Ravens running back Jake Funk, the local product who signed with Baltimore’s practice squad in late December, is thrilled for the opportunity to play close to home and can already sense why the Ravens field a quality product every year.
Funk, who played his high school ball at Damascus and college ball at Maryland, was invited to work out for the Ravens after breakout running back Keaton Mitchell suffered a season-ending knee injury during the 23-7 win in Jacksonville on Dec. 17. Veteran back Melvin Gordon was promoted to the active roster, but the Ravens wanted to add more depth to the practice squad.
Funk, who turns 26 this month, was available after being released from the Dolphins’ practice squad in November. He was thrilled for another opportunity, this time near his hometown of Gaithersburg.
“I was just extremely happy — to be able to come home, be able to be here with my mom, be able to just support and play for the team that I’ve always grown up watching and rooting for,” Funk said on Glenn Clark Radio Jan. 3. “It’s just something that is very special to me. It’s something that I have taken a lot of pride in because I’m from this area, I love this area and it’s a blessing to be able to have that Maryland flag on the side of the jersey on their emblem and be able to represent Maryland like I have my whole career.”
The 5-foot-10, 205-pound back was drafted by the Rams in the seventh round of the 2021 NFL Draft. He has played in 20 regular-season games with the Rams and Colts since then, mostly contributing on special teams. He has run the ball four times and made one catch during regular-season action.
But Funk is still an intriguing prospect based in part on what he showed at Maryland in 2020, when he totaled 516 yards and averaged 8.6 yards per carry in four games during the COVID-shortened campaign. He now gets a chance to soak in a winning environment with the Ravens, who have clinched the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC.
“You got signed and you’re kind of walking into this environment that is on a roll right now, which is truly in the NFL something that doesn’t happen very much and it’s something that I’m thankful for,” Funk said. “Being able to come into this building where winning is expected and the culture around this team and the way the guys work and the way that the coaching staff works and the way that people just operate around this building, it’s very special.”
Even though he grew up mostly a Penn State fan since his father Jim had played for the Nittany Lions, Funk always pulled for the Ravens.
“I always loved watching Ray Lewis play, watching Ed Reed, watching all the gritty, hard-nosed teams that they had back when I was growing up,” Funk said. “Being able to just wear the purple and black is incredible. Being in the same facility that those guys were in once, in the same meeting rooms, it’s something that is incredible.”
Now, Funk comes full circle in Baltimore. (He scored seven touchdowns to lead Damascus to a Class 3A championship at M&T Bank Stadium in 2015.) The running back has been struck by the sense of purpose that permeates throughout the facility in Owings Mills during his short time with the Ravens.
“It’s a no-BS-type organization where we’re all-in on football. We’re all-in every single day,” Funk said. “Everything we do has intention to it, whether that’s the lifts, whether that’s the practices, whether that’s the meeting rooms, whether that’s the training room. Everything that everybody does in this organization has intention behind it on why we’re doing this. That is something that I’ve seen and something that I’ve appreciated being here where it’s like, ‘OK, these guys have a formula that they follow and this formula has produced a very successful organization year in and year out.”
For more from Funk, listen to the full interview here:
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