The Ravens officially move past their 2021 season on April 18, when players return to the Under Armour Performance Center in Owings Mills, Md., for the first day of the team’s offseason workout program.
More than anything else, that officially flips the calendar to 2022 for returning players, who, according to head coach John Harbaugh, will see plenty of changes in how the Ravens operate in the wake of their injury-marred 2021 season.
After the initial phase of the offseason program, which is limited to meetings, strength and conditioning and physical rehabilitation, the Ravens will hold their 10 days of on-field OTA sessions across three weeks from May 24 to June 10. The spring practice period culminates with a mandatory team minicamp June 14-16, after which the players scatter until training camp begins in July.
The Ravens will also host a rookie minicamp for their 2022 draft class and other rookies, though the date has not yet been set. The NFL Draft will be held April 28-30.
The Ravens’ 2021 season unraveled under the weight of a staggering number of injuries, which began before the season began and never relented. Running backs J.K. Dobbins (knee), Gus Edwards (knee) and Justice Hill (Achilles) all missed the entire season because of preseason injuries, as did Pro Bowl cornerback Marcus Peters (knee), who suffered a season-ending injury in practice on the same day that Edwards did.
Linebacker L.J. Fort (knee) and defensive end Derek Wolfe (hip), two other projected starters, also missed the entire season.
All-Pro tackle Ronnie Stanley played just one game before being shut down with complications with his surgically repaired ankle, and cornerback Marlon Humphrey and safety DeShon Elliott each missed a significant portion of the season with a torn pectoral muscle.
The wave of injuries never subsided, either: Quarterback Lamar Jackson missed the final four games with a foot injury, and outside linebacker Tyus Bowser suffered a torn Achilles in the season finale.
The short-handed Ravens dropped their final six games and finished 8-9, just the second losing season in Harbaugh’s 14-year tenure.
After the season, Harbaugh and general manager Eric DeCosta said the team would evaluate every aspect of their practice regimen to try to avoid a reoccurrence this year.
At his season-ending news conference, DeCosta said the team was “looking at everything. … How do we find healthy players or players that will be durable when they get here? How can we protect our players? Is there technology out there? Is it the way we practice? Is it the training room? Is it the doctors? Is it how our players rehab? Is it how our players train? Is it the way we treat the offseason?”
Harbaugh said the team was looking “at every possible avenue” to avoid a recurrence of their rash of injuries this past season.
“We’re going to look at everything and we’re going to change a lot,” Harbaugh said.
One change came with the hiring of new head athletic trainer Adrian Dixon, who had been with the Tennessee Titans for the previous six years. In his most recent work with the Titans, Dixon had focused on physical therapy and sports rehabilitation. Former head trainer Ron Medlin remains with the team as a senior assistant athletic trainer.
Ravens strength and conditioning coach Steve Saunders was retained and is set to return for his seventh year with the Ravens.
Saunders in the past has met with the media on the opening day of the offseason program, and if he does so again, he might be able to offer the first specifics regarding any conditioning changes that will be in store in 2022.
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