With the Ravens holding their first voluntary organized team activity open to media on Tuesday, I’ve offered a dozen thoughts, each in 50 words or less:
1. Jesse Minter said Lamar Jackson has been “one of our leaders of the offseason program” and “had a couple things going on” this week. That’s fine at face value, but it’s not ideal that your rookie head coach has to answer for your absence at the first open full-team workout.
2. The head coach calling the defense from the sideline during 11-on-11 periods headlined a different look and feel to practice than John Harbaugh’s usual post standing behind the offense. That said, Minter isn’t reinventing the sport, especially when the Harbaugh family way accounts for so much of his coaching experience.
3. Spring observations carry very little consequence, but an injury is the last thing you want to see, which is what made Derrick Henry falling to the ground and briefly holding his knee a scary sight. Fortunately, he only banged knees with another player and very quickly returned to action.
4. Kyle Hamilton was among those not on the field to begin the workout, but he later ventured out of the building to watch from the defensive sideline. Minter still expects Hamilton to get “a ton of work” during OTAs, so it’s fair to suspect he may have tweaked something recently.
5. Given his experience level compared to the other in-house candidates, Danny Pinter getting the first crack as the first-team center isn’t surprising as Minter pointed to a likely rotation over the course of OTAs and minicamp. John Simpson complimented Pinter’s communication getting the offensive line ready before the snap.
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6. Simpson said Vega Ioane “kind of soaks it all up like a sponge” while remaining relatively quiet to this point. All signs continue pointing to Ioane playing right guard, and there seems to be no real concern about him moving there after primarily manning left guard at Penn State.
7. Though intrigue about Minter’s effect on Hamilton is a given, I’m interested to see what Malaki Starks looks like in his second season. Jaylinn Hawkins’ arrival should provide more opportunities to deploy Starks in some different ways and allow him to be more dynamic.
8. Even the NFL has gotten in on the hype for Ja’Kobi Lane, and there’s definite excitement about what he and Elijah Sarratt can bring. However, I still wouldn’t sleep on Devontez Walker with this being his third year working with Jackson. This is a pivotal spring and summer for Walker.
9. Speaking of 2024 fourth-round picks, T.J. Tampa received more extensive reps with Marlon Humphrey and Chidobe Awuzie absent from Tuesday’s workout. Tampa broke up an underthrown deep ball from Tyler Huntley intended for Lane during an 11-on-11 period. Given the unproven outside corner depth, Tampa emerging would be reassuring.
10. One of the day’s highlights was second-year cornerback Robert Longerbeam intercepting a Skylar Thompson pass intended for Mark Andrews. A sixth-round pick out of Rutgers, Longerbeam missed a ton of development time last year, but that play should help build some confidence.
11. Having previously arrived as a late-2022 practice squad addition and reserve-future signing, Simpson has come a long way from needing to revive his career in Baltimore. “My agent called me and told me that this was an option. For me, it was a no-brainer.”
12. Zay Flowers was back on the practice field the day after receiving his degree and participating in graduation at Boston College. That’s a pretty impressive level of dedication for someone in line for a big payday in the not-too-distant future.
