The Ravens took to the field for their final practice open to the media prior to Thursday’s preseason game against the Carolina Panthers.
Under partly cloudy skies with temperatures in the mid-70’s, players were donned in shorts and no helmets as they gathered for positional drills followed by team drills.
Missing in Action
WR Breshad Perriman, WR Steve Smith Sr., OLB Terrell Suggs, OLB Elvis Dumervil and RB Lorenzo Taliaferro all remain on the physically unable to perform list.
TE Dennis Pitta (sprained thumb), TE Crockett Gillmore, TE Maxx Williams, WR Chris Moore (walking boot) and WR Michael Campanaro (strain) did not participate in the Tuesday morning practice.
Safety Matt Elam and CB Maurice Canady both returned to practice.
Observations
The Ravens were in walk-through mode for the 2.5 hour-practice in preparation for their first preseason game of the season at M&T Bank Stadium on Thursday evening.
Left tackle Ronnie Stanley (soft tissue injury) returned to practice for the first time since leaving Saturday’s open practice at M&T Bank Stadium. The rookie did not appear limited in any capacity, though it should be noted again that it was just a walk-through.
Safety Eric Weddle looked more like he was going to play in a pick up game at a school yard than a practice as a member of a professional NFL squad. “The Beard” was dressed in old baggy sweat pants and a hoodie.
Daniel Brown, who took a nasty hit from cornerback Sam Brown on Monday, was back on the field practicing. Despite laying face down on the turf for several minutes, Brown walked off the field under his own power yesterday. The wide receiver turned tight end joins Benjamin Watson, Darren Waller and Nick Boyle as the healthiest remaining at the position.
It was apparent early just how slow of a pace the team intended on practicing with Tuesday, as Joe Flacco didn’t even bother wearing his knee brace. The veteran quarterback did more than some soft tosses during 11-on-11 team drills.
While Justin Tucker remains the man in Baltimore for the 2016 season and beyond, the Ravens found another solid kicker in Will Lutz, who appeared to be mere camp fodder two weeks ago. The undrafted rookie out of Georgia State has had success at all ranges, including several from beyond 50 yards. The bet here is that he ends up on an active NFL roster sometime soon.
Quote of the Day
“We do expect them all to play in the opener. As far as the preseason, it goes back to, ‘We’ll see.’ They all want to play, I know that. They’re all working really hard to play in the preseason, but we’re certainly expecting them all back for the opener. We’ll just have to make some decisions. Terrell Suggs is the closest. He had the injury the soonest. He’s already on me about practice, and I’m holding him back right now. He’ll be out there soon practicing. How much we play him remains to be seen. The other guys are probably a little longer away than he is – him being ready – but we’ll just see where we go. But they should all play in the regular season.” – John Harbaugh when asked if he expects Terrell Suggs, Steve Smith Sr. and Elvis Dumervil to play in the season opener and return to practice soon.
On Deck
Practice will be closed to the media on Wednesday as they conduct a final walk-through. Their next scheduled practice is Saturday morning at 8:45 a.m..
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