“Water Day” at Camp, but Injury News Dampens Festivities

The toughest player at Ravens training camp today was the sun. The heat was a brutal element, and the players did a great job of working through, something that may aid them on warm September Sundays. Everything was going in this practice. There was high effort and this was about as physical as a padded practice days before a preseason football game can be.

The biggest standout in my book was Brandon Stephens. He had back to back plays where he gave receivers (Devontez Walker and Zay Flowers) little real estate by the sideline, making two athletic play to break up the passes. Stephens is a pure technician at the cornerback position, who has grown immeasurably since being drafted out of SMU. He used his textbook coverage to keep some of the most dynamic athletes from making big plays down the field. We knew he was good, and now it seems like everything is coming together for him.

The cornerbacks all played physical and the in-practice officials called more penalties on them than we’ve seen in recent practice. Damarion Williams had a play where he crashed down and had a hard tackle on Owen Wright. Christian Matthews (who is making a good push for practice squad contention) had a big hit dislodging Malik Cunningham’s footing. Sanoussi Kane also had a hit that got his fellow defensive players cheering.

Derrick Henry decided to show off a bit. There was one play where he found another gear and broke away down the sideline. On another, he scampered well over 20 yards down the field. Henry’s plays may have gotten the most buzz and roar out of the fans in attendance for Temperature Tuesday.

Another guy who had a notable practice was Qadir Ismail. He made a leaping grab in a tight crowd of defenders, and also hauled in a high bullet pass in the back of the end zone. Ismail did have a drop on a dart from Josh Johnson. He was leaned forward almost leaping for the ball and he couldn’t come down with it. At the end of this play he looked a little shaken up, and defensive backs called for help, but Ismail quickly recovered and jogged back to rejoin the offense.

Lamar Jackson was fairly efficient yet still struggles to find consistency when he takes a shot down field. His best pass of the day was when he extended a red zone play, re-set to throw the football and found Flowers who stayed available to him off schedule.

The play of the day has to go to Sean Ryan, who made a jumping grab where he turned his entire body to catch the football and haul it down the field for a touchdown. It was one of those plays you just had to see; everyone knew at that moment it was the play of the day.

Russell Gage got into the action in his first practice with the Ravens. There wasn’t much to say about his practice though he did look to have a considerable burst that could help the receiver position. After practice John Harbaugh referred to him as a “proven player” and called his signing a great opportunity for the team.

Some slip and slide gun at #Ravens camp to end practice pic.twitter.com/PXQUsB9iEX

— Chris Schisler (@footballman58) August 6, 2024

Practice ended with some fun. As some players were working on some situational football to end the session, hoses were running in a circle of the practice field. Before practice ended the Ravens rookies had to run through the wet circle with a tight grip on a slippery football. Several Ravens took turns spraying the participants with the hose, in what’s always one of the highlights of camp.

Arthur Maulet didn’t practice because of a knee injury. Rashod Bateman and Odafe Oweh were also sidelined. Oweh has a sprained ankle, while Harbaugh said Bateman’s issue wouldn’t be long-term. As for Maulet, the Flock is holding our collective breath. Harbaugh says it isn’t “season-ending,” which is good, but makes it sound like he won’t be back out there any time soon. We’ll have to wait for more updates on that – fortunately for the Ravens, defensive back is the strength of the team. Unfortunately, it looks like that depth will already be tested.