With the Ravens practicing in shells and shorts for their 15th practice of training camp before traveling south to practice against the Carolina Panthers, I’ve offered a dozen thoughts, each in 50 words or less:
1. Though early reports indicated a mild groin strain for Marlon Humphrey, seeing the Pro Bowl cornerback go down an hour into practice was concerning because of both his greatness and enthusiasm for practice. It’s not that Humphrey never gets nicked up, but he rarely misses reps even when he does.
2. Humphrey’s exit seemed to zap some energy from a workout that already had a slower pace with the Ravens leaving for Spartanburg, South Carolina later in the day. Even with Monday’s roster cuts, Baltimore was without 15 players on Tuesday morning, which should make the joint practices interesting.
3. Bradley Bozeman was back at practice sporting only a wrap on his right ankle as the offensive line slowly but surely moves toward full strength. John Harbaugh is occasionally mocked for his nonspecific injury updates, but one missed practice fits the description of a “pretty minor ankle sprain.”
4. With Baltimore’s top three wide receivers absent from practice and Lamar Jackson throwing to some less familiar targets, I’m reminded of Joe Flacco’s quip years ago about not knowing the names of some new wide receivers. Marquise Brown, Miles Boykin, and Deon Cain again worked on a side field.
Ravens not practicing this morning:
WR S. Watkins
DB B. Stephens
QB T. McSorley
RB J. Hill
DT A. Crawford
WR M. Brown
WR R. Bateman
WR D. Cain
WR M. Boykin
CB J. Smith
ILB O. Alaka
G B. Cleveland
G G. Mancz
TE N. Boyle
OT J. James
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5. The defensive highlight of the day was a Jaylon Ferguson interception return for a touchdown that came on a Chris Westry deflection of a Tyler Huntley pass to Binjimen Victor. Ferguson was merely in the right place at the right time, but that’s what running to the football will do.
6. Asked about Westry after practice, Wink Martindale offered praise to Eric DeCosta by saying, “I don’t know how we got him here.” The defensive coordinator also said Anthony Averett has “All-Pro talent,” which speaks to the cornerback depth beyond Humphrey, Marcus Peters, and Jimmy Smith on the outside.
7. Jackson threw a pretty back-shoulder completion to Devin Duvernay with Averett in coverage down the left sideline in an 11-on-11 period. That’s the kind of outside-the-numbers throw the Ravens want to complete more often this season.
8. After sitting out Saturday’s game with an undisclosed ailment, Patrick Ricard has been active as a receiver over the last two practices. Nick Boyle’s health weighs heavily in the decision to keep a third tight end, but last summer reminds that Baltimore won’t keep one just to do it.
9. Greg Roman said the starting left guard competition remains “wide open.” What he didn’t say is that’s because of underwhelming play and health concerns. Perhaps Ben Cleveland seizes the job upon returning from the concussion, but this is starting to feel too much like right guard did last year.
10. Ronnie Stanley practiced on back-to-back days for the first time this summer and worked for roughly 75 minutes before leaving the field. You still wouldn’t expect him to play in the second preseason game on Saturday, but it’ll be interesting to see how much he does in the joint practices.
811. With Justice Hill absent from the last couple practices and not showing much in the New Orleans game, you wonder if Ty’Son Williams can make a real push for his roster spot. I kicked around the idea without much conviction last week, but Williams made some plays against the Saints.
12. Martindale’s gold chain drew social media attention during Saturday’s game with Tavon Young telling him to “let it drip.” The 58-year-old coach challenged the defense to get two takeaways before he’d do it, and the Ravens responded with six. “If that’s what gets turnovers, I’ll do anything.”
