OWINGS MILLS, Md. — After a day where the MVP was M.I.A., Wednesday saw the Ravens' world back in order. Lamar Jackson returned to practice.
The star quarterback said he was “good” when he missed practice on Monday. He just took a day off.
There are no days off now before Sunday’s home opener against the Las Vegas Raiders. Both teams enter week two 0-1. Baltimore lost to Kansas City last Thursday. Vegas fell to the Chargers.
Sunday could be a good opportunity to get Derrick Henry more involved than in the opener. Against K.C. Henry had 13 carries for only 46 yards and a touchdown. The Raiders gave up 176 rushing yards in their 22-10 loss in L.A., 135 and a touchdown to former Raven J.K. Dobbins. As for Jackson, he had 16 carries for 122 yards against the Chiefs, taking and giving some hits along the way. Is that kind of a workload sustainable?
"I don’t know. I’m not trying to find out but we got Derrick Henry, Justice Hill, those guys. But I’m going to do whatever it takes to win and in that type of a game, sometimes you got to do what you got to do," said Jackson.
But is there a fine line between doing what you got to do and the most important player on the team taking more precautions to protect himself?
"We don’t live in that world of fine lines," said head coach John Harbaugh. "We live in the world of competing, going out there and doing the best you can. There are no lines being drawn. The only lines that we have are the lines on the field - the sidelines, the goal line, the back end line. That was a big one. That was a big line that was really important in [the Kansas City] game. Those other fine lines you are talking about, I’m not even aware of those. I don’t know what those are."
A big challenge this week for Harbaugh, Jackson and his offensive line will be contending with one of the best defensive ends in the game: Maxx Crosby. The premier pass-rusher had 14.5 sacks last year and one in last weekend’s season opener against the Chargers. He had two sacks, six tackles, two tackles for loss and five quarterback hits against Jackson and the Ravens in the 2021 season opener.
"He is a game wrecker. No doubt about it. One of the best players in football," said Harbaugh.
"High motor. That guy, he’s a great edge rusher, man. My hat’s off to him," added Jackson.
"He’s a great player. He’s got a lot of different stuff. Just shutting him down. That’s the plan," said offensive lineman Patrick Mekari.
On the injury front, inside linebacker Roquan Smith (shoulder) was limited at Wednesday's practice. Outside linebacker Adisa Isaac returned to practice (limited). The rookie has been out since the August 17 preseason game, against the Falcons, battling a hamstring injury.
The only player who did not practice on Wednesday was outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy. He suffered a fractured orbital bone in the season opener.
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