Baltimore Ravens release G Ben Cleveland

Ben Cleveland's release by Baltimore earns a D+ Contract Value Index (CVI), a reflection of the awkward economics behind moving off a depth-piece guard at modest salary. At $1.215M total, Cleveland represented replacement-level production on the roster — the kind of interior lineman you carry for depth, not as a cornerstone piece — and the Ravens' decision to cut him suggests they either found a better option in the draft or via free agency, or concluded they could absorb his role elsewhere without meaningful cap consequence. The CVI grade captures the tension inherent in the move: cutting a sub-$2M contract is a no-brainer from a cap-efficiency standpoint, since the dead-cap hit is negligible and the savings are immediate, but it also signals the team viewed Cleveland as disposable enough to part with in the offseason rather than keep as a reserve. For a guard at his production tier, hitting the market at this phase of the cycle with minimal guaranteed money remaining is a real-world outcome of organizational depth churning — not a franchise failure, just the floor of roster construction. The D+ reflects that this is a sensible roster move for Baltimore, even if it carries no narrative weight; Cleveland's path forward now depends entirely on finding another landing spot before camp rosters solidify.