With the Ravens blowing out Washington in a 30-3 win in the third and final preseason game on Saturday afternoon, I’ve offered a dozen thoughts, each in 50 words or less:
1. Building on a big performance against Dallas, Keyon Martin rested his case for a roster spot with an exclamation point, returning an interception for a touchdown and recording two tackles for a loss. The undrafted rookie out of Louisiana couldn’t have done much more to earn a job. We’ll see.
2. John Harbaugh was even more excited over the great vice block Martin and Keondre Jackson put on Washington gunner River Cracraft during a third-quarter punt return. A back-end roster player mostly contributes on special teams, so Martin’s tiny 5-foot-9, 170-pound frame probably doesn’t work in his favor in that regard.
3. With rookie first-round pick Malaki Starks sitting out, Reuben Lowery starting next to Sanoussi Kane only reinforced that he’s passed Beau Brade on the depth chart for the No. 4 safety spot. Like Martin, Lowery is undersized, but his deep coverage skills are an advantage over both Kane and Brade.
4. If there were any lingering questions about Tyler Loop’s range, the rookie took care of that with a 52-yard field goal to end the first half and a make from 61 in the fourth quarter that had much room to spare. He’s checked every box. Now, the real pressure begins.
5. Though I’m not convinced carrying a fourth running back is the best use of a 53-man roster spot over keeping another linebacker or defensive back, Harbaugh noted how Rasheen Ali is starting on every unit on special teams. Ali finished off his preseason with a productive day including a touchdown.
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6. Training camp began with questions about whether Teddye Buchanan would push Trenton Simpson for the starting weak-side inside linebacker spot, but Simpson registered a strip-sack and batted a pass intercepted by Jalyn Armour-Davis to conclude his strong summer. Buchanan hasn’t been bad, but there hasn’t been much of a competition.
7. There’s no reason to think Carson Vinson won’t make the 53-man roster, but the fifth-round rookie seems likely to be a healthy scratch for the foreseeable future. That said, NFL Network’s Brian Baldinger broke down the improvement he’s made, which is what you want to see from a developmental tackle.
8. Adisa Isaac’s elbow injury likely eliminated any roster uncertainty about David Ojabo, but his lack of a special-teams presence leaves him in danger of being inactive without an injury to one of the top four outside linebackers. You would have liked to see more from Ojabo going against other backups.
9. Harbaugh confirmed his expectation that Lamar Jackson would practice this week after the recent scare with his foot. “Unless he doesn’t want to,” the coach said with a laugh. “He is Lamar.” I’m guessing the two-time MVP quarterback is more than ready for the season to start at this point.
10. To no surprise, the Ravens held out additional starters and established backups. Among those were John Jenkins, Brent Urban, and Jake Hummel, a veteran trio some have mentioned being on the bubble. Urban is the only one I see being on the wrong side, but I anticipate a practice-squad re-signing.
11. Just as we saw against the Cowboys, the Ravens had a superior bottom half of the preseason roster to Washington’s. That’s a real credit to the scouting department for finding so many talented young players and to the coaching staff for developing them all spring and summer.
12. Who would have guessed former Ravens draft picks Carl Davis (2015) and Chris Moore (2016) would still be playing all these years later? Though neither lived up to original expectations as mid-round picks, surviving this long in the NFL speaks to what Baltimore saw in them years ago.
