The preseason opener is Thursday night, but how many Ravens starters will suit up and play against Indianapolis?
Head coach John Harbaugh has already confirmed the biggest stars like Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry won’t play against the Colts, and it’s worth noting upwards of 20 starters and established backups didn’t play at all in last year’s preseason. In fact, Baltimore hasn’t played the bulk of its starters in a summer game since the 2021 preseason finale when running back J.K. Dobbins suffered a season-ending knee injury on the opening drive at Washington.
Of course, there’s still the matter of needing to be ready for Week 1 as well as the Ravens’ desire to get off to a better start than they did in 2024, which is why we continue to see an uptick in the joint practices that provide veterans competitive reps in a more controlled environment than a preseason game.
“That’s something you hope you get,” said Harbaugh, who only committed to resting his top players for the first preseason game. “You want to come out of the season firing on all cylinders, but yet it’s a long season, so it’s a double-edged sword. I don’t think there’s any obvious answer, but hopefully those practices are valuable to us.”
We can debate whether playing starters in the preseason helps a team start faster in the regular season to any meaningful degree, but not playing established starters guarantees you won’t lose Jackson or another star player in a meaningless game. You can certainly understand the approach, regardless of how it’s harmed the entertainment value of preseason games.
This will mark the third all-time preseason meeting between these teams with the Ravens winning the first two matchups over Indianapolis in 2016 and 2018. After winning an NFL-record 24 straight preseason games from 2016 through 2023, Baltimore has dropped four of its last five exhibition contests.
Unofficial (and speculative) injury report
8
The Ravens are not required to put out an injury report like they do for regular-season games, so I’ve offered my best guess of what one would look like if it were to be released ahead of Thursday’s game.
The players estimated to be out will come as little surprise, but the status of some will remain in question. Of course, this list does not include the many healthy starters who will be held out.
Below is the unofficial injury report:
OUT: OT Emery Jones Jr. (shoulder), TE Isaiah Likely (foot), RB Marcus Major Jr. (concussion), S Ar’Darius Washington (Achilles tendon)
DOUBTFUL: CB Robert Longerbeam
QUESTIONABLE: S Kyle Hamilton
Five players to watch Thursday night
K Tyler Loop
The strong-legged sixth-round pick out of Arizona hasn’t been perfect in the quest to replace seven-time Pro Bowl selection Justin Tucker, but his progress was impressive enough for the Ravens to cut fellow rookie John Hoyland last weekend, leaving a clear path for Loop to secure the Week 1 job. That said, coaches always expected Loop to kick well in practices and pointed to preseason games as the true test to see how he handles the pressure. If we’re being honest, it’s going to be quite a while before anyone can definitively say the 24-year-old will be Baltimore’s kicker for the long haul.
8OLB Mike Green
Coaches and teammates have described the second-round pick as smart, tenacious, and polished for a rookie edge rusher, so you just want to see Green look the part of an immediate contributor, especially when he’s going against legitimate NFL offensive linemen early in these preseason games. Though unsurprisingly behind Odafe Oweh, Kyle Van Noy, and Tavius Robinson on the depth chart at this stage of the summer, Green has easily stood out over the likes of David Ojabo and Adisa Isaac, which bodes well for his chances of seeing early playing time. A splash play in the first half on Thursday would only add to the hype surrounding the 6-foot-3, 250-pound outside linebacker.
G Andrew Vorhees
The favorite to be the left guard for the second straight summer, Vorhees suffered a Week 3 ankle injury last September and then lost his starting job to Patrick Mekari, but he’s pointed to a good showing in Week 18 as important to his confidence and development going into the offseason. Harbaugh has acknowledged that Vorhees remains the favorite to start, but veteran backup Ben Cleveland continues to see a portion of first-team snaps to keep the pressure on the former. Indianapolis has a talented defensive front, so coaches want to see Vorhees hold up, especially when he could be the only projected starter to see action on Thursday night.
DB Reuben Lowery
Going back to spring workouts, the rookie out of Tennessee-Chattanooga has regularly been around the football, making him arguably the most interesting undrafted free agent going into preseason games. Of course, this is a deep secondary that includes a pair of sixth-round rookie cornerbacks, but a move from cornerback to safety may have helped Lowery’s path to a roster spot. The 5-foot-9, 204-pound defensive back has a long way to go to be considered much more than a good candidate for the practice squad, but he can force Baltimore’s hand with a standout performance in preseason games that the rest of the league will be monitoring.
QB Cooper Rush
The Ravens certainly hope these preseason games will mark the most extensive live-game action Rush will see all year, but you’d like to see him build on his momentum throwing the football in recent practices after a relatively underwhelming spring and open to training camp. Though he’s not going to have the full assortment of pass-catching weapons on the field Thursday night, the 31-year-old Rush still wants to demonstrate full command of the offense and show why the organization felt inclined to sign him to a two-year deal after parting with former backup Josh Johnson this offseason.
