Five Ravens players whose stock fell during spring workouts

After taking a look at which Ravens players appeared to be on the rise at the conclusion of mandatory minicamp, it’s time to determine which ones didn’t help their cause this spring for various reasons.
You never want to make too much out of spring workouts, whether it’s chastising someone for being a little out of shape or trying to bury a player who was out of sync in one or two of only a handful of workouts open to media. It’s particularly difficult judging offensive and defensive linemen without pads, which leads to even more scrutiny on players at the skill positions.
Acknowledging those limitations, below are five players who didn’t help their stock this spring:
DT Michael Pierce
It’s important to be sensitive to the various circumstances that could lead to an individual’s weight gain and conditioning concerns, but Pierce’s decision to skip the entire voluntary workout program preceded his abrupt dismissal from the practice field on the first day of minicamp, an embarrassing headline for a good player entering a contract year. How Pierce — and those advising him — didn’t make sure a trainer and nutritionist were keeping on top of his livelihood was a major blunder. The talented nose tackle has plenty of time to get in shape and still have a strong season, but if this episode scares away even one team from making a lucrative offer next March, he’ll have likely cost himself some money.
G Alex Lewis
Lewis was never expected to take part in spring practices as he recovers from January shoulder surgery, but head coach John Harbaugh revealing the organization hadn’t seen him until mandatory minicamp week was a red flag. It was the 2016 fourth-round pick’s right to handle his own rehabilitation, of course, but that’s a questionable strategy when you are entering the final year of your rookie contract, have played in just 20 games in three seasons, and will face plenty of competition for the left guard job. Lewis looked like one of the steals of his draft class over the first half of his rookie season, but his inability to stay healthy coupled with his spring absence will leave him with much to prove this summer.
WR Michael Floyd
The former first-round pick owns as many career touchdown receptions (25) as the rest of Baltimore’s wide receivers combined, but he did little to stand out in a pedestrian group that didn’t have 2019 draft picks Marquise Brown and Miles Boykin on the field for much of the spring. Floyd’s statistical decline since being cut by Arizona in 2016 has been dramatic, but the Ravens’ shortage of outside receivers and Boykin’s hamstring injury seemed like an ideal scenario for him to make a strong statement. The 29-year-old wasn’t awful by any means as he made some plays, but there were also too many drops for a veteran battling a number of younger options and recent draft picks for a roster spot.
K Kaare Vedvik
Some of the hype surrounding Vedvik was always overblown — it’s not like an unproven kicker is going to fetch anything but a late Day 3 draft pick anyway — but there was no question the Ravens had designs of trading him before he was assaulted in Baltimore late last summer and spent the entire 2018 campaign on the non-football injury list. Vedvik made a full recovery and still shows off a very strong leg, but he was inaccurate throughout the spring, missing kicks of various distances in various ways. Assistant special teams coach Randy Brown still has plenty of time to straighten out Vedvik enough to have a chance to shine in the preseason, but his spring wasn’t very pretty.
CB/PR Cyrus Jones
The timing of the Gilman product’s undisclosed health issue was unfortunate as he’s part of an incredibly deep group of cornerbacks and only handled punt returns for the Ravens last year, circumstances that make him far from a lock to be on the 53-man roster. Jones provided a spark and some stability after Baltimore cycled through other punt returners in the first half of 2018, but he’ll need a strong and healthy summer to solidify his roster standing. The good news is Harbaugh said he’s expected to be ready for the start of training camp, but he will still need to be cleared to practice. Jones being able to handle both punts and kickoffs would go a long way toward securing himself a roster spot.