OWINGS MILLS, Md. — As the Ravens special teams worked on drills at the beginning of practice Aug. 12, safety Kyle Hamilton did some agility work on a side field, which offered some assurance that the team’s Pro Bowl safety didn’t suffer a serious injury when he went down a day earlier.
After practice, head coach John Harbaugh described Hamilton’s knee injury as a “sprain,” and suggested the team would work him back slowly. Even if healthy, Hamilton would have been unlikely to play in the preseason game this coming Saturday against Atlanta. Whether the Ravens will try to have him suit up for a joint practice with Green Bay Aug. 22 — often the closest thing to game reps that many starters get — remains to be seen.
But the feeling is the Ravens dodged a bullet with an injury to one of their most valuable and versatile defenders.
“It’s kind of minor, I’d say a sprain,” Harbaugh said, “so he got out there and moved around a little bit today.”
Harbaugh added that he expects Hamilton to “progress each day a little more.”
The goal will be to have Hamilton on the field for the regular-season opener at Kansas City on Sept. 5, as he might be the team’s best matchup against All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce.
Another defensive back made a noteworthy appearance at the Aug. 12 workout, as rookie cornerback T.J. Tampa practiced for the first time this summer after being activated from the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list. Tampa, a fourth-round pick out of Iowa State, had undergone sports hernia surgery in the spring.
Tampa took part in individual drills and then did some conditioning work on a side field during team drills.
Harbaugh said he’d like to see Tampa play in one of the final two preseason games, though it seems unlikely he would be on the field against Atlanta in five days.
“We just have to see how it comes along in the next week or so,” Harbaugh said
As for the rest of practice, quarterback Lamar Jackson took few shots downfield during a two-hour workout that seemed to emphasize the running game in several periods. One of the most humorous moments came during a red-zone period. Jackson threw a pass to Isaiah Likely across the middle at the goal line, but safety Marcus Williams dove and broke up the play. While the second team ran the same drill, Jackson grabbed a tablet and ran to the back of the end zone to show two officials that he thought they should have called pass interference.
Defensive backs Damarion “Pepe” Williams and Ar’Darius Washington each had another strong showing, and they will continue to get more looks with the secondary suddenly banged up.
Williams came roaring off the edge and had a would-be sack on a slot blitz, just as he did against the Eagles in the preseason opener, and also made a nice play in a one-on-one drill to deny wide receiver Isaiah Washington.
Ar’Darius Washington went high in the air to break up a pass down the middle of the field intended for Nelson Agholor. The 5-foot-8 Washington was giving up at least 4 inches to Agholor, but coaches have said Washington plays bigger than his size, and he showed it on that play.
“He’s playing at a high level,” Harbaugh said.
NOTEBOOK
BATEMAN RETURNS BRIEFLY: Receiver Rashod Bateman was back on the practice field for the first time since suffering an apparent rib injury making a tough end-zone catch a week ago, but he was very limited. Bateman did a few individual drills and then took off his jersey and shoulder pads and watched from the sideline for a while.
“He’ll be fine,” Harbaugh said. “He’s trying to get himself out there as much as he can, and he’ll be out there soon.”
WIGGINS SIDELINED FOR SECOND STRAIGHT DAY: First-round draft pick Nate Wiggins missed his second straight practice after suffering a shoulder injury in the preseason opener against Philadelphia. In addition to Wiggins and Hamilton, others who didn’t practice Aug. 12 include wide receiver Russell Gage (undisclosed), cornerback Arthur Maulet (knee), running back Rasheen Ali (stinger), safety Sanoussi Kane (stinger), cornerback Christian Matthew (undisclosed), linebacker Chris Board (concussion), linebacker Quincy Roche (undisclosed) and center Tyler Linderbaum (soft tissue).
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