More than 50 players — including rookie draft picks, undrafted free agent signees and tryout candidates — convened at the Ravens complex in Owings Mills this past weekend for the team’s three-day rookie minicamp, and for most of them, this was their first real taste of life in the NFL. (Rookie fourth-round pick Devontez Walker said he “almost teared up” when he saw his Ravens jersey for the first time.)
That group also included someone else who was finally on the field for an NFL workout, albeit a limited one: Andrew Vorhees. The second-year guard sat out all of last season on the Non-Football Injury list after suffering a torn ACL at the 2023 Scouting Combine, and players such as Vorhees who do not have a credited season of NFL time can also participate in rookie minicamp.
Despite missing his entire rookie season, Vorhees is expected to enter training camp in the running for a starting job, since the Ravens lost both 2023 starting guards to free agency.
Seeing Vorhees on the field in his No. 72 jersey, and with no brace on his surgically repaired knee, had to be encouraging for the Ravens.
“He looked well trained, very well trained,” head coach John Harbaugh said as he met with the media after the team’s May 4 workout. “He’s been here just basically working out for a whole year, and he was already a strong guy. … He’s big, he’s strong, moving his feet well. He’s been studying for a whole year, and I thought he looked like you’d expect him to look.”
Vorhees (6-foot-6, 310 pounds) represents a combination of intrigue and potential as the 2024 offseason officially begins. He was a first-team All-American in 2022, playing in front of Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams, and the Ravens had a Day Two draft grade on him before he suffered a torn ACL at the Combine. Even after the injury, Vorhees elected to participate in the bench press and completed 38 reps, the most of any player that year.
Vorhees’ stock dropped in the draft because of his injury, but with Vorhees still on the board in the seventh round, the Ravens jumped back into the draft — giving up a 2024 sixth-round pick — to select him.
Recalling that deal, general manager Eric DeCosta said, “It made all the sense in the world,” given what the Ravens viewed as Vorhees’ value. He described Vorhees as a “physical, tough guy that loves football.”
The Ravens have openings at both guard spots after left guard John Simpson (New York Jets) and Pro Bowl right guard Kevin Zeitler (Detroit Lions) signed elsewhere as free agents. The team drafted no guards, leaving incumbents Vorhees, Ben Cleveland and Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu, along with veteran Josh Jones, signed this offseason, as the top candidates to win starting jobs when training camp begins. Patrick Mekari is also an option, though the Ravens seem to prefer to keep their super-sub available to fill in at any offensive line position as needed.
Cleveland, who made two starts in place of the injured Zeitler last year, is probably the front-runner at right guard. Jones has started at both guard and tackle during his four-year career, and he was the starting left guard for the Houston Texans in the 2023 season opener against the Ravens. He will be in the running at left guard, given his experience, but Vorhees should have every chance to win the job.
Harbaugh has said that the Ravens, as they usually do, will mix and match offensive line combinations throughout training camp to try to find the five best players by the time Week 1 rolls around. But both he and DeCosta have expressed confidence in Vorhees, based on his tape before his injury and what they’ve seen of him during his injured rookie season, with diligent commitment in the meeting and weight rooms.
“I saw ability potentially for him to be a starter at guard in the league, so we’ll see,” DeCosta said. “He’s done a fantastic job with rehab. He’s very, very strong and physical. … The strength coaches and the trainers and the doctors are all very excited about him. So we’ll see what he does.”
Vorhees and the rookies will return to the Ravens practice fields in two weeks, when they will be joined by the veterans for the first time. The first of the Ravens 10 OTA workouts will be held Monday, May 20.
NOTEBOOK
ALI EASING BACK: Rookie fifth-round running back Rasheen Ali, who is recovering from a biceps injury sustained at the Senior Bowl, took part in some individual work in the minicamp practice open to the media. Harbaugh said the training staff would be cautious with Ali, but he is expected to gradually increase his workload and Harbaugh said Ali would be “more than ready” for training camp.
ISAAC, BRADE SIT OUT: Third-round pick Adisa Isaac watched the May 4 workout from the sideline after tweaking a hamstring, Harbaugh said. Undrafted rookie safety Beau Brade (Maryland) also missed the practice after rolling his ankle in the workout the previous day. Brade was wearing a walking boot during the May 4 practice.
ANOTHER ISMAIL: One of the tryout candidates on hand at rookie minicamp was wide receiver Qadir Ismail, the son of former Ravens receiver Qadry Ismail. Qadir Ismail spent two seasons at Samford after starting his college career at Villanova.