The Baltimore Ravens have held training camp at their Under Armour Performance Center in Owings Mills for the last nine years. After moving from McDaniels College in Westminster to their palacial training facility all those years ago, it seemed as though the Ravens would never have a reason to move again. But with the coronavirus pandemic raging on and social distancing restrictions still in place, Baltimore is having to think of some backup plans. And that could mean training camp isn’t held in Maryland at all, much less at their facility.
“We’ll consider all options,” Ravens president Dick Cass said in a conference call with the United Way of Central Maryland on Thursday, per PennLive’s Aaron Kasinitz. “When we think about the option of trying to move our training camp outside of Maryland, we don’t like that option. We think that we can conduct training camp safely in Maryland. We know that our building will be absolutely pristine, and we think the safest place to conduct our training camp will be in Maryland at our facility. But if circumstances don’t allow that, we will explore the circumstances that are available to us.”
With the 2020 NFL Draft and the biggest portions of free agency now completed, teams are turning their attention to preparing for the regular season. And that means getting players and coaches ready with things like rookie minicamps, training camp and the preseason. But as the NFL continues to monitor the coronavirus pandemic and various regional restrictions, any form of offseason workouts are far from guaranteed.
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The league has thus far worked around the restrictions, creating a schedule for virtual offseason programs, recently extending it through May 29. But there’s little to no way to virtually simulate on-field work for an entire team, which is where training camp comes in. When asked how much time players would need to get ready for the regular season, Ravens running back Mark Ingram said he believed training camp and the preseason was essential.
“It has to be something around that – three, four, five weeks. The preseason and three or four weeks. Teams just being together, going through training camp, and being able to scrimmage other teams and play against other teams – I think all of that is crucial to the camaraderie of a team, and the development of your players on the team. I think it is all necessary in order to prepare yourself mentally, physically, individually and collectively, to have a successful season.”
Cass said he didn’t anticipate Baltimore would be able to hold in-person offseason programs or minicamp, according to Kasinitz. However, he did say the Ravens were “preparing to open training camp on time in late July.” While there are no guarantees and the situation is constantly evolving, that’s a good sign for a return of real football.
“The key thing for all of us is to have football games,” Cass said, per Kasinitz. “The community needs them, we need them and we’re expecting to play our games.”
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