Tag: Baltimore Ravens training camp

Ravens waive DT Daylon Mack, P Dom Maggio

As the Baltimore Ravens trim down to the 80-man roster for training camp, they cut last year’s fifth-round draft pick DT Daylon Mack.

The Baltimore Ravens continued to work down to the 80-man roster limit for training camp, making two more cuts on Saturday. The Ravens announced they waived defensive tackle Daylon Mack and punter Dom Maggio via Twitter.

Baltimore waiting Maggio should come as no surprise as the Ravens have one of the best punters in the league in Sam Koch. While the team typically keeps an extra leg or two for training camp, the reduced roster size this year due to the coronavirus pandemic makes an extra punter a completely unnecessary luxury.

It’s Mack getting waived that could shock some. After being taken in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft, it was expected Mack would at least be in the running for a spot on the 53-man roster, if not a rotational role, as he entered his second season. But with Baltimore selecting Justin Madubuike and Broderick Washington Jr. in the 2020 NFL Draft as well as re-signing Jihad Ward and Justin Ellis, as well as adding Calais Campbell and Derek Wolfe this offseason, Mack was simply the odd man out in a now very deep group.

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NFL agrees to no preseason games in 2020, reduced roster to 80 for training camp

The NFL and NFLPA continue to negotiate ahead of training camp, agreeing to a canceled preseason and roster reduction to 80 players

The NFL and NFLPA have agreed to eliminate the 2020 preseason in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and concerns over needless contact ahead of the regular season. In addition, the league and union have agreed to a reduction in team roster size, going from 90 players down to 80. The NFLPA informed players of the changes in a conference call on Tuesday, according to Mike Jones of USA TODAY Sports.

While fans have typically bemoaned preseason games in the past, the lack of sports of all types due to the pandemic has left many hungry for anything resembling normal sporting events. The loss of preseason games will also impact players on the roster bubble trying to make the final 53-man roster, making it more difficult for undrafted free agents and depth players to make their case for a roster spot.

In addition, the reduction in team roster size will further affect those players and teams looking to build the best group of players both for 2020 and beyond. For the Baltimore Ravens, who have 89 players on the roster right now, they’ll have to cut nine players before the start of training camp to be at the limit. While it makes sense some of the Ravens’ 21-man UDFA class will be the first to get cut, Baltimore could look to keep new players with potential over those that have struggled in previous years.

While rookies were to report for all 32 teams by today, full rosters are due to report by July 28. The NFL and NFLPA continue to negotiate ahead of the official start of training camp, which means we could see further adjustments in testing protocols, ramping up periods for practices, and potentially to some financials. It’s a fluid situation and we’ll continue update as things are decided.

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Ravens enter 2020 training camp with very few holes on roster

Despite having some position battles, the Baltimore Ravens might be the most complete roster in the NFL entering training camp in 2020.

The Baltimore Ravens will see their rookies appear at the Under Armour Performance Center for the very start of training camp, with the rest of the team set to report on July 28. As we look forward to seeing players on a practice field for the first time since their disappointing playoff loss, it’s time to look at what the Ravens might still need to live up to the expectations for 2020.

Initially, I sat down to think about what holes Baltimore currently has unfilled, as I do every year at various points of the offseason and the beginning of training camp. But it didn’t take long to realize the Ravens are absolutely stacked and enter camp with very few problem areas. Sure, Baltimore has a number of questions they’ll look to answer at training camp, including who will start at a handful of positions. Still, I wouldn’t necessarily classify most of those positions as being a hole.

Outside linebacker is really the only position that is still up in the air and might not have the number of quality starters Baltimore would like. Matthew Judon is the de facto starter at outside linebacker after signing his franchise tag tender this offseason. But opposite him is pretty questionable with Jaylon Ferguson and Tyus Bowser battling for a starting job and hopefully more production than what we saw in 2019. With the position being pretty lackluster last season, the Ravens largely ignoring it this offseason could come back and haunt them.

But every team has some questions and some positions where they’d love to be stronger. However, roster limits, salary cap restrictions, and the difficulty in just recruiting top players ensure that no one team is truly complete. So for Baltimore to have just one position where they might be weak is a pretty great spot to be at the end of July. Though training camp could bring injuries that create holes on Baltimore’s roster, it’s hard to complain about where they stand right now, both in the top talent they possess and the depth at key positions.

The Ravens revamped their defensive line, adding in Derek Wolfe and Calais Campbell. That should not only help solidify the run defense but also offer a little help to the pass rush and potentially free up Judon more. Baltimore completely gutted their inside linebacker unit, adding in Malik Harrison and Patrick Queen in the 2020 NFL Draft. The secondary continues to look amazing with cornerback Jimmy Smith coming back on a one-year deal to join Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters, along with Earl Thomas hopefully feeling a little more comfortable in his second season with the team. Offensively, Baltimore has kept things pretty much the same with 10 of 11 starters returning from last year’s league-leading scoring offense.

The Ravens enter training camp with some of the best odds to win Super Bowl LV and they look like one of the best teams in the league. Barring something dramatic happening, Baltimore looks primed to dominate again in 2020 and hopefully get over their playoff hump and back to the big game.

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Ravens players join viral #WeWantToPlay campaign asking NFL to address COVID-19 concerns

With training camps set to start this week, Ravens players joined others around the league in asking the NFL to address health concerns.

NFL training camps are opening up this week, with rookies first set to appear. For the Baltimore Ravens, their rookies will enter the Under Armour Performance Center on Tuesday with the whole team expected to report on July 28. The only problem: The NFL still doesn’t have answers on testing protocols and how to practice safely during the coronavirus pandemic.

While the NFL and NFLPA continue to work out the logistics of players returning, there are far more questions than answers. Yet, the NFL continues to march towards the opening of team facilities for training camp with reckless abandon despite the ongoing confusion from both teams and players. Houston Texans defensive end JJ Watt spelled out what the players currently know and the problems they face.

Several Ravens players have joined Watt and others from around the league in a now-viral “#WeWantToPlay” campaign on Twitter. Players are asking the NFL to provide more detailed answers and improved conditions at training camp to ensure the 2020 regular season can actually start safely.

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Ravens rookies to officially report to training camp Tuesday

under the CBA, the NFL has set the official dates for training camp. Ravens rookies go back first, on Tuesday, July 21.

NFL training camps will start on time this season, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

Under the collective bargaining agreement, the NFL will have rookies report on Tuesday, July 21. Quarterbacks and injured players are to report on July 23, with the full team expected to report on July 28.

For Baltimore, that means their 10-man 2020 NFL Draft class and UDFAs will be on an NFL practice field for the first time this week. It will be the first time the coaching staff and front office has seen their newest additions in person since before the draft. Under usual circumstances, the rookies would have already been in the facility for rookie minicamps and OTAs, with training camp being the final and longest stretch of practice time. However, with the coronavirus pandemic causing restrictions to social distancing, Baltimore closed the Under Armour Performance Center in March, reopening to some staff and coaches initially late in May, following league protocols.

Currently, the Ravens have eight of their 10 2020 NFL Draft picks under contract, with linebacker Malik Harrison the most recent to sign. First-round linebacker Patrick Queen and third-round wide receiver Devin Duvernay are the only two picks that remain unsigned from the group.

There are still some negotiations happening between the NFL and NFLPA regarding training camp and protocols, however. According to Pelissero, only 20 players are allowed in the facility at a time “until the NFLPA signs off on infectious disease emergency response plans.” Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire broke down what the NFLPA discussed in their recent phone call with reporters, giving more insight into many of the points the league and union currently disagree on.

It will be interesting how things will shake out between the NFLPA and NFL, and what impact that has on training camp and the preseason. But for now, players should be getting ready to put on their helmets.

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Ravens announce fans won’t be able to attend 2020 training camp

This will be just the second year where the Baltimore Ravens’ training camp won’t have fans in attendance, this time due to COVID-19.

When the Baltimore Ravens head back to the Under Armour Performance Center for the start of training camp, fans won’t be in attendance.

Following protocols set up by the NFL and NFLPA due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Ravens announced they won’t be able to host fans this year. This follows the team’s previous announcement of reduced capacity at home games at M&T Bank Stadium for the 2020 regular season.

“It is critically important that we protect the well-being of our players, coaches, staff, fans and overall community,” Ravens president Dick Cass said in a statement. “Health and safety will always be a top priority, and while we are disappointed that fans will not attend training camp, we believe this decision is in the best interest of the public and our organization. We look forward to welcoming back fans in the future when we can safely do so.”

This will be just the second training camp without fans at the Under Armour Performance Center since 2012 when the team moved practices to Owings Mills. The last time training camp went fanless was when the team facility was undergoing construction in 2017

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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.

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Ravens coach John Harbaugh calls NFL’s COVID-19 protocols ‘humanly impossible’

With training camp little more than a month away, Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh called the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols “impossible.”

The NFL is beginning to prepare for players to return at training camp as they gear up for the regular season. But the league’s COVID-19 protocols aren’t sitting right with Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh, who said he feels they’re unrealistic.

“I’ve seen all the memos on that, and to be quite honest with you, it’s impossible what they’re asking us to do. Humanly impossible,” Harbaugh said on 105.7’s Inside Access.

The NFL released a set of initial protocols for players to return to team facilities. They involved staff members wearing a mask when in the building, football equipment to be disinfected after use, and locker rooms to be staged to ensure players stay six feet apart.

Even though the Under Armour Performance Center is spacious, the idea of 90 players being on the roster while needing to practice and use the facilities makes these restrictions a tougher proposition, according to Harbaugh.

“We have to practice and I’m pretty sure the huddle is not going to be six feet spaced,” Harbaugh continued. “Are guys going to shower one at a time all day? Are guys going to lift weights one at a time all day? These are things the league and the PA needs to get a handle on and needs to get agreed with some common sense so we can operate in a 13-hour day in training camp that they’re giving us and get our work done. That’s the one thing, you can tell by my voice, I’m a little frustrated with what I’m hearing there. And I think they need to get that pinned down a little better.”

Commissioner Roger Goodell noted in his memo to teams that the protocols are likely to change as more information about the virus comes to light. Harbaugh also acknowledged the restrictions could change and ease up before training camp.

“Now maybe we’ll know more in two months and they’ll be able to be a little more realistic and practical in what they’re asking,” Harbaugh said. “I expect that to be the case. I think good people, smart people are involved in this. But the way I’m reading these memos right now, you throw your hands up and you go, ‘What the heck? There’s no way this can be right.’”

Even though Harbaugh was clearly upset with the protocols and how they’d make the already difficult task of getting the players prepared a harder one, he did say the Ravens were going to do everything possible to implement the league’s rules. Baltimore is currently scheduled to open training camp at its Under Armour Performance Center facility on July 28.

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Ravens C Matt Skura eyeing return for training camp after gruesome knee injury

After a gruesome knee injury last season, Ravens C Matt Skura is already thinking about a return and has his sights set on training camp

Baltimore Ravens center Matt Skura’s return from injury is going well. And that might mean a pretty miraculous return to the field come training camp.

“Whenever training camp starts, I’d like to be out there if I’m feeling really good,” Skura told BaltimoreRavens.com’s Clifton Brown. “If I’m not ready at the beginning, then maybe we’d take a week to get me back in the groove. I’m trying not to rush back too quickly, but I don’t want to delay myself too long.

Skura suffered a devastating knee injury in Week 11 last season, tearing his ACL, MCL, PCL, and dislocating his knee cap. While that type of injury might have been a career ender even just a decade ago, Skura has been making steady strides towards returning. He’s posted updates on Twitter, showing him getting back to lifting weights, though he readily admits squats are a far cry from having to fend off a defensive tackle that wants to push you out of the way and put your quarterback into the dirt.

“I’m feeling good strength wise, and obviously I’m still building that up. I just have to see how I feel when there’s a moving target, or when there’s another 300-pound dude trying to get to the quarterback or a running back. We’ll see how it feels then. But as of right now, things are feeling good.”

While lifting heavy weights that quickly after a knee injury is impressive, Skura’s return to running again back in April is an even more encouraging sign.

“I’d say I’m almost at full speed running,” Skura said, per Brown. “I can’t go from a stop all the way to full speed as quickly as I used to yet, but I’m getting close to that, maybe 80 to 90 percent.”

Though Baltimore is returning most of its starting lineup from last season, they have a few competitions being set up. None are as intriguing as the starting center job, which is surprisingly deep this year. Now on a one-year, restricted-free-agent deal, Skura will need to return quickly and fully to ensure his roster spot, much less his place on the depth chart.

Though the Ravens got good results from Skura, who made 36 consecutive starts at both center and guard before his injury last season, his job is far from guaranteed. When Skura went down, Patrick Mekari stepped in and performed admirably and will undoubtedly be considered for the job again this season. Then there’s likely going to be a further push from Bradley Bozeman — who started all 16 games at left guard for Baltimore last season — as well as fourth-round pick Ben Bredeson and UDFA Trystan Colon-Castillo.

However, if Skura can continue his rapid return, it might just be his job to lose at training camp.

“I know I’ve made a lot of big strides,” Skura said. “I’m going to keep that going.”

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Ravens announce re-opening of Under Armour Performance Center training facility

With the state of Maryland beginning to ease restrictions from the coronavirus pandemic, the Baltimore Ravens were able to re-open.

The Baltimore Ravens joined most of the NFL in re-opening their doors on Tuesday. After initially closing their training facility and having staff work remotely in March, Baltimore’s Under Armour Performance Center in Owings Mills is in the beginning stages of re-opening.

The Ravens got the go-ahead from Governor Larry Hogan to open their training facility and M&T Bank Stadium in accordance with the first phase of the NFL’s return policy.

Under the NFL’s rules, coaches are still not allowed to return, as are any players not currently rehabilitating an injury. Baltimore, like the rest of the league, is also limited to no more than 75 staff members in the building at a time. The Ravens will bring back staff from the equipment crew, football video, and personnel department, according to Ryan Mink of the team’s website.

There’s hope the NFL will allow coaches to return as early as next week, according to Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson, though nothing has been confirmed by the league or the NFLPA. However, any further strides in re-opening facilities could mark the start of football returning somewhat to normal in time for minicamps and training camp. Ravens president Dick Cass had previously said he thought the league would be prepared to open back up in time for training camp, with enough testing and regulations in place to keep everyone safe.

“We believe by the time of training camp, we’ll be able to test players and coaches, and those who meet together a lot, multiple times a week and be able to get results fairly quickly,” Cass said on “The Lounge” podcast.

“If the infection rate is really low, as I expect it will be by late summer, and we have adequate testing, and people are careful when they leave the building, I think there’s a really good shot that we’ll be OK.”

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