OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Ravens’ longtime mantra that “you can never have too many corners” is relevant less than a week into training camp, as the team has already had four cornerbacks limited by injury.
Three cornerbacks missed the steamy July 28 workout, the team’s first practice of the summer in full pads. Jaire Alexander missed practice with what head coach John Harbaugh described as “a little swelling” in his knee, rookie sixth-round pick Bilhal Kone sat out after injuring his shoulder in practice two days earlier, and Jalyn Armour-Davis left practice early with an undisclosed injury.
In addition, Chidobe Awuzie has been slowed by an undisclosed injury and was doing some conditioning on a side field during full-team drills last week. He was back on the field for some full-team reps on Monday.
Harbaugh downplayed all the injuries, but Alexander and Awuzie came to Baltimore with injury histories, and Armour-Davis has landed on injured reserve in all three of his NFL seasons with the Ravens. So any injury to those players bears watching.
Harbaugh said Alexander was having the swelling drained in his knee and “he should be back [Tuesday].” Harbaugh said that Armour-Davis would be getting an MRI but added, “We think it’s OK.” And he added that he expected Kone, who had landed hard on his shoulder during a drill, to be back “very, very soon. It’s going to just kind of be a pain-tolerance thing.”
The secondary is considered one of the deepest groups on the team. Alexander is one of five former first-round picks in the defensive backfield, joining cornerbacks Nate Wiggins and Marlon Humphrey and safeties Kyle Hamilton and Malaki Starks.
Wiggins had another strong practice July 28, active all over the field. He was involved in what was the play of the day: During a red zone period, DeAndre Hopkins appeared to make a spectacular 6-yard touchdown catch in the back of the end zone with Wiggins in tight coverage, but Hopkins was whistled for offensive pass interference.
Any injury-related setbacks for those cornerbacks will allow players such as T.J. Tampa, rookie sixth-round pick Robert Longerbeam and undrafted Reuben Lowery to command more attention. Lowery, a rookie from Tennessee-Chattanooga, has opened eyes this spring and summer with his play at both cornerback and safety, and he always seems to be around the ball.
Another standout from practice July 28 was tight end Mark Andrews. He made a long catch down the seam in an early full-team period, lowering a shoulder into two defensive backs downfield as it appeared the always-competitive Andrews welcomed the arrival of pads.
Then in a 7-on-7 period, Andrews caught a pass down the middle and sprinted all alone for 50 yards to the end zone. As fans in attendance at the team facility cheered for Andrews, it seemed that the considerable ire directed at Andrews after his disastrous performance in the divisional round loss at Buffalo had been long forgotten.
NOTEBOOK
BATEMAN OUT WITH ILLNESS: Other than the cornerbacks, the only other new absence from practice was wide receiver Rashod Bateman, who was sent home because of illness. “He was not happy [to be sent home],” Harbaugh said, “but we didn’t want him getting everybody else sick.”
Inside linebacker Jake Hummel, who had missed the first four practices with a hand injury, made his training camp debut. He took part in individual drills and did conditioning work on a side field during some full-team periods. Wide receiver Keith Kirkwood, who had missed the past two practices, was also in uniform early for some conditioning work but then watched much of practice out of uniform.
With Hummel removed from the Non-Football Injury list, the only two players with a current injury designation are rookie offensive lineman Emery Jones (NFI, shoulder) and safety Ar’Darius Washington (PUP, Achilles).
LOOP’S PERFECT STREAK ENDS: After starting training camp perfect in the team’s kicking competition, sixth-round pick Tyler Loop was 5-for-8 on Monday, missing from 43, 38, and 47 yards. On his 38-yarder, one official under the goalpost signaled “no good” and the other official under the goalpost gave no signal, while holder Jordan Stout signaled the kick was good. “The one guy ruled it not good, so we’ll say not good,” Harbaugh said.
John Hoyland, the undrafted rookie from Wyoming competing with Loop, went 4-for-4. His most impressive kick was his last. With the team simulating a late-game, no-timeout situation, Hoyland and the field-goal team rushed onto the field and Hoyland hit a 47-yarder, his longest of the day.
OWEH, VINSON SCUFFLE: The first padded practice ramped up the intensity, and linebacker Odafe Oweh and rookie tackle Carson Vinson got into a brief scuffle at the end of a play. It was quickly defused, but Vinson’s helmet came off and Oweh was led to the defensive sideline by teammates and coaches. Keaton Mitchell took a couple of bigger-than-expected shots but bounced right up each time. During one 11-on-11 drill, rookie offensive lineman Garrett Dellinger tossed linebacker William Kwenkeu aside.
Coaches have said they are excited to see how rookies such as linebacker Mike Green perform once they are in full pads.
“It’s a physical game. The game is played in pads,” Harbaugh said. “So, how well they respond to that is … all done in steps, right? So he’s looked good so far. We’ll see how he looks in the next step.”
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