The Ravens practiced at M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday for their fourth day of training camp. 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 receivers Zay Flowers (illness) and Rashod Bateman (soreness, PUP list), outside linebacker Tyus Bowser (soreness, non-football-injury list) and cornerback Damarion “Pepe” Williams (ankle, PUP list).
Notes: After practice, coach John Harbaugh said he expected Flowers to return to practice Monday and that Williams could also be back. Harbaugh said Flowers had a stomach illness that kept him out the past two days of practice.
Fans lined the lower bowl of M&T Bank Stadium for another sweltering day of practice, and they chanted the loudest for wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and quarterback Lamar Jackson.
The Ravens re-signed cornerback Trayvon Mullen one day after releasing him. Mullen, whose transaction was designated with a “failure to disclose physical condition,” will return to the NFI list.
Offense
- Jackson shook off a slow start and completed 14 of his first 24 attempts in team drills. (Reporters missed several plays late in the practice for logistical reasons.) Over that stretch, Jackson unofficially was 9-for-14 in 11-on-11 work and 5-for-10 in seven-on-seven work.
- Jackson missed badly on his first throw to Beckham, who was well covered by cornerback Rock Ya-Sin as he ran a vertical route from the slot, but they ended practice with a few crowd-pleasers. In an 11-on-11 period, Jackson looked for Beckham on a crossing pattern that had cornerback Marlon Humphrey trailing a few yards in his wake. Beckham caught Jackson’s floating play-action pass at the 5-yard line and stretched across the goal line for a 20-yard score. (The play was called back because of a holding penalty, apparently on rookie left guard Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu.)
- Three plays later, Beckham dove for a completion on a quick-hitting out route, getting a knee in before falling out of bounds. “I think Odell’s got a really good plan,” Harbaugh said. “He had a nice day today. He looks a little better every day. He looked great out there. I expect nothing but classic Odell Beckham Jr. He’s a hard worker. He’s very conscientious about what he does. So I have no concerns about that at all. He looked good today.”
- Quarterback Tyler Huntley, who’s competing with Josh Johnson for the backup job, had by far his best day of camp. He would’ve scored on a read-option keeper in the red zone early in the practice, and he went 5-for-5 in an 11-on-11 period later in the session. He found tight end Isaiah Likely on a deep crosser that got behind inside linebacker Kristian Welch, and he connected with wide receiver Tarik Black on a back-shoulder pass deep down the left sideline three plays later. “He looked really good,” Harbaugh said. “I mean, all the quarterbacks looked really good, but Tyler Huntley had another really big day. I think he’s been locked in every single day.”
- Tight ends Mark Andrews and Likely mostly had their way in the red zone. Andrews caught one of his touchdowns over the middle amid a handful of defensive backs, who probably knew better than to reach out and risk injury, and worked back toward the middle of the end zone on another score after Jackson scrambled to his right. (Andrews did, however, drop a potential third score.) Likely, meanwhile, skated by inside linebacker Roquan Smith on a catch-and-run touchdown.
- Wide receivers Tylan Wallace and James Proche II also had solid days.
Defense
- The pass rush blew up Jackson’s second 11-on-11 period. Defensive tackle Michael Pierce appeared to beat Aumavae-Laulu on a play-action drop-back and got his hands on a pass. On the next drop-back, officials called the play dead after outside linebacker Odafe Oweh was waiting to grab Jackson on a play-action bootleg. Two plays later, Jackson was running for his life under pressure from defensive lineman Justin Madubuike and outside linebacker David Ojabo.
- Ya-Sin was again solid in coverage, helping force a misfire on a back-shoulder throw to wide receiver Nelson Agholor that stopped a three-completion streak by Jackson in seven-on-seven work. Defensive back Brandon Stephens and cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis also recorded pass breakups.
One-on-one highlights
The offensive and defensive lines faced off for one-on-one drills for the first time in camp.
- Most of the interior linemen struggled to slow defensive tackle Travis Jones in drills. At 6 feet 4, 337 pounds, Jones was too powerful for the interior linemen in most repetitions. One play after Jones sent center Sam Mustipher stumbling, Mustipher appeared to simply hug Jones in an attempt to stop his bull rush.
- Left tackle Ronnie Stanley was the most impressive lineman. His best moment came on a rush from Ojabo, who tried an aggressive spin move that Stanley was prepared for. Stanley stopped Ojabo’s movement, ending the rep and drawing reactions from the crowd.
- Center Tyler Linderbaum had the next-best highlight for the offensive linemen when he forced Pierce upright as he attempted to get Linderbaum off balance.
