After seemingly playing himself off the roster bubble, Ravens safety Ar’Darius Washington is now getting in the way of the the league’s reigning Most Valuable Player.
Washington picked off one of Jackson’s passes last week, and on Monday, he was even more of a nuisance in the secondary. The 5-foot-8 Washington forced a handful of incompletions against bigger targets, continuing a strong week of practice.
“He’s playing at a high level; you saw it today,” coach John Harbaugh said. “He’s playing both safety positions, he’s playing the nickel, and he can play either corner outside, if he had to, to get you out of a game. And he can go in at dime if he had to; he knows the defense that well. His style is pretty much patented, that’s his style, the way he plays. I think it’s a style worthy of emulating, so very glad he’s on our team.”
Unofficially, Jackson finished 18-for-28 overall in team drills, including 12-for-20 in 11-on-11 action and 6-for-8 in seven-on-seven action. Here’s how Jackson’s day as a passer unfolded, period by period, throw by throw, along with other notes from Monday’s practice.
11-on-11: 0-for-3
1. Jackson was pressured after a run fake, and seemingly had to throw away a screen pass intended for running back Derrick Henry.
2. Jackson’s quick throw near the numbers to tight end Charlie Kolar bounced off his hands and fell harmlessly to the ground.
3. Jackson looked for running back Justice Hill as he came out of the backfield, but a crowded pocket and congested middle of the field led to an incompletion.
11-on-11: 3-for-4
4. Jackson fired a quick pass to wide receiver Zay Flowers on an apparent run-pass option.
5. Jackson connected with wide receiver Tylan Wallace, who slipped behind safety Marcus Williams along the left sideline for a solid gain on a comeback route.
6. Jackson found tight end Isaiah Likely on a short crosser, and his pass arrived just before safety Ar’Darius Washington could break it up.
7. Jackson looked for Likely on another short pass against Washington, but the pass was off the mark.
7-on-7: 3-for-4
8. Jackson hit Flowers on a quick out for a short gain against cornerback Brandon Stephens.
9. With Washington matching Likely step for step on a downfield route, Jackson launched a pass that ended up out of reach.
10. Wide receiver Keith Kirkwood beat Stephens on a curl route for a solid gain along the left sideline.
11. Jackson settled for a check-down to Henry.
7-on-7: 3-for-4
12. Jackson got antsy, left the pocket and lofted a ball over the middle to tight end Mark Andrews, who’d separated from Stephens. Andrews secured the catch with one hand as he ran underneath the pass.
13. Likely settled into a void against the Ravens’ zone defense, and Jackson found him for a short gain.
14. Jackson hit Kolar for about a 10-yard completion near the left sideline.
15. Seeing none of his receivers get open, Jackson again scrambled out of the pocket and threw a pass to Likely, guarded closely by cornerback Marlon Humphrey, that landed out of bounds.
11-on-11: 3-for-4
16. Despite left tackle Ronnie Stanley and Hill both falling near the start of the play — they might’ve tripped over each other after the snap — Jackson hooked up with Wallace on an in-breaker.
17. Jackson hit Hill as he came out of the backfield for a short gain.
18. Jackson couldn’t connect with Flowers on a short throw.
19. Jackson threw a back-shoulder pass about 25 yards down the left sideline to wide receiver Anthony Miller, who adjusted well to make the catch despite tight coverage from cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis.
11-on-11: 2-for-4
20. Jackson went to Flowers for a wide receiver screen.
21. Jackson missed wide receiver Nelson Agholor on an out-breaking route toward the right sideline, but Washington had the pass well covered.
22. Kirkwood ran a crosser and held onto a pass from Jackson despite a solid hit from Humphrey.
23. Feeling pressure up the middle, Jackson threw a decently long pass off his back foot to Agholor, who had only Washington to contend with downfield. But the safety easily out-jumped Agholor, beating him to the catch point for an impressive pass defense over the middle.
11-on-11 (red zone): 2-for-2
24. Jackson backpedaled away from pressure and found Flowers near the line of scrimmage for limited yardage, with Washington closing in fast.
25. Against another blitz, Jackson looked over the middle for Andrews, who secured a first-down catch even with Washington on his hip.
11-on-11 (red zone): 2-for-3, 2 TD
26. Kirkwood went up against Stephens for a jump ball and came down with the score.
27. Flowers separated from Humphrey on a comeback, giving Jackson a target in the front corner of the end zone. Jackson found him for another touchdown.
28. Jackson’s bid for a third straight touchdown ended in some controversy. Williams made a diving deflection to break up a low pass to Likely near the goal line, but Jackson appeared a little upset that there wasn’t a flag called on the play.
After the first-string offense came off the field, Jackson walked over to the back of the end zone with a team iPad, seemingly in an effort to show two bemused officials a replay of Williams’ coverage. It was unclear whether Jackson came away satisfied with their explanation. “It’s a good question,” Harbaugh said with a laugh afterward. “I don’t know.”
Attendance
Wide receiver Rashod Bateman returned to practice for the first time since suffering an apparent midsection injury on a catch last Monday. He wasn’t moving at full speed in positional workouts and did not finish his lone one-on-one snap. He later took off his pads and watched from the sideline with teammates. “He’ll be fine,” Harbaugh said. “He’s trying to get himself out there as much as he can, and he’ll be out there soon.”
Rookie cornerback T.J. Tampa (sports hernia surgery) made his camp debut after he was activated off the physically-unable-to-perform list. The fourth-round pick was limited to positional and conditioning work Monday, and Harbaugh said his preseason availability would depend on “his ability to do it with the recovery. … I think he’s got a good shot; we just have to see how it comes along in the next week or so.”
On offense, the Ravens were missing center Tyler Linderbaum (soft-tissue injury), running back Rasheen Ali (stinger) and wide receiver Russell Gage. On defense, they were without outside linebacker Quincy Roche, inside linebacker Chris Board (concussion), cornerbacks Nate Wiggins (shoulder) and Christian Matthew, and safeties Kyle Hamilton (leg) and Sanoussi Kane (stinger).
Running back Keaton Mitchell (knee) and cornerback Arthur Maulet (knee) remain sidelined.
Harbaugh said Hamilton, who limped off the field during Sunday’s practice, suffered a “minor” sprain and is expected to ramp up his workload this week. The All-Pro started Monday’s practice by jogging under the watch of team athletic trainers.
One-on-ones
Here’s how the Ravens fared in some of their one-on-ones early in practice:
- Flowers got a step on cornerback Damarion “Pepe” Williams on a downfield route, but was overthrown, an outcome that repeated itself later.
- Stephens high-pointed a deep pass to Miller for a nice breakup.
- Likely used a subtle push-off against Washington to separate on a quick-hitting out route he converted into a catch.
- Cornerback Ka’dar Hollman broke up a pass to rookie wide receiver Devontez Walker, who was running a curl route. Hollman later broke up a similar pattern by Agholor.
- With Humphrey perhaps not expecting a vertical route, tight end Scotty Washington beat the cornerback down the right sideline and brought in a deep pass.
- Wide receiver Deonte Harty separated easily from Williams on a curl route for a catch.
- Wide receiver Sean Ryan caught a back-shoulder throw down the right sideline against Armour-Davis.
- Stephens closely defended wide receiver Malik Cunningham on a go route, and the pass fell incomplete.
- Walker got a half-step on Humphrey on a vertical route down the right sideline but couldn’t get both hands on the ball to complete the catch.
Stock report
- Outside linebacker Tavius Robinson had an impressive two-play stretch in 11-on-11 action, first helping to force a “sack” on quarterback Josh Johnson and then getting a tackle for loss on running back Owen Wright.
- Defensive coordinator Zach Orr appeared to offer some instruction to outside linebacker David Ojabo after he couldn’t prevent two runs in his direction from bouncing outside for solid gains.
- Undrafted rookie running back Chris Collier had a couple of explosive plays, including a catch after beating undrafted rookie inside linebacker Deion Jennings on a wheel route down the left sideline.
- Undrafted rookie cornerback Bump Cooper Jr., who had a solid showing in the Ravens’ preseason opener Friday against the Philadelphia Eagles, helped force a couple of incompletions Monday as well.
