The Ravens held their final open practice to the media of the week under sunny skies with temperatures in the low 80’s at the Under Armour Performance Center in Owings Mills.
The walk-through kicked off at 8:45 a.m. with players donned in shorts beginning with positional drills before joining together for team drills.
Missing in Action
OLB Elvis Dumervil, WR Breshad Perriman, RB Lorenzo Taliaferro all remain on the physically unable to perform list.
TE Dennis Pitta (sprained thumb), TE Maxx Williams (unknown), CB Sam Brown (unknown), CB Kyle Arrington (unknown), WR Mike Wallace (unknown), TE Benjamin Watson (unknown), S Kendrick Lewis (unknown) and OL John Urschel (contusion) did not practice on Thursday.
CB Sheldon Price and TE Daniel Brown returned to practice.
Steve Smith Sr. Returns
An emotional Steve Smith Sr. took to the podium following practice. With watery eyes, the veteran wide receiver explained his reason for returning this season, took some shots at the media and served warning to the rest of the league.
“I really came back, not to set any records, (but) because this organization gave me an opportunity,” Smith said. “When I got hurt, I felt like I let those guys down in the locker room. So for me to come back and play, it just showed them that I am dependable.
“And it showed you jackasses that at 37 years old, I can still play,” Sr. added. “I’m sick of y’all, ‘How can you depend on a 37-year-old to play this game after a ruptured Achilles?’ We’ll see. I rehabbed for nine months while y’all were sitting around twiddling your thumbs. I intend to lay everything out.”
Smith participated in positional drills and team drills in the Ravens glorified walk-through on Thursday morning. He looks like he hasn’t missed a step since suffering a season-ending Achilles injury in week eight of last season. He glided through the route tree and caught pass after pass from Joe Flacco.
As the fiery wideout glanced ahead to the 2016 season, he made it clear he doesn’t want a farewell tour.
“I’m not in this business to make friends. If you’re not in the same jersey as me, I plan to rip you to shreds – bottom line,” bellowed Smith. “There’s a number of guys in this league … Everybody I go against, I respect. I’m not trying to make you feel like I fear you, but I also respect them. This is competition. This is football. In competition, guys are hitting, so I’m going to hit back.”
While it’s doubtful Smitty will see any game action prior to week one, his presence on the practice field is a welcomed one, if not for his hot takes alone…
On Deck
Practice is closed to the media on Friday as the team holds their final walk-through before traveling to Indianapolis to take on the Colts in preseason game two on Saturday night.
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