Kevin Zeitler is the participant you don’t want to fret about.
That’s the model the Ravens guard has constructed over 11 seasons as a sturdy NFL starter. He strengthened it through the group’s obligatory minicamp this week, hustling via drills like a man combating for his job.
Zeitler did, nevertheless, ship the Ravens a message by skipping the voluntary organized group actions as he makes an attempt to spur negotiations for a contract extension. The 33-year-old is getting into the final season of the three-year, $22.5 million deal he signed and mentioned retirement continues to be far-off.
“Of course, you would always, when you’re in a place this good, you’d love to finish out your career here,” he mentioned Thursday when requested a few doable extension. “I have no intention of stopping anytime soon. Not coming to OTAs for the first time, I kind of made it real clear. I still need this game, Iove this game and I want to play this game. … Honestly, that side doesn’t really matter; when I’m here with my teammates, I owe it to them to work hard every day and do whatever I can to try and get this team a Super Bowl.”
In different phrases, Zeitler would love extra long-term safety with the Ravens, however nobody wants to fret about him giving lower than his finest.
He famous that he was alleged to work with new Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken in Cleveland, however the Browns traded him to the New York Giants earlier than the 2019 season.
Batter late than by no means, he mentioned, after his first style of the offense Monken is putting in in Baltimore. “Great energy, a bunch of new concepts, a lot of potential,” Zeitler mentioned.
Dobbins’ absence highlights lack of depth at operating again
Coach John Harbaugh anticipated J.Ok. Dobbins to follow at minicamp after the Ravens’ prime operating again skipped OTAs however mentioned “it wasn’t in the cards, apparently.”
Did his phrases trace at a behind-the-scenes disconnect with Dobbins, who has raised questions on his future with the group as he heads into the final yr of his rookie deal?
Whether or not that’s the case, hypothesis will persist till Dobbins is on the sphere for coaching camp and shares his perspective.
With Dobbins nowhere to be seen and Gus Edwards off to the aspect figuring out, the Ravens didn’t have many choices at operating again, a place that might be a power for them if everyone seems to be wholesome for the common season.
Dobbins and Edwards are anticipated to be prepared for coaching camp, so this might be idle summer season chatter, quickly to be forgotten as soon as the actual work begins. But the group’s choice to re-sign Justice Hill, who averaged 5.3 yards per carry in a reserve position final season, regarded all of a sudden extra necessary over the previous couple of weeks.
“He did a good job; all those reps helped him,” Harbaugh mentioned. “Repetition is the name of the game, opportunity to get better. You get better or you get worse. … I think Justice made the most of it.”
Not mentioned however straightforward to deduce is that Dobbins didn’t.
Harbaugh additionally famous that fullback Patrick Ricard, one of many group’s key run blockers and a short-yardage possibility as a ball service, will start coaching camp on the physically-unable-to-perform (PUP) record as he works his manner again from hip surgical procedure.
A rookie joins the fray at left guard
Sixth-round draft choose Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu took most of the first-team reps at left guard throughout minicamp, not an indication that he’s the favourite to begin on the most wide-open place on the roster however a sign that he’ll compete for the job in coaching camp.
“He has done a great job, and he’s in the mix right now,” Harbaugh mentioned. “You saw him with the first team. We wanted to get a look at him in there and see how it looked. One thing we always try to do, and I think this is a little bit rare, we want to see what guys look like with the first group. You can speculate all you want, but if they start doing a good job with the second group or the third group and you feel like they’re up to it, I want to see how that fits. And it looked like it fit well.”
Other candidates to step in for the departed Ben Powers embody 2021 third-round choose Ben Cleveland, 2022 fourth-round choose Daniel Faalele and free-agent addition John Simpson.
The man they name “Sala” isn’t as large as Cleveland or Faalele, however he’s a lot sufficiently big and faster than both. In reality, it was the 6-foot-5, 322-pound rookie’s mobility, alongside together with his “great” perspective, that caught Zeitler’s eye.
“He’s very athletic,” the veteran guard mentioned. “The whole world’s right in front of him, all the potential in the world, and I can’t wait to see what he does with it.”
Greater alternatives await David Ojabo
Though he had few alternatives to go full velocity over the previous few weeks, second-year edge rusher David Ojabo has Ravens coaches excited together with his explosive strikes, which he used to embarrass veteran blockers just a few occasions throughout OTAs and minicamp.
With Calais Campbell in Atlanta and no veteran in Justin Houston’s mould presently on the roster, the Ravens will want Ojabo and 2021 first-round choose Odafe Oweh to provide this yr. Their progress will likely be a serious story to look at via coaching camp and the preseason.
Will their work with pass-rush “guru” Chuck Smith repay?
“David has done great. He looks great to me and I told him today, I’m really excited to see what he can do when the pads come on,” Harbaugh mentioned. “We’ve definitely been holding those guys back. It’s a pass-rushing technique camp, but we’re staying away from the quarterback. … Preseason games are going to take on a big-time added interest with those guys rushing the passer.”
The Ravens believed they stole a first-round expertise within the second spherical of the 2022 draft once they picked Ojabo, who was getting back from a torn Achilles tendon. The time is quickly approaching for him to indicate they have been appropriate.
Humphrey to teammates: Don’t waste the chance in entrance of you
The Ravens concluded minicamp with a lighter follow, operating performs at three-quarters velocity, so it was troublesome to return away with a protracted record of superlatives for particular person gamers.
Instead, the message for the day appeared to be a broader one about not losing the subsequent 5 weeks main as much as coaching camp. The Ravens consider they’ve sufficient expertise to contend for a championship, and group leaders emphasised that is no time to take backward steps.
“I just said preparation pays off,” Harbaugh mentioned.
He left a lot of the practice-closing speech to cornerback Marlon Humphrey.
“I think to win a Super Bowl, you’ve got to put a lot of time and effort in,” Humphrey mentioned he instructed his teammates. “We’ve got this big break. Whether you want to hang out with your dog a lot, want to hang out with your girl a lot, try to do as much as you can. Because when we come back, we want everybody to be putting as much into football as they can.”
Humphrey laughed, recalling how troublesome it was to check himself making a speech like this when he was a rookie in 2017. But he mentioned he’s discovered sufficient to know the Ravens can’t waste the window that’s open for them now.
“Let’s not waste this opportunity,” he mentioned, “because we’ve got a really good opportunity.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com