NFL News: Ravens To Have More Cautious Training Camp After Last Year's Disaster

The Baltimore Ravens are aware of their struggles during last year’s training camp, and they are addressing it as early as now.

Jeff Zreibec of The Athletic noted that head coach John Harbaugh has been very cautious about how they approach camp this year to the point that they are not even going to hold joint practices with other teams.

Baltimore ended the season with 25 players on injury reserve, including their three most prominent running backs, cornerback Marcus Peters, and key defensive tackle Derek Wolfe all missing the season entirely.

The decision to avoid joint practices is likely because Wolfe suffered a season-ending back injury against the Carolina Panthers last year.

Running backs Gus Edwards and Justice Hill were injured during practices with J.K. Dobbins tore his ACL in their final preseason match against the Washington Commanders.

“I don’t know if we’ve reached any conclusions about why the injuries happened. Nobody has those conclusions. We’ve listened. We’ve seen all the studies,” Harbaugh said as quoted by Zreibec.

When it comes to how they will approach their practices, Harbaugh did not specifically name the changes in their methodology other than their decision to not have joint practices.

However, Harbaugh later clarified that the Ravens will be having a “less competitive” practice day on every third practice during camp and shorter than before.

The Ravens are staring down the barrel of a gun this season after they were one of the favorites to make the Super Bowl last season before the injury bug decided to plague the team.

2019 unanimous NFL MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson is yet to sign his extension and the worry that Ravens fans have throughout much of the offseason is palpable.

The quarterback market has gotten even more problematic for the Ravens as the Los Angeles Rams’ Matthew Stafford and Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns each received contracts worth $160 million over four years and a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million deal respectively.

Baltimore may be forced to pay closer to Watson’s deal as Jackson has been the face of the Ravens’ success in recent years.

Jackson and the organization will likely come to terms just a little bit before the season starts, but the Ravens are more than aware that in order to get his commitment, the team has to have the pieces around him.

As it stands, the Ravens have 10 picks in the upcoming NFL draft, including the no. 14 overall and five fourth round picks which they can use to select a potential Pro Bowler or trade some of those assets for an instant upgrade.

This offseason potentially has the biggest implications on how likely it is that they can contend for a Super Bowl ring this year.