said they were well aware of his injury when they drafted him. They’re comfortable with their investment in him, and DeCosta said he expects Jones to have an impact this year.

“He’s going to be a physical guy,” DeCosta said. “The one thing I can tell you about Emery is he’s a physical, combative player. We saw that at the Senior Bowl. We saw it on tape. This guy loves to play. He kind of fits our mentality. I can’t wait to get him out there and practice just to see what he looks like.”

Goodbye and good luck

All through camp, coaches spoke highly of cornerback Armour-Davis for his intelligence and performance. The Ravens have always been bullish about their former 2022 fourth-round pick, saying his health was the main thing holding him back.

And yet they let him go.

“It’s just kind of a nuanced, tough decision,” DeCosta said.

“We agonized about it.”

In the end, it wasn’t about anything Armour-Davis could control. It came down to his age and contract.

“I think, for me, the one thing was you’re talking about a corner in the last year of his contract versus a corner that you have on your team who’s going to be with you for a few more years,” DeCosta said.

Likewise, DeCosta also had to make the hard decision to cut Brade, last year’s only UDFA to make the 53-man roster. Brade, a local product, was a key part of the special teams last year. Harbaugh complimented him on his camp after the second preseason game. DeCosta also said Brade had a great camp but was the victim of another tough, nuanced decision.

“I love Beau, love everything he does,” DeCosta said. “I love what he brings. Hopefully we can keep him on the practice squad.”

Those hopes died quickly.

Teams quickly snatched up the players on the wrong end of the Ravens’ tough decisions. A player who’s just barely not good enough for the Ravens is more than good enough for most other defenses.

The Ravens tied for the most players claimed off waivers. All three were from the defense.

The Titans also claimed defensive end C.J. Ravenell.

“There’s really no right or wrong answer,” DeCosta said. “It’s a puzzle, and we may feel really good about it today, and we may feel really bad about it next week. And, also, we might say next week, ‘Thank God we kept this guy at that position,’ because we’ve got injuries. And so, until we really play the games, you’re not really going to know.”