Practice Report: Ravens End Minicamp Healthy, in Good Shape for Training Camp
Ryan Mink, BaltimoreRavens.com
Lamar Jackson made a couple throws that stood out. One was a perfect deep shot down the sidelines that tight end Mark Andrews caught perfectly in stride despite tight coverage from linebacker Malik Harrison. Another was a laser to Rashod Bateman on the far sideline. Jackson missed some time at OTAs and had a few interceptions at minicamp (including another to Roquan Smith on Thursday), but he had a good minicamp.
Bateman was particularly busy Thursday, hauling in several passes from Jackson on the day.
First-round rookie cornerback Nate Wiggins has a good feel for route concepts. He made a nice play early in practice dropping off his man to come underneath on a throw to Malik Cunningham. Wiggins would’ve had a monster hit on him in a game.
Second-year linebacker Trenton Simpson broke up an end-zone pass intended for Andrews. Simpson has gotten a lot of reps in pass coverage in minicamp. He’s had his hands full with the Ravens’ tight ends and certainly hasn’t won all of them, but he’s consistently been in good position.
Ravens minicamp observations: Lamar Jackson responding to more pre-snap responsibility
Jeff Zrebiec, The Athletic
At Wednesday’s minicamp practice, Jackson was challenged throughout by an aggressive defense to change routes, run schemes and protections at the line of scrimmage. Martin liked what he saw as the offense had one of its sharper practices since the offseason workouts began.
“It takes him understanding how we’re blocking things up front to get us to the best run and the best pass for whatever coverage we’re facing,” Martin said. “He’s accepted it and done a heck of a job of getting us into the right play, and today was probably the best day in a long time of him really just having the freedom to do what he wants to do. We saw some really good plays and some positive gains with him doing that today.”
“Last year was really a great year in a sense of doing things from a technical standpoint, a new system, new obligations, new responsibilities, progressions, schemes, things of that nature and just building upon what we started last season,” Martin said. “This offseason has been a lot about that. We started with a self-scout of him, and the things from a passing standpoint that we wanted to improve on, technique-wise, reads, things of that nature, from a run-game standpoint. And then build from that to, how can we push that even further and give him more responsibilities within the offense and doing more things that he likes to do, and listening to him and things that he likes and building around that.”
Ravens observations on ‘pumped’ Kyle Van Noy, ‘nagging things’ for Marlon Humphrey and more
Taylor Lyons, The Baltimore Sun
Van Noy is back with the Ravens for his 11th season for myriad reasons. He’s eager to see what an Orr-led defense will look like. And, equipped with a full offseason with the team, he wants to prove he has more to give.
“I want to continue to show myself and show people that I can still play at a high level,” said Van Noy, who skipped voluntary organized team activities but returned for mandatory minicamp this week. “I feel like I’ve been underappreciated in my career. I don’t think I’ve lost a step in my eyes.”
Van Noy echoed fellow players’ sentiments throughout minicamp that aggressiveness could be a staple of an Orr-led unit. The coordinator sent unique blitz packages at the offense throughout the week, in part to give them various looks but to also get his defenders ready for what Orr might expect.
With Jadeveon Clowney now in Carolina, the veteran Van Noy would be a key cog in Orr’s potentially hyper-aggressive system. For someone who values continuity and has struggled to find it, Van Noy knows what he can do when able to be comfortable.
“I feel great, excited to be here, pumped to be a Raven and pumped to be going into year 11,” Van Noy said. “It’s nice to say I beat [recently retired Los Angeles Rams superstar defensive tackle] Aaron Donald in one thing.”
Following injury-plagued season, safety Marcus Williams refuses to address health at minicamp
Giana Han, The Baltimore Banner
The team said Williams suffered a torn left pectoral injury in Week 1. He decided against surgery and made his return in Week 5. During the next two games, a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers and a win over the Tennessee Titans, it was clear he was not tackling regularly.
Williams played just those two games before missing three weeks with a hamstring injury. When he returned in Week 10, it appeared it was the pectoral injury, not the hamstring, that was holding him back. Williams led with his right arm and seemed to shy from contact on his left. He also seemed to be missing full range of motion with his left arm.
When asked about the pectoral injury, he simply said “injuries happen” and that you’ve just “got to overcome them.” This same injury knocked out former Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt for eight weeks and required surgery. Los Angeles Rams safety Eric Weddle played through a torn pectoral in the Super Bowl, and he said on “The Rich Eisen Show” that he was “in a lot of pain,” and it “hurt every second.”
PFF Center Rankings: Top 32 ahead of the 2024 NFL season
Thomas Valentine, PFF
3. TYLER LINDERBAUM, BALTIMORE RAVENS
After taking like a duck to water in his rookie season, Linderbaum went one better and improved in his sophomore campaign. He improved his overall grade from 74.7 to 78.3, including a dramatic shift in his pass-blocking grade from 54.7 to 76.1. He also allowed just 15 pressures without a single sack in 2023.
The sky is the limit for one of the best young emerging offensive line talents.