With the Ravens holding their third voluntary organized team activity open to reporters on Tuesday, I’ve offered a dozen thoughts, each in 50 words or less:
1. Since the Maxx Crosby saga, it’s been an uneventful spring, which is what you wanted for a new coaching staff trying to set the tone for a team carrying high expectations. The center position and Nnamdi Madubuike’s status remain major questions, but Baltimore seems mostly ready to roll beyond that.
2. The defense showed active hands Tuesday with highlights including a Nate Wiggins breakup of a Lamar Jackson pass intended for Ja’Kobi Lane and Zion Young batting down a Jackson pass during an 11-on-11 period. The intensity level should pick up during mandatory minicamp next week.
3. An offensive highlight was Jackson’s tight-window throw that just eluded Jaylinn Hawkins and landed in the hands of Zay Flowers right on the sideline for a good gain during a full-team period. Flowers has to have the Ravens’ single-season record for receiving yards (1,361) in his sights this year.
4. Atlanta signing Drake London to a four-year, $141 million extension was the latest reminder of how expensive it’s going to be to extend Flowers. The longer Baltimore waits, the more lucrative the contract is going to be for the two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver.
5. Speaking of NFL news, Flowers laughed and stated the obvious when asked whether he was pleased to learn Myles Garrett would no longer be playing in the AFC North. “Yeah, everybody is. I think everybody in Baltimore should be happy.”
6. “We wanted to bring in somebody that I could relate to a little bit more.” That was the 45-year-old Anthony Weaver’s quip about the return of Calais Campbell, who will be 40 by the time the Ravens kick off the season. We’ll get our first look at Campbell next week.
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7. Tuesday’s standout performer was Keondre Jackson, who intercepted a Skylar Thompson pass off the hands of rookie tight end Josh Cuevas and nearly picked off another Thompson throw. Baltimore’s top three safeties are set, but the undrafted Illinois State product certainly turned heads contributing on special teams as a rookie.
8. Anthony Levine was asked if he sees similarities between Keondre Jackson and himself. “Keondre is going to be a better player than what I was. … The things that Keondre can do, I wasn’t able to do.” That’s a purposeful answer from a coach who had a good playing career himself.
9. The Ravens have yet to bring in competition for Tyler Loop, who connected on several kicks from inside 40 yards before missing wide left from 63 Tuesday. Everyone in the organization is saying the right things, but this remains an uncomfortable unknown until he’s back in a pressure situation.
10. Weaver offered high praise for Mike Green, suggesting he was “milliseconds away from having double-digit sacks” as a rookie last year. The presence of Trey Hendrickson will go a long way, but Green stepping up would help make this the kind of formidable pass rush Baltimore really needs.
11. I’ll have more on Declan Doyle in the coming days, but he’s thrown plenty at offensive players rather than easing into it. “I think growth happens on the other side of stress, so we need to stress them. We need to figure out what they can handle.” An impressive mindset.
12. Baltimore Colts legend and Hall of Famer Raymond Berry concluded his playing career long before I was born, but a fond memory of my grandfather was the reverence with which he always spoke about Berry’s pass-catching consistency and precision running routes. What a life Berry lived.
