OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Ravens are officially back.
Training camp got underway Wednesday afternoon in Owings Mills.
“It feels good to be back with the guys, a new energy, some new players,” said cornerback Marlon Humphrey.
“It feels good to be back healthy, back with the team. We are definitely all going to enjoy it. We are all hungry for sure,” added wide receiver Rashod Bateman.
Lamar Jackson, and his teammates, kicked off training camp 2022 on Wednesday with the first on-field practice
“I thought we had a good practice,” said head coach John Harbaugh. “Guys were excited to be out here, working hard. We have a long way to go.”
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"It feels good to be back with the guys, a new energy, some new players."
— Shawn Stepner (@StepnerWMAR) July 27, 2022
"We are all hungry for sure."
"If Lamar is not concerned about the contract, nobody should be concerned about the contract."
More from the 1st day of #Ravens training camp coming up on @WMAR2News at 6pm. pic.twitter.com/wouXubleZM
Jackson was in attendance even without a contract extension. He is heading into the final year of his rookie contract. The negotiations seem to be the talk of the NFL.
His teammates said you wouldn’t know it from Lamar.
“It’s obviously a very strange situation for everybody else, including me. But, whenever I talk to him he’s like, ‘I’ll get it done when it gets done.' For some reason people can’t really believe that, but all the guys on the team know that’s kind of true and when he feels like he wants to do that he’ll do it,” Humphrey said.
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“If Lamar is not concerned about the contract, nobody should be concerned about the contract. That’s not up to us. We’re going to let whoever handle that, handle it,” added Bateman.
Jackson was not made available to the media on Wednesday.
New this year is the guardian cap. The NFL is mandating the extra helmet padding be worn by lineman, linebackers and tight ends through the second preseason game.
“Supposedly, the research shows it helps the linemen with the heads, take some force off our brains a little bit. [It’s] warm and heavy right now but, hey, if it’s for our future health it’s totally worth it,” said guard Kevin Zeitler.
With the return of training camp brings the return of the fans. More than 1,000 spectators were on-hand for practice number one.
“I love it,” said Brody Polansky, a fan from Northeast. “Where else would you rather be, right?”
“Watching Lamar shut up all of his doubters once and for all, we’re really looking forward to that,” added Pikesville native Lottie Henry.
Camp continues on Thursday at 2:20 p.m.
