OTL: One Absence Doesn’t Spoil the Crop…but it Ain’t Great

Like the rising of a new day’s sun, the start of training camp each year brings promise.

Promise of new beginnings, of a fresh start. The promise that anything is indeed possible, and that there is absolutely nothing that can crush the positive vibes of all the things that are still right ahead of you.

Then you spill your coffee, your dog gets off the leash on your morning walk and you get into the shower only to realize that you bought conditioner instead of liquid soap, and you’re standing there with a bald head that would have no use whatsoever with a thing of hair conditioner, so you start cursing and kicking and you slip on the wet floor and…

But I digress.

The Ravens took to the field yesterday for the first day of training camp, and there was nothing but love for players like Lamar Jackson, Odell Beckham Jr. and Zay Flowers.

See?

Absolute pandemonium to high five @Lj_era8 💜 pic.twitter.com/IchocwiRGX

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) July 26, 2023

And…

“It’s OBJ!!!!” pic.twitter.com/ywIBNO8Z2Z

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) July 26, 2023

Or…

The kids are HYPE for @ZayFlowers ‼️ pic.twitter.com/mQ8e0pM8PE

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) July 26, 2023

But there was one very notable absence on the day, and that was running back JK Dobbins. And though both sides are playing things fairly close to the vest on this one, it would appear that this is contract-related, and symptomatic to what we’ve been seeing league-wide as disgruntled running backs are speaking out on their diminished value to organizations.

Not value in terms of what they bring to the offense, per se, as much as value in regards to the players’ wallets.

The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec wrote a good piece on the Dobbins absence, and what it means for the team as they jump into the heart of their offseason ramp-up.

J.K. Dobbins starts camp on the physically unable to perform list as Ravens and the running back work through a situation that isn’t “simple.” https://t.co/DNfHxIdVsG

— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) July 27, 2023

When Harbaugh was asked after practice about the running back’s absence, he offered a somewhat vague response that wasn’t terribly difficult to read between the lines, per Zrebiec.

“That’s a J.K. question,” Harbaugh said with a smile. “I wish there was a simple answer. There’s always a lot of things that go into football, but there’s some complexity to it. We’re working through all that, and we’re looking forward to when he’s out there.”

It’s important to note that Harbaugh didn’t seem particularly angry about the situation in his tone, and he said later that he believes once Dobbins gets back on the field, we will see that same hard-working motivated player we have always seen when he’s healthy.

But, yeah, the contract stuff is tricky.

Many are saying Dobbins doesn’t have any real leverage here, seeing as how he has only played in 23 out of a possible 50 regular-season games since coming into the league. To be fair, it’s not like he’s been injury prone — he missed one entire season with a badly-injured knee, and parts of last season dealing with the effects of that knee trauma.

When he has been on the field, Dobbins has been electric, even minus one half of a step for much of last season. In those 23 games, he has averaged 5.9 yards a tote and produced 12 total touchdowns — and that is in a running-back-by-committee offense.

If you’re willing to pay on projection, there is enough there to justify a nice pay hike for the back. But it’s tricky considering we haven’t seen him shoulder a full load yet, and none of us really know what the run game is going to look like under new OC Todd Monken.

Maybe both sides can come together on a tidy two- or three-year extension that can give Dobbins some security without crippling the team’s finances if that knee gets wonky again. Or, maybe this drags on and becomes a problem going forward. It certainly explains the team signing Melvin Gordon, even though that position group also includes Gus Edwards, Justice Hill and exciting undrafted rookie Keaton Mitchell.

Stay tuned to this one. Dobbins is a proud guy who isn’t shy to speak up, but also backs everything up with his effort and talent.

Here’s a terrific recap of yesterday’s first practice of 2023 training camp:

An Electric Vibe Enveloped UAPC