OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Ravens linebacker David Ojabo talked about “perspective” as he recalled an offseason trip to his native Nigeria with teammates Nnamdi Madubuike and Odafe Oweh. He spoke of children who cried with joy over shirts Ojabo handed out, and he contrasted what he saw in Nigeria with the gleaming facilities of the team’s Under Armour Performance Center.
“That whole trip gave me perspective [of] just how blessed we are,” said Ojabo, who was born in Nigeria and moved to Scotland at age 7. The three Ravens were in Nigeria for a camp sponsored by Oweh’s foundation.
“Our complaints are their blessings,” Ojabo continued. “Look at us. We are at ‘The Castle,’ and we have thousand-dollar cameras and phones. They wish they could have a phone like that. Just little stuff like that gives perspective on life. We have no complaints in reality. We’re too blessed.”
Ojabo is one of the more compelling figures in Ravens training camp this summer, a former second-round draft pick who has yet to hit on that potential in large part because of injuries.
The Ravens are running out of time with Ojabo, who is set to become a free agent next spring, and he is considered squarely on the roster bubble in an outside linebacker group that essentially returns everyone and drafted Mike Green in the second round.
Ojabo has perspective in that regard as well. He said he hasn’t really heard anything about a numbers crunch and says his focus has been to “play fast, have fun and control what I can control, which is my effort and my attitude.”
After losing almost all his rookie season to a torn Achilles suffered during Michigan’s Pro Day — he was considered a first-round pick before the injury, then fell to the Ravens at No. 45 in the second round — Ojabo lost almost all his second season to a knee injury.
Last year, he was active in 13 games and totaled nine tackles and two sacks.
Head coach John Harbaugh came to a vigorous defense of Ojabo earlier in training camp, criticizing what he called the “narrative” in the media about Ojabo’s lack of production.
“This guy’s a highly touted player, and the narrative that has been pushed by some in this circle and the words that have been used are just insulting,” Harbaugh said at a podium session earlier in training camp. “The guy busts his butt, and he’s a hell of a player, and I expect him to have a great year.”
That would suggest Ojabo will make the 53-man roster. He probably stands sixth in that pecking order right now behind Oweh, Kyle Van Noy, Tavius Robinson, Green and Adisa Isaac, who is entering just his second season. Like Ojabo, Isaac lost most of his rookie season to injury.
It’s no guarantee the Ravens will keep six edge rushers, and the fact that Ojabo has had no tangible role on special teams doesn’t help his status. But the Ravens might be loathe to move on from a player they deemed as a raw, athletic talent when they drafted him. And at 6-foot-4 and 252 pounds, Ojabo definitely looks the part.
After growing up in Scotland, Ojabo moved to New Jersey to play high school football, and one of his teammates at Blair Academy was Oweh.
“The thing about David Ojabo,” Harbaugh said, “[is] it’s important to remember he’s not a guy that played a lot of football. He was late to football in high school. … He really only played one year of college football. … And then he got hurt coming out.”
Football, Harbaugh said, is a game in which “the more you play it, the better feel you have for it. It’s like any sport, probably, but I think the upside is really there, and I believe that we’ll see it. I think we’ve seen it already in camp.”
In the preseason opener against Indianapolis, Ojabo burst untouched off the edge and sacked Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson. Ojabo finished with two tackles in 37 snaps in that game.
Oweh, Van Noy and Robinson didn’t play against Indianapolis and might not against Dallas on Aug. 16 in the second preseason game, so Ojabo should have plenty of opportunity to show that “upside.”
Ojabo said this is the first offseason in which he has been fully healthy, so he came to training camp feeling “like myself.” He said he’s confident, having fun and “just kind of letting it rip.”
“Every snap could be your last,” Ojabo said. “So every time you’re out there, you just have to smile, control what you can control, which is your effort. Go out there, leave it out on the field and ultimately have fun with it. It’s a kid’s game, and that’s what we’re all doing.”
NOTEBOOK
HAMILTON, MITCHELL, ALEXANDER SIT AGAIN: Safety Kyle Hamilton, running back Keaton Mitchell and cornerback Jaire Alexander all missed practice. Hamilton hasn’t been on the field since before the joint practice with the Colts last week, while Mitchell has been sidelined the past three days and Alexander missed his second straight workout. Harbaugh deemed none of the absences serious. Backup running back Marcus Major, who had returned from a concussion to practice two days ago, was also sidelined.
While full-team drills took place on one field, Hamilton was doing some conditioning on a side field and appeared to be moving well.
JACKSON, HOPKINS CONNECT: Lamar Jackson completed just one of his first five passes in full-team work, but he saved his best for last. In the final period of the day, the Ravens simulated a two-minute drill with the offense down by four points. Jackson hit Devontez Walker down the left sideline for a big gain, and on the next play, Jackson heaved a touchdown pass of about 45 yards to DeAndre Hopkins.
When the second team ran the same drill, Cooper Rush’s deep pass down the right sideline was intercepted by cornerback Keondre Jackson.
HUMPHREY DENIES FLOWERS: Marlon Humphrey might have had the play of the day for the defense. During a red zone drill, Jackson appeared to have Zay Flowers in the back of the end zone for a score, but Humphrey wrestled the ball away from Flowers before he could control it and the ball fell incomplete. Humphrey responded with Jaire Alexander’s sword celebration, with several other defensive players joining in. Earlier in that drill, rookie safety Malaki Starks made a nice end zone interception, lunging in front of a pass intended for Keith Kirkwood.
HOLD ON, THAT’S LINDERBAUM?: The Ravens spend training camp envisioning all possibilities, and one could be when kicker Tyler Loop gets hurt during a game and holder Jordan Stout, who both punted and kicked at Penn State, must kick. Stout went 3-for-3 on short field goals of roughly 28 yards, with center Tyler Linderbaum serving as his holder.
“You’ve just got to work on the contingencies,” Harbaugh said. “There’s a lot of different things that can happen, so you want to be prepared for every possibility.”
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