OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Ravens All-Pro tight end Mark Andrews remained sidelined Aug. 19 after a traffic accident last week, but head coach John Harbaugh said Andrews would be “fine” and would accompany the team to Green Bay this week.
The Ravens will hold a joint practice with the Packers on Aug. 22, which will be the most significant preseason action many of the starters receive this summer, before facing the Packers in the preseason finale on Aug. 24. Nearly all starters are expected to sit out that game, as they have done in the previous two.
Andrews has not practiced since being in an accident en route to the team’s Owings Mills facility on Aug. 14. He was not expected to play in any of the preseason games, and it remains to be seen whether he will take part in the practice against the Packers.
“It’s a very minor thing” with Andrews, Harbaugh said. “Don’t worry about Mark. He’s going to be fine.”
Quarterback Lamar Jackson said he looks forward to the live reps against another team’s starters.
Jackson said facing the Packers’ top defenders will create some “competitiveness.”
“[We] finally get to go against someone else,” Jackson said, adding that it will be “just great to see how we are against other opponents.”
During the team’s two-hour workout on Aug. 19 — the first since late July without fans in attendance — Jackson threw maybe his best deep ball of the summer, hitting Rashod Bateman down the right sideline for what would have been about a 65-yard touchdown. Bateman got a step on backup cornerback Ka’dar Hollman and Jackson dropped the ball right in Bateman’s hands.
Later, Jackson hit Bateman on a crossing pattern for another big gain, and he hit Bateman in stride down the left sideline for a long touchdown, though rookie cornerback Nate Wiggins was in good position and was playing at half-speed and could have made a play on the ball in a fully competitive rep.
Still, anyone hoping to see improved chemistry between Jackson and Bateman would have been encouraged by their performance Aug. 19. Bateman had been slowed significantly in the past week or so with a rib injury, but he was moving as well as he has since the injury.
It wasn’t all perfect for Jackson. In a red-zone drill, he floated an end-zone pass intended for Keith Kirkwood, but Pepe Williams stepped in front to make the interception.
At one point, Jackson appeared to tweak his ankle and left practice with a trainer, though he returned about 10 minutes later.
“I’m good,” Jackson said with a smile when asked about his brief departure. “I’m wonderful. I’m great.”
In addition to Williams, Wiggins had an interception as he jumped a pass from Devin Leary intended for tight end Qadir Ismail. Wiggins also made a great play in a red-zone drill to break up a pass intended for Isaiah Washington.
The Ravens have just one more practice in Owings Mills fully open to the media, then head to Green Bay for the joint practice Aug. 22.
When they return from Green Bay, the Ravens will move into regular-season mode, with just the first 20 minutes or so of practice open to media viewing.
NOTEBOOK
FOUR RETURN TO THE FIELD: After absences last week, wide receiver Russell Gage, safety Sanoussi Kane (stinger), defensive back Christian Matthew and inside linebacker Chris Board (concussion) were back on the practice field. Kane and Board did not take part in team drills but did some conditioning work in full pads on a side field.
In addition to Andrews, absences for the Ravens included defensive back Arthur Maulet (knee), running back Rasheen Ali (stinger), safety Eddie Jackson, linebacker Adisa Isaac (hamstring), linebacker Josh Ross, center Tyler Linderbaum (soft tissue), defensive tackle Josh Tupou, wide receiver Devontez Walker (ribs) and tight end Scotty Washington (hand).
LINDERBAUM ‘RIGHT ON SCHEDULE’: Harbaugh said Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum, who has been sidelined since Aug. 2 with a soft tissue injury, is “right on schedule” with his work and rehabilitation. “He’s in a good place.”
The Ravens are optimistic they will have Linderbaum for their Week 1 game at Kansas City on Sept. 5. With Linderbaum out, Ben Cleveland and Patrick Mekari have gotten most of the reps at center, and rookie seventh-round pick Nick Samac got some work with the starting line Aug. 19.
“[He] made a big move this last week,” Harbaugh said, noting that Samac appears to be fully healthy after an ankle injury that had slowed him. “I thought he did a good job today, and he did a good job in the [Falcons] game.”
‘MINDSET’ KEY TO JOINT PRACTICES: Every year, footage emerges of teams scuffling or brawling during joint practices, and with the Ravens headed to Green Bay this week for their only joint practice this summer, Harbaugh said the key is to have the right “mindset.”
The practice will be the most intense action of the summer for many starters against outside competition, and coaches like the controlled environment — until it isn’t so controlled.
“The mindset of the two teams is the most important thing,” Harbaugh said. “If both teams come in with the same idea, that they’re two good football teams that are trying to take advantage of opportunity to practice against another good football team and get a good football practice in, that’s what you want. If a team is coming in like they’re trying to prove something — some junior high thing, then it’s usually not good.
“We’re excited to go against Green Bay,” He continued. “… We’re looking forward to that opportunity to go up and practice against those guys.”
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