The Ravens entered training camp with cornerback depth high on the list of concerns following the free-agent departure of Corey Graham and the lack of a significant offseason addition through free agency or the draft.
The anxiety has only grown with a lingering back injury for starter Lardarius Webb that is likely to keep him sidelined for most of the preseason, according to head coach John Harbaugh. Webb โprobablyโ wonโt play in the first two preseason games and could even miss the all-important third game of the summer despite tests revealing no structural damage to the sixth-year defensive back.
โHe has some things going on in there that arenโt long-term things,โ Harbaugh said. โIโm not going to get into it and give you the exact diagnosis of it. Itโs probably as much me as anything. This early part of camp โ- I just donโt want to put him through this on his back. Heโs had sports hernia surgery [earlier in the offseason], also. Thereโs still some scar tissue in there. I just would rather keep him out of this first part of training camp, and weโll just see how it feels more toward the end of camp.โ
As anyone could tell you, back injuries are tricky, and thereโs no guarantee that Webb will be in the clear even when he returns to action. The Ravens are taking the prudent approach considering the regular-season opener against Cincinnati is still more than a month away, but that will only quell concerns so much in a day and age when the NFL is all about defending the passing game.
Entering the summer, the competition was already wide open for the No. 3 cornerback spot with young defensive backs Chykie Brown and Asa Jackson expected to be pushed by veterans Aaron Ross and Dominique Franks, who were both signed following Juneโs mandatory minicamp. Instead, Ross tore his Achilles tendon taking the conditioning test at the start of camp and Franks took several days to pass the test to even get on the field. The former Atlanta Falcons cornerback has done very little to distinguish himself while working with the second- and third-string defenses in practice.
Rookie free agents Tramain Jacobs, Deji Olatoye, and Sammy Seamster have all flashed ability and are intriguing candidates to potentially make the 53-man roster, but none can reasonably be counted on to handle a significant defensive role in Week 1.
The only certainty right now is 2011 first-round pick Jimmy Smith handling one of the starting spots.
โSomebody has to rise to the top,โ defensive coordinator Dean Pees said. โThe cream has to come to the top and somebody has to take the job, and I donโt know right now who that is. I feel pretty good about Jimmy Smith on the one side, and then thereโs a lot of competition over on the other side. Right now, I couldnโt tell you who that is. Those guys just have to keep competing.โ
Through the early stages of camp, Jackson has played better than Brown, but neither has shown enough consistency to feel comfortable about penciling one into the nickel defense. When it comes to experience, Brown has the edge as heโs filled in as an outside corner in the nickel due to injuries while Jackson has yet to play a defensive snap as he enters his third season.
Pees and secondary coach Steve Spagnuolo prefer to slide Webb inside in the nickel package where his ability to play the run and blitz can be better utilized, and Brown is better suited to play outside, but the 2011 fifth-round pick consistently struggles to find the football in coverage. Meanwhile, Jackson is more of an inside corner with a height listed at 5-foot-10.
โThatโs something that I went into this latest break trying to really work on and really working on my technique on the outside,โ Jackson told AM 1570 WNST.net last week. โBeing a smaller guy, it gets a little hairy out there sometimes, but Iโve put in a lot of good work this offseason. Iโm excited to keep trying to improve and play on the outside.โ
The Ravens have experimented with a variety of different looks including moving strong safety Matt Elam to the nickel spot, but itโs fair to wonder whether the defenseโs No. 3 cornerback isnโt currently on the roster. General manager Ozzie Newsome has found contributors who have become available at the end of the preseason in the past, but thereโs no guarantee a quality cornerback will shake free with the pass-happy nature of the league and the premium placed on coverage.
Newsome spoke highly of Brown and Jackson throughout the offseason, but the inability to add an impact cornerback this offseason is even more concerning with the absence of Webb.
โWe may do some things that I may not normally do in a game just to put those guys out there and see what they can do,โ Pees said. โThis is the time to experiment and see if they can do it โ not when the season starts.โ
Of course, the Ravens are expressing confidence that Webb will be ready to go by the end of the summer, but theyโll need to find a comfort level with their No. 3 cornerback before they can even begin thinking about how to align the defense should Webbโs absence linger into the regular season.
Itโs not a comfortable place to be with a group of unproven and unheralded cornerbacks competing for what has essentially become a starting position in the NFL. And that discomfort becomes a nightmare if the Ravens arenโt being completely transparent about Webbโs injured back.
For now, Harbaugh and his coaching staff can only hope one of the young cornerbacks answers the bell while Newsome keeps his eyes peeled for what might become available through trade or free agency.
โThere is a lot of competition out here for that third spot,โ Jackson said. โI think weโre all kind of raising each otherโs level of play. Hopefully, we can keep doing that and then once the games get here, itโll sort out how it will.โ
Webb injury makes cornerback no secondary concern for Ravens

Luke Jones
Luke Jones is the Ravens and Orioles beat reporter for WNST BaltimorePositive.com and is a PFWA member. His mind is consumed with useless sports knowledge, pro wrestling promos, and movie quotes, but he often forgets where he put his phone. Luke's favorite sports memories include being one of the thousands of kids who waited for Cal Ripken's autograph after Orioles games in the summer of 1995, attending the Super Bowl XXXV victory parade with his dad in the pouring rain, and watching the Terps advance to the Final Four at the Carrier Dome in 2002. Follow him on social media @BaltimoreLuke or email him at Luke@wnst.net.
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