Zay Flowers’ first official snap at M&T Bank Stadium was a false start, though the Ravens rookie first-round draft pick chalked it up to a slow snap rather than any jitters in his first NFL game action, albeit in the preseason.
Still, for Flowers and the rest of the Ravens, the Aug. 12 game against the Philadelphia Eagles, won by the Ravens 20-19, offered a chance to finally square off against another team after three weeks of practice against teammates.
And with virtually every starter sitting out, the preseason opener also offered the latest best chance for players on the roster bubble to state their case for inclusion on the 53-man roster, which must be set on Aug. 29.
Here are three players whose stock is rising, and three whose stock could be falling, after the Eagles game:
STOCK RISING
ILB DEL’SHAWN PHILLIPS
With Patrick Queen and Roquan Smith entrenched as the two starting inside linebackers, Phillips’ role with the Ravens largely has been restricted to special teams. He played in 16 games for the Ravens last season, with 258 snaps on special teams and just one on defense. But the new kickoff rules that allow for fair catches are expected to diminish the role of such special teams specialists.
Phillips has flashed his defensive value throughout training camp, making interceptions and recovering a fumble in full-team drills and looking increasingly comfortable and confident in the middle of the action. “He’s all over the field,” head coach John Harbaugh said after one practice last week.
With Queen and Smith sitting out against the Eagles, and with rookie inside linebacker Trenton Simpson sidelined by an injury, Phillips started alongside Malik Harrison and played 58 of the team’s 75 defensive snaps. Phillips led the Ravens with 10 tackles, including one for loss.
WR TYLAN WALLACE
With the overhauled Ravens receiving room now boasting five first-round draft picks, John Harbaugh acknowledged that the task of cutting this group down might be the hardest it’s ever been. Odell Beckham Jr., Rashod Bateman, Devin Duvernay, Zay Flowers and Nelson Agholor all look like locks to make the roster, so there might only be one roster spot left for a group that includes Wallace, Laquon Treadwell, James Proche and others.
Wallace has been one of the Ravens’ special teams standouts throughout his two-year career, and that is usually going to be the primary role for the No. 5 or No. 6 receiver. Sure enough, Wallace was on the field against the Eagles as a punt-team gunner, and he also had two catches for 18 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Huntley that put the Ravens ahead for good in the third quarter.
In two seasons, Wallace has just six catches for 56 yards. But Todd Monken’s offense is likely to use multiple-receiver sets much more often, so every receiver on the roster bubble needs to show they can get open and make the catch when the ball comes their way.
DB AR’DARIUS WASHINGTON
At this point, the stock of every Ravens cornerback on the field is probably going up simply on the basis of being healthy and available.
The bubble is nothing new for Washington, who in 2021 was the only undrafted rookie to make the initial 53-man roster. But then he was waived in the final cutdown last year before working his way back onto the roster via the practice squad. In two seasons, Washington has played in six games.
Washington’s height (5-foot-8) might have a been a factor in him going undrafted, but the Ravens have always liked the way he has a nose for the football. Against the Eagles, Washington made the crucial interception on the Eagles’ two-point conversion attempt that preserved the Ravens’ 20-19 lead in the fourth quarter.
Maybe more important, Washington was all over the field, playing at times in the slot and at times at free safety. He played 72 of the Ravens’ 75 defensive snaps and finished with four tackles in addition to the conversion interception. (Daryl Worley, incidentally, played all 75 snaps at safety, so his stock is surely rising as well.) With the Ravens’ cornerback group already depleted by injuries, a reliable, healthy Washington is one to watch.
STOCK FALLING
QB JOSH JOHNSON
The 37-year-old journeyman was signed in March — his third go-round with the Ravens — to compete with Tyler Huntley for the backup quarterback job. Throughout the summer, though, Huntley has seemed to move ahead in the competition, and he is throwing the ball noticeably better now than he did last year when he battled a shoulder injury.
Johnson got the start against the Eagles and played the first half. He completed eight of 12 passes for 45 yards and one touchdown, a 7-yard pass to Devin Duvernay. Overall, though, the offense lacked rhythm in the first half, with three three-and-outs in the first four drives. Huntley came on to begin the second half and promptly led the Ravens on a 75-yard touchdown drive, throwing well and using his speed to run out of trouble.
Huntley left the game with a team doctor, though John Harbaugh said there were no serious injuries in the game. Still, if Huntley is sidelined for the joint practices with Washington this week, or the game against the Commanders next week, Johnson figures to get another extended look.
Also working in Johnson’s favor: The new NFL rule that allows teams to have a third, emergency quarterback available on game day. According to the rule, for that quarterback to be activated during the game, he must already be on the 53-man roster. There’s no guarantee the Ravens will keep three quarterbacks, but they were among those pushing for the rule change.
WR JAMES PROCHE
Like Tylan Wallace, Proche entered training camp on the roster bubble given the talent and depth in the revamped receiver room. Proche, a former sixth-round pick out of SMU, has been a sure-handed standout on training camp fields during his three-year career, but that hasn’t translated to the game field. He has totaled 25 catches in 43 career games.
With that crowded receiver room, the margin for error for any of the bubble receivers dwindles, and Proche made a costly one against the Eagles when he had the ball stripped from him on a punt return. As a receiver, he had one catch for minus-1 yard on three targets.
When the Ravens drafted Proche, general manager Eric DeCosta praised his punt return ability, but then Proche lost that role to Devin Duvernay when they were rookies. Now, Proche is hoping to find a path to the Ravens roster once again, and fumbling away a punt return won’t be it.
ILB KRISTIAN WELCH
John Harbaugh cut his teeth as a special teams coach, so he values and appreciates players such as Welch, who came to the Ravens as an undrafted rookie out of Iowa and has cobbled together a three-year career as a special teamer. The Ravens have re-signed him to one-year deals three years in a row.
Welch seems to be behind Roquan Smith, Patrick Queen, Malik Harrison, Trenton Simpson and Del’Shawn Phillips at inside linebacker, and Welch didn’t see any defensive action against the Eagles until well into the second half. He played 17 defensive snaps and finished with three tackles.
Like Phillips, Welch, who played just four defensive snaps last season, could see his special teams role diminish with the new kickoff rule that allows for the receiving team to call for a fair catch and start at the 25-yard line. The Ravens will have to weigh keeping as many dedicated special teams players as they’d like against other roster needs, and that could cost someone such as Welch a roster spot.
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