For Ravens, it’s Super Bowl or bust despite changes to roster, coaching staff
Brian Wacker, The Baltimore Sun
Despite all that turnover, the expectation remains the same for the Ravens, both in their building and around the NFL: Super Bowl or bust.
“There is a significant amount of change,” Harbaugh said. “Certainly more coaches than you normally see. That’s part of how it works. … We embrace it. We embrace opportunity on the coaching staff side for these guys to move up in these positions … and then embrace it as players, too. … I like our guys. I’m very optimistic they’ll do very well.”
Still, for all of Baltimore’s talent, a cloud continues to hover. The Ravens are just 2-4 in the playoffs with Jackson as their quarterback, and his postseason performances have been pockmarked by subpar play.
That includes last year’s playoffs, when he struggled in the first half of a divisional round game against the Houston Texans and then fell flat against the Chiefs, throwing just one touchdown pass while being intercepted once, fumbling once and being sacked three times. Kansas City went on to win, 17-10, and this season will try to become the first team to win three straight Super Bowls while Jackson and the Ravens were left wondering again why they couldn’t even get there.
Unsurprisingly, the bulk of the criticism fell on Jackson, who is entering his seventh year in the league.
Ravens training camp reset: Why this summer is important for Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman
Jonas Shaffer, The Baltimore Banner
This offseason, Jackson and Bateman missed a handful of voluntary practices during organized team activities, rarely overlapping on the field. In mandatory minicamp, their connection came and went.
It will have to be training camp, then, where Jackson, Flowers and Bateman build the foundation for a high-level passing attack under Monken. The Ravens have six-plus weeks to get things right before their Sept. 5 season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs. Every practice repetition together will be important, every day under the Owings Mills sun a potential lesson.
For Flowers, some throws could be more revealing than others. At Boston College, he was a home run threat who buzzed past cornerbacks and safeties downfield with 4.42-second speed in the 40-yard dash. But of his 77 catches last season (for 858 yards, a franchise rookie record), just five (for 224 yards) came on passes of at least 25 air yards, according to TruMedia. Flowers tied for fourth among rookie receivers in long receptions and had just two after Week 5, both of them coming in the Ravens’ Week 17 blowout of the Miami Dolphins.
Flowers will need Jackson to be his deep-shot partner in camp. Backup Josh Johnson tends to focus more on intermediate- and short-range targets in practice, and Flowers probably won’t get too many reps with the stronger-armed and more aggressive Devin Leary. Plus, Jackson, an inconsistent downfield passer, may need the practice as much as Flowers needs the looks.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh reveals grand ‘vision’ for two-time MVP Lamar Jackson
Jeff Zrebiec, The Athletic
Humphrey shines
There was a curiosity about the status of veteran cornerback Marlon Humphrey heading into training camp after he participated sparingly in organized team activities and the veteran minicamp. Harbaugh said last month that Humphrey was dealing with some “nagging” things following a 2023 season in which the three-time Pro Bowler missed eight games, including the divisional round playoff matchup against the Houston Texans.
Not only was Humphrey a full participant in practice, but he also was one of the more noticeable players on the field. He had a nice breakup on a Josh Johnson pass intended for Tylan Wallace and forced a few other incompletions with tight coverage.
Other thoughts, observations
• The Ravens are settled at several positions and don’t have too many available roster spots for a member of the team’s undrafted free-agent class to break through and make the 53. Wide receiver Dayton Wade, though, can make a compelling case. Wade, who had 55 catches for 830 yards and four touchdowns in his final college season at Ole Miss, had the play of the day on Sunday, hooking up with fellow rookie Devin Leary for a long gain. Wade beat cornerback Bump Cooper Jr. to make an over-the-shoulder catch.
Why Eddie Jackson Feels It’s a ‘Perfect Fit’ With Ravens
Ryan Mink, BaltimoreRavens.com
Jackson grew up about 15 minutes away from Lamar Jackson in Lauderdale Lakes, Fla., and they competed in youth football. Sharing the same name, Eddie liked to call Lamar his cousin.
Jackson played college football at Alabama in the same secondary with Marlon Humphrey. Derrick Henry was the running back, and they all won a national championship together.
Jackson spent his first five seasons in the NFL playing behind Roquan Smith in the Bears defense – Smith leading the front seven and Jackson leading the secondary.
So when Jackson intercepted a pass in just his second practice as a Raven and took it the other way for what would’ve been a pick-six, it was like a family reunion celebrating as Humphrey and Smith came running behind him in delirious pursuit.
“It just felt like a perfect fit,” Jackson said. “Just knowing what they have in this building and the tradition of things, I just knew it was a perfect fit for me to come in and compete and do what I do to help the team get better and hopefully win the Super Bowl.”
“Man, it’s crazy. I feel like this is probably the [deepest] and [most] competitive DB room I’ve had since Alabama with Minkah [Fitzpatrick], Ronnie [Harrison] and Marlon,” Jackson said.
“I’m just coming in trying to be that missing piece on that back end of that defense and do whatever I can to contribute and help us eventually [win] a Super Bowl.”
2024 NFL Future Power Rankings: Projections for all 32 teams
Graziano, Riddick & Schatz, ESPN
Overall score: 91.6
Reason for hope: Adding Derrick Henry to the run game should make it even more formidable, and wide receiver Zay Flowers’ rookie-season connection with Lamar Jackson showed a ton of promise. There has been a lot of change on the offensive line (including rookie Roger Rosengarten now set to start at right tackle) and the defensive coaching staff, but even if the Ravens take a little step back in 2024, they are a steady and well-run organization that’s used to managing through change.
Reason for concern: Offensive coordinator Todd Monken led the Ravens to the No. 4 scoring offense (28.4 points per game) last season, and Jackson was fourth in Total QBR (64.7) on his way to his second career league MVP. Going forward, I’m more concerned about those changes along the offensive line. That unit was in the top 10 in pass block win rate and run block win rate in 2023, so I wonder whether it will take a step back. Plus, as Dan mentioned, the defense is also undergoing an overhaul with a new coordinator in Zach Orr and a youth infusion at LB and CB.
Nugget to know: Only the youthful Bears have less of last season’s snap count share wrapped up in players who will be unrestricted free agents in 2025. In fact, cornerback Brandon Stephens is the only 2025 free agent for the Ravens who played at least two-thirds of the snaps in 2023, meaning Baltimore could keep the starting lineup mostly intact.