The Ravens had their ninth day of training camp Friday in Owings Mills. Here’s what you need to know.
Attendance
Did not participate: Running back J.K. Dobbins (physically-unable-to-perform list); fullback Patrick Ricard (hip, PUP list); wide receiver Rashod Bateman (soreness, PUP list); outside linebackers Tyus Bowser (soreness, non-football-injury list) and David Ojabo; inside linebacker Trenton Simpson (soft-tissue injury); cornerbacks Kyu Kelly, Rock Ya-Sin and Trayvon Mullen (toe, reserve/NFI list); and safety Geno Stone (ankle).
Notes: Coach John Harbaugh said Ya-Sin, who left practice Wednesday with a lower-body injury, and Ojabo, who was limited in Thursday’s walkthrough practice and absent for Friday’s padded practice, “should be back soon.”
Simpson, who appeared to get hurt Wednesday and missed the next two days of practice, is dealing with a soft-tissue injury. “We’ll probably play it safe for a little bit,” Harbaugh said. “We’ll see where it goes. I think those are normal camp things.”
Mullen was moved from the active/NFI list to the reserve/NFI list Friday, which could end his season.
Harbaugh said there’s a “chance” Bateman will return “pretty soon, but again, I don’t want to say for sure, because that just gets me in trouble.”
Offense
- Unofficially, quarterback Lamar Jackson went 24-for-36 in team drills, finishing 13-for-20 in 11-on-11 work and 11-for-16 in seven-on-seven work.
- Two of Jackson’s first three passes in 11-on-11 work went to running back Justice Hill, which set the tone for the day and continued a theme of camp. At Georgia, offensive coordinator Todd Monken featured his running backs in the passing game. This offseason and preseason, the Ravens have made similar efforts. “The backs are very much a part of the passing game right now, whether it’s check-downs, whether it’s flat routes,” Harbaugh said. “I feel like every one of our backs is a good receiving back right now.”
- On the Ravens’ next series, quarterback Tyler Huntley found running back Gus Edwards in the flat with plenty of space. Edwards took the catch for about a 25-yard gain.
- Undrafted rookie running back Keaton Mitchell, who’s flashed his impressive acceleration since offseason workouts, followed a solid run up the middle with a longer run off-tackle. “Got that corner, baby!” one fan yelled.
- Jackson has struggled with his downfield accuracy in camp, but he lofted a pass to wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. just out of the reach of cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis about 25 yards downfield along the right sideline. Beckham’s workload remains limited, but his releases have looked explosive.
- A completion to wide receiver Tylan Wallace helped Jackson start 6-for-7 in 11-on-11 action, but the real standout on the play might’ve been rookie guard Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu, who picked up a blitz from inside linebacker Patrick Queen and knocked him on his butt.
- Jackson is prone to punting balls in frustration, but rarely does he do it twice in one period. His hot start cooled off after he missed a wide-open Mark Andrews down the left sideline, left uncovered because of an apparent defensive miscommunication before the snap. After a would-be sack by outside linebacker Odafe Oweh and defensive lineman Michael Pierce, Jackson kicked the ball. He missed Andrews, tightly covered up the seam by safety Kyle Hamilton, on the next play, then appeared out of sync with wide receiver Tarik Black on an apparent run-pass-option pass. After cornerback Arthur Maulet seemed to get in the way of a screen, Jackson got rid of the ball, finishing the period 0-for-4, then punted it again.
- Andrews struggled with Hamilton’s length in team and individual settings. He dropped a pass with Hamilton in coverage in a later 11-on-11 period, and after Jackson’s red-zone pass in a seven-on-seven period was broken up by Hamilton and safety Marcus Williams, Andrews’ frustration boiled over. Unhappy that no flag had been thrown, he raised his middle finger briefly in the direction of an official. That prompted a flag from another official. “It’s a reflection of their perfectionism,” Harbaugh said of the offense’s occasional frustrations. “They’re chasing perfection, and that’s what you want to see from your players. When your players take that mindset, you’re going to have a chance.”
- Undrafted rookie tight end Travis Vokolek had his strongest practice as a Raven, catching three passes at least 10 yards downfield in a relatively short span, including two down the seam. The 6-foot-6, 260-pound Vokolek is a big target with solid hands.
- Jackson went 5-for-5 in a full-team hurry-up drill, starting with a check-down to Hill that helped the offense get in gear. The drive ended with kicker Justin Tucker knocking a 55-yard field-goal attempt off the left upright as time expired, his second doink of practice.
- Wide receiver Laquon Treadwell, continuing his strong form, got a step on cornerback Kevon Seymour as he ran up the seam and made a one-handed catch for a touchdown, connecting with Jackson in seven-on-seven action.
Defense
- Inside linebacker Del’Shawn Phillips didn’t have an interception Friday, ending his streak of two straight competitive practices with a pick, but he did have a would-be sack of Huntley on the quarterback’s second drop-back of 11-on-11 action.
- Inside linebacker Patrick Queen knocked wide receiver Zay Flowers to the ground after sniffing out an end around and recording a would-be tackle for loss.
- Seymour’s tight coverage on wide receiver Tarik Black led to an interception by defensive back Brandon Stephens, who picked off Josh Johnson’s deflected pass. Johnson has thrown an interception in three straight competitive practices.
- Cornerback Marlon Humphrey forced an incompletion after getting his hand on a pass from Jackson to Beckham over the middle in seven-on-seven work. Two plays later, he couldn’t keep up with Flowers as he flew across the middle for a solid gain.
One-on-one highlights
Receivers and defensive backs squared off again early in practice.
- In the first matchup of the period, Beckham beat Humphrey for a catch on a quick in-breaking route.
- Despite tough coverage from Armour-Davis, Flowers won on a vertical route after a tough, leaping grab.
- Seymour won both of his repetitions against wide receiver Nelson Agholor, a recent standout in one-on-ones who first tried to beat Seymour deep, then watched the cornerback read his outside release and nearly grab an interception. Harbaugh said Seymour, a special teams standout, “came in here, we built a plan for him — in our training room and weight room and our performance room — and he stuck to it, he’s worked really hard ever since, and now, knock on wood, he’s been doing great with that. His talent is really starting to express itself.”
- Hamilton didn’t allow a catch in his three reps. He defended Andrews twice, denying a slot fade and watching another pass on a vertical route sail over their heads. After more sticky coverage against wide receiver Shemar Bridges, Humphrey came over to celebrate with Hamilton, who responded with a Michael Jordan-esque shrug.
- Wide receiver Devin Duvernay lost two reps against cornerback Jeremy Lucien and safety Jaquan Amos. Lucien denied him on a comeback route, and Duvernay couldn’t complete an end-zone catch in bounds against Lucie.
- Treadwell won all four of his reps. He muscled through some hand-fighting from Armour-Davis to catch a vertical route, snagged a back-shoulder pass for a touchdown against safety Ar’Darius Washington, beat Lucien for a grab and drew a pass-interference penalty in his second matchup with Armour-Davis.
- Humphrey deflected a back-shoulder throw to Agholor, who complained to the nearest official that he’d been interfered with.
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