OWINGS MILLS, Md. — There was a surprise absentee as the Ravens got back on the field on Monday. Lamar Jackson missed practice.
The MVP did not take part in the hour and a half session at the Under Armour Performance Center as his team started preparations for the Sunday's home opener against the Las Vegas Raiders. Head coach John Harbaugh did not provide much of a reason as to why.
"We had a number of guys that weren’t out there - some personal, some physical. So, the injury report comes out Wednesday afternoon. So, you’ll be better advised on that day," he said.
Jackson did not appear to be hurt during Thursday’s loss to the Chiefs.
As for the guys directly in front of him, Harbaugh does not seem concerned about the state of his rebuilt offensive line. One of the question marks heading into the season, the Ravens replaced three starters and worked in rookie right tackle Roger Rosengarten against Kansas City. Collectively the line had their issues with run blocking, protection and penalties but only allowed one sack and one quarterback hit.
WMAR-2 Sports Reporter Shawn Stepner asked the head coach how much progress he wants to see from that unit in week two.
"How much? I’d like to see it 10 million times better. That’s what I want," said Harbaugh. "But do you think it will be 10 million times better? Is it going to be twice as good?"
"It depends on the baseline," Stepner replied.
"The baseline is pretty darn good. The baseline is pretty darn good - in that environment against that defense. It doesn’t bother me as much as it bothers you, obviously, or some others," Harbaugh continued. "I’m not too worried about the offensive line because I know how hard they work and I know how talented they are and I watch all of the other offensive lines in the National Football League and I think if you applied some of the same standard to the other offensive lines out there you’d be like, ‘Oh boy. It’s a tough position to play against these guys’. So, our offensive line is going to be really good this year."
When Stepner asked Harbaugh how much simply playing together more and gaining chemistry will help his offensive line, he responded "Massively".
"When that offensive line goes out there – again – in that stadium, with that crowd noise, against that defense and [in] that kind of a game, that’s it, man," he said. "It’s not going to get any tougher than that."
Follow Shawn Stepner on Twitter @StepnerWMAR and Facebook
