Ravens release two vets: FB Leach, LB McClain

For the second time in nine months, Vonta Leach has been cut by the Ravens. (USATSI)

For the second offseason in a row, Vonta Leach has been cut by the Ravens. The Baltimore fullback was released on Thursday along with linebacker Jameel McClain in a cost-cutting move that will free up almost $5 million in cap space for the Ravens.

Leach and McClain might be gone for now, but they could be back. Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome didn't rule out a possible return for either player, "There could come a point later on when we would consider bringing back Vonta and Jameel," Newsome said in a statement.

That's exactly what happened last offseason. Leach was cut in mid-June after the two sides couldn't agree on how to reduce his $3 million 2013 salary. Baltimore then brought Leach back in late July with a two-year deal.

In three seasons with the Ravens, Leach has been to two Pro Bowls (2011-12), but his playing time was cut back in 2013 after Baltimore started running more one-back sets.

Leach took to Twitter on Thursday and didn't exactly sound like a player that might return.

Thanks for the memories #Ravenation http://t.co/csrsQJ5Ptv http://t.co/GaoYiZLZg0

— VontaLeach44 (@vleach44) February 27, 2014

As for McClain, he's been in Baltimore since coach John Harbaugh's first season in 2008. McClain was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Syracuse and has started 55 games for the Ravens over the past six seasons.

NFL Hot News

Cardinals RB Rashard Mendenhall hints at retiring. Kind of. Maybe. Perhaps



It's a slow news day, so let's take an trip inside the mind of Cardinals running back Rashard Mendenhall.Mendenhall wrote a blog entry for The Huffington Post on Tuesday in which he describes a vision he had the day after he tore his right ACL during the Steelers' regular-season finale of 2012. Mendenhall writes that his vision consisted on swimming in dark, cold, dangerous waters late at night. As he moved through the waters, Mendenhall, who is not Catholic, writes that he saw the mother of Christ."Through it all, I knew that after much toil ... that undoubtedly I would reach her," Mendenhall wrote. "And that once I had, this particular journey would be over for good. I would finally be at peace. Soon after to embark on a new voyage, hardened from the experience, and no longer alone, but with light by my side"The journey I envisioned is the two years of rebuilding that would follow. And as I write this, today is the day that the journey is over and I am fully at peace. Eagerly looking to a new way, which lies ahead."



Mendenhall frequently writes poetry, and while his latest account is solid writing, some of the wording can obviously be interpreted differently. I think it sounds like a man who feels he is fully healthy for the first time in 14 months and pleased to be at the end of the long "journey" he took to get back to 100 percent.But fragments such as "embark on a new voyage," and "fully at peace" do give off a vibe that the 26-year-old may not be fully committed to continuing his NFL career. However, some interest on the open market and a nice, new contract may change those presumed feelings. As of Tuesday night, Mendenhall hasn't revealed the true meaning of his musings.