Tag: Baltimore Ravens conditioning test

Ravens players use GIFs to bemoan tough conditioning test

Several Baltimore Ravens players took to Twitter to talk about how difficult the team’s conditioning test is.

As the Baltimore Ravens continue to work out virtually in preparation for training camp in late July, it appears as though the team just started their conditioning tests. And based on the players’ reactions on Twitter, the notoriously difficult conditioning test hasn’t gotten any easier.

The Ravens are well known for having one of the toughest conditioning tests in the NFL. Even players who have been in the league for years with several different teams have complained about how severe it is. For the Ravens’ rookie draft class, they got their first true taste of the difference from college to the NFL.

It all started when UDFA quarterback Tyler Huntley made a post on Twitter, joking about how tired he was following the test.

Once the elephant in the room was addressed, rookie linebackers Patrick Queen and Malik Harrison echoed in with their own thoughts.

Fullback and defensive lineman Patrick Ricard got in on it too.

Others simply laughed at the complaints.

But Huntley, Ricard, Queen, and Harrison were far from the only players to be exhausted after their conditioning tests. Baltimore quarterback and MVP winner Lamar Jackson also posted a GIF on Twitter to show how hard the test is.

Just last offseason, Baltimore saw Orlando Brown Jr., Jermaine Eluemunor and Shane Ray fail their conditioning tests. Michael Pierce got kicked off the practice field at minicamp for poor conditioning. Former Ravens players like Mike Wallace, Jerraud Powers, Fabian Washington, and Justin Forsett have all talked about how difficult the test is and their own experiences with failing it.

When asked by a fan if the conditioning test was similar to a middle school pace test, Ricard was quick with a reply.

BaltimoreRavens.com reporter Ryan Mink previously ran a version of the team’s conditioning test designed for offensive and defensive linemen, and barely passed. The 2012 version of the test Mink ran included six sprints totaling 900 yards. Each sprint had to be completed in 35 seconds or less, with just a 70-second break in between them. A failure to meet the time in any sprint means a failure of the whole test. We also know, from coach John Harbaugh talking about it previously, that the test also includes needing to pass anaerobic heart rate standards afterward. So not only do you need to be in ridiculous condition just to run the whole thing, you need to be in even better shape to recover fast enough after it.

With this offseason being abnormal due to social distancing regulations from the coronavirus, we might not know who failed their test like in previous years. But if the complaints from players are any indication, it wouldn’t be shocking if a few had to run it again.

[vertical-gallery id=49895]