Baltimore Ravens rookies officially kick off training camp today. The full team will report on July 24, with the first preseason game on Aug. 8.
With the season creeping ever closer, players have to really begin to set themselves apart from one another. Throughout training camp, players can help or hurt their chances of making the team or seeing the field in the regular season. With practices starting, it’s time to look at which players have the most to gain or lose at training camp in 2019.
RB Kenneth Dixon
Dixon is a really talented running back when he’s on the field. The problem has been frequent injuries and multiple suspensions keeping him from it.
Dixon missed the first four games of his rookie season with a knee injury. He sat out all of his second season because of a torn meniscus and two suspensions. Last year, Dixon missed most of the season on injured reserve before coming back in the final few weeks. In total, Dixon has been active for just 18 of 48 possible games over his three seasons in the NFL.
With more competition this year than in any of his previous three seasons, Dixon isn’t guaranteed a roster spot. He’ll have to prove himself capable of staying on the field and offering something his teammates don’t. However, with some experience and talent, if Dixon comes out strong at training camp, he could not only make a place for himself on the 53-man roster but eat into Gus Edwards’ and Mark Ingram’s playing time this season.
With two extremes for Dixon this year, there’s no better player to start this list off with.
OLB Shane Ray
A former first-round pick in 2015, Ray looked to be the next star outside linebacker. But injuries kept him from reaching his full potential, and the Denver Broncos let him leave this offseason.
Ray might have the most to lose this offseason around the NFL. In a league that values pass rushers nearly as much as quarterbacks, Ray sat on the free agent market for quite some time before Baltimore came calling. If teams thought he still had a lot of talent, someone would have signed him far sooner.
Ray enters a very thin and lackluster group of outside linebackers with not only a shot at a roster spot but a shot at a starting job. If Ray can remain healthy throughout Ravens training camp and can generate a pass rush, he’ll be in line to start opposite Matthew Judon. But on the flip side, if he can’t definitively perform better than the others on the depth chart, he could be cut outright.
Considering teams weren’t exactly lining up at his door to sign him previously, being cut by a Baltimore team in need of pass rushers would be an ominous sign for his NFL future.
WR Marquise Brown
Brown has yet to do anything in the NFL and he’s guaranteed a roster spot as a first-round pick in the 2019 draft. So you’re likely asking how Brown has a lot to gain or lose at training camp? But Ravens fans have been down this road once before.
Brown has been rehabbing from a Lisfranc injury suffered before the NFL combine. He’s yet to truly hit the practice field for Baltimore, and while he’s expected back for training camp, foot injuries are often unpredictable.
Fans will remember Breshad Perriman’s rookie season, which ended before it even started due to a PCL sprain. Though Brown’s injury is different, if he misses extended time at training camp, there will be flashbacks to Perriman. Even more important, it would take away valuable practice snaps Brown needs to learn Baltimore’s new offense, develop chemistry with quarterback Lamar Jackson and get attuned to the differences from college to the NFL.
With every missed snap, Brown’s development could be delayed further. For the first wide receiver selected in the draft, any delays in production are going to be under a microscope from the media.
LB Chris Board
Board is a bit of an unexpected player this offseason. Going undrafted out of North Dakota State last season, Board joined the Ravens and actually was active for all 16 games. Primarily used on special teams, Board had only 14 defensive snaps but could find himself on the field a lot more in 2019.
That makes it a big training camp for Board. He’s expected to compete with second-year linebacker Kenny Young for the starting job next to Patrick Onwuasor. A good showing throughout training camp and the preseason could win him the job outright and force Young to be a rotational player for certain packages. On the flip side, if Board falters, he could be relegated to a bit part on defense and see the field primarily on special teams.
G/C Bradley Bozeman
Bozeman is another young player in a competition for a starting job. Bozeman was drafted last year with the eventual intention to compete for a starting job at center. He’ll do so this training camp, fighting with Matt Skura for the role.
In some limited time at guard late last season, Bozeman looked pretty good. If he can improve his play in a move back to center, Bozeman could improve what is already a solid offensive line.
OLB Tim Williams
Williams is another outside linebacker with a lot on the line this offseason. After two seasons in the NFL, Williams has been active in just 15 games. For a third-round pick, that’s definitely not enough. And unlike Ray, Williams has been healthy throughout his career, but the Ravens have often had him inactive for game days.
Williams has to stand out at training camp or he’ll be in real danger of not making the team. But if he finally puts it all together, there’s a starting job Baltimore would love to give him. At the least, Williams has to become a more consistent and dangerous situational pass rusher to ensure a spot on the 53-man roster.
OLB Tyus Bowser
I could probably put every outside linebacker on the roster on this list, but Bowser ends it here. Much like Williams, Bowser hasn’t done much in two seasons for the Ravens and needs to find some success at training camp to simply keep a roster spot.
Bowser has a leg up in the fact he’s more athletic than Williams and has seen the field far more often. While Williams has been active in just 15 games over two years, Bowser has been active in all but just one game. The problem for Bowser is being active hasn’t really translated to production. He has 3.5 sacks, an interception and three passes defensed over two years, which is heads and shoulders above others on the depth chart. However, Bowser hasn’t been the most effective pass rusher, and he’s had issues in coverage as well.
Like previous years, the Ravens find themselves with an outside linebacker that doesn’t really fit in. Bowser could be played in certain packages or be moved inside as a coverage linebacker. But those attempts in previous years with guys like Kamalei Correa haven’t worked. That means Bowser has to start making big plays in training camp or the team might look to trade him to a team that can use him better, as they did with Correa last year.
S DeShon Elliott
Elliott has begun making some serious waves this offseason. At OTAs and minicamp, he was all over the field and making diving interceptions. Normally, I wouldn’t have put Elliott on this list thanks to fellow safeties Earl Thomas and Tony Jefferson having starting jobs locked up, but Elliott created an exception with his play.
If Elliott can continue to play like he did earlier this offseason, the Ravens will have to find a way to get him on the field. That could be a huge boost for Elliott, whose rookie season ended prematurely due to a broken arm. It could also change Elliott’s fortune completely this year.
Prior to his impressive practices, I saw Elliott as being on the roster bubble. But if he can continue to impress, Elliott could set himself up for playing time this year and as a potential starting option next year if Baltimore were to cut Jefferson in order to save $7 million against the cap, according to Over The Cap.
QB Trace McSorley
As the third quarterback on the depth chart, McSorley is automatically on the roster bubble. While I don’t think Baltimore needs to keep three quarterbacks in the face of depth needed elsewhere on the roster, McSorley has an ace up his sleeve to combat that.
Coach John Harbaugh has talked about using McSorley on defense and special teams. That adds an interesting wrinkle to the mix and makes training camp especially important for McSorley to try and put himself on the 53-man roster or even the practice squad.
Considering the run-heavy, quarterback-option style of offense the Ravens are set to run under coordinator Greg Roman, McSorley still needs to prove himself as a quarterback to have a real shot. But if he can impress as a punt returner, gunner or as a hybrid safety/linebacker as well, he could be worth a coveted roster spot. At the very least, doing well in training camp will make Baltimore think about putting him on the practice squad in order to continue his development.
Of course, if he’s lacking as a quarterback or can’t show enough promise elsewhere on the field, he’s a quick experiment the Ravens will likely move on from. In a league that seems to fight against mobile quarterbacks like him, McSorley’s entire career could come down to a handful of practices and preseason games.
G James Hurst
Hurst has played all over the offensive line for Baltimore. That versatility has come in handy and has been one of the big reasons the Ravens have kept him around for this long.
He finally got his chance to start at right tackle last season after an impressive 2017 campaign at left guard. But he just didn’t do well and eventually lost his starting job to Orlando Brown Jr., moving him back to left guard. Unfortunately, Hurst never regained the level of play from 2017 at left guard, and a nerve issue ended his season early.
Hurst is about to be in the middle of the biggest competition of training camp. He’ll be facing off against rookie Ben Powers, Jermaine Eluemunor, Alex Lewis and perhaps even Bozeman for the starting left guard job. With so many players competing and a draft pick spent on Powers, it doesn’t exactly show a ton of confidence in Hurst as the long-term option there. If he doesn’t play at his best throughout all of training camp, Baltimore could decide to go with someone else and leave Hurst on the bench to float around and fill injury holes instead.
Considering Hurst signed a four-year deal last offseason to start at right tackle, it’d be a huge blow. It could even be the beginning of the end of his tenure with the Ravens considering the cap savings if he’s cut next offseason.
WR Michael Floyd
Floyd is in a tough spot. He joined what is still considered a weak Ravens wide receiver corps in the offseason. While that gives him a good chance to make the team if he can play well in training camp and offer up some veteran leadership to the young unit, it also could be a problem if he doesn’t do well.
Typically, wide receivers outright cut by Baltimore don’t have their phones ringing off the hook with other teams sending contract offers. Michael Crabtree played decently last season, albeit with a lot of drops, and is unemployed after the Ravens cut him this offseason. Jeremy Maclin ended up retiring after sitting out of football for a year. Mike Wallace signed a one-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles for just $1.9 million last year after Baltimore released him; he’s currently a free agent.
Floyd has already bounced around the league with poor results. His last two seasons (with the Minnesota Vikings and Washington Redskins) wrapped up with just 20 combined receptions for 178 yards and one touchdown. That means if Floyd doesn’t make Baltimore’s 53-man roster, it could spell the end of his career.
