OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The kids lining the ropes got a great view of Ravens players taking the field for the first full training camp practice on Sunday, July 21, but the usual shrieks and screams never materialized when the quarterbacks trotted onto the field in their black jerseys, because No. 8 wasn’t among them.
The team announced shortly after the 90-minute workout began that reigning league MVP Lamar Jackson would miss practice with an illness. Head coach John Harbaugh later said that Jackson began feeling ill at the team facility a day earlier, and when he arrived on Sunday and wasn’t feeling better, the team sent him home.
Harbaugh wouldn’t speculate about how long Jackson would be sidelined but said he would return to the field when he feels better.
With Jackson sidelined, backups Josh Johnson, Devin Leary and Emory Jones ran the offense, but the defense seemed to have the edge in full-team drills. The offensive highlight came when Leary lofted a touchdown pass of about 45 yards to rookie receiver Dayton Wade, who was being covered by rookie cornerback Bump Cooper.
Earlier in practice, Johnson was intercepted when cornerback Arthur Maulet corralled a pass that glanced off the hands of receiver Malik Cunningham.
Unlike the offense, the defense was essentially at full strength. Cornerback Marlon Humphrey and safety Kyle Hamilton, who had been limited in spring workouts by injury, were both on the field. Humphrey made a nice play to break up a deep pass intended for Tylan Wallace, and the depth of the Ravens’ secondary was apparent with players such as Maulet, Brandon Stephens, Marcus Williams and top draft pick Nate Wiggins roaming the field.
Former All-Pro safety Eddie Jackson, signed by the Ravens this past weekend, also took plenty of reps in his No. 39 jersey. Jackson had been a teammate with Roquan Smith on the Chicago Bears for four-plus seasons.
With the free-agency loss of Geno Stone to the Cincinnati Bengals, and with the Ravens often opting to play Hamilton closer to the line of scrimmage, the team had been in the market for another veteran safety.
“I’m very excited to bring in Eddie Jackson,” Harbaugh said. “I remember him running to the ball for Alabama when we’re looking at the draft, and having all of these good years in Chicago. … He’s ready to go.”
The Ravens will be back on the practice field on Monday, July 22, at 1:20 p.m.
NOTEBOOK
ROOKIES ISAAC, TAMPA SIDELINED: Rookie third-round pick Adisa Isaac and fourth-rounder T.J. Tampa missed practice as both are dealing with injuries. Isaac has been placed on the Non-Football Injury list with a hamstring injury. Tampa has been placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list after undergoing sports hernia surgery.
Second-year running back Keaton Mitchell is also on the PUP list as he recovers from knee surgery. Mitchell sustained a torn ACL against Jacksonville last December and is expected to be sidelined for at least the first half of the season.
Other than those three and Jackson, the only other player not on the field July 21 was rookie inside linebacker Yvandy Rigby (undisclosed).
PENALTY LAPS FOR JONES: Ravens offensive linemen often have to run a penalty lap around the field if they commit a false start, and Josh Jones ran two such laps during the July 21 practice. One time, Jones jumped early with Roquan Smith showing blitz and bearing down on Jones just before the snap. Jones, who has started 24 games in four seasons, including three with Houston last year, is competing for the starting left guard spot left open by John Simpson’s free-agent departure.
The makeup of the offensive line, which lost both starting guards in Simpson and Kevin Zeitler, and starting right tackle Morgan Moses, remains one of the key storylines to watch throughout camp.
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