Ravens Insider: Ravens hit the field again this week. Here are 5 things to watch.

[ExtremeRavens]

The Ravens are back to work this week with the start of voluntary organized team activities, though that work never fully stopped.

After the draft in the end of April, there was rookie minicamp. Then, Baltimore decided not to wait for the NFL’s investigation into the sexual misconduct allegations against kicker Justin Tucker to conclude and released the 35-year-old potential Hall of Famer with nary a mention of said allegations in its statement.

The team’s offseason workout program, meanwhile, has been ongoing, which included the news that safety Ar’Darius Washington suffered a torn Achilles tendon, an injury that will cost him most if not all of the season. And last week, Derrick Henry officially signed his two-year, $30 million extension, a move that keeps him, quarterback Lamar Jackson, running back Justice Hill, receivers Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman and tackles Ronnie Stanley and Roger Rosengarten in Baltimore through at least the 2026 season.

Now comes OTAs, which will kick off Tuesday and run through Thursday in Owings Mills, with only Wednesday’s session open to reporters.

A similar schedule will play out in the two weeks that follow before a two-day mandatory minicamp June 17-18 — interestingly shortened from three days in recent years — in which all players are typically expected to report. There is no contact allowed, but seven-on-seven and full-team work is.

Here are the biggest things to watch for this spring:

Will Lamar Jackson be in attendance?

The last time Jackson spoke with reporters, his frustration was in full throat following Baltimore’s divisional round loss to the Buffalo Bills in January. In that game, the Ravens turned the ball over three times — with two of them coming via an interception by Jackson and then a fumble by the quarterback.

As for whether he’ll be at OTAs, that’s still to be determined, though he has typically showed up for at least some of the voluntary sessions in the past.

But his attendance — or lack thereof — could be worth watching for another reason. The two-time NFL Most Valuable Player is in line for a contract extension.

Though Jackson’s current deal runs through the 2027 season, there’s an impetus for general manager Eric DeCosta to sign him to an extension sometime in the next roughly 10 months with Jackson’s salary cap number ballooning from $43.5 million this year to a prohibitive $74.5 million each of the next two.

The Ravens said they have begun internal discussions about said extension, but what, if any, talks they’ve had with Jackson is still unclear, and both sides usually like to keep those conversations private. In 2022, a year before Jackson signed his current contract, he skipped OTAs, though he later said the decision was not contract-related.

In the meantime, Jackson has been working out with Flowers in South Florida.

The extent of those throwing sessions isn’t known, but a few clips have been posted to social media in recent days. The only question that remains is whether Jackson will be throwing to the rest of his receivers in Owings Mills during OTAs.

Ravens kicker Tyler Loop practices during rookie minicamp. The sixth-round pick is tasked with replacing veteran Justin Tucker. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Kicking competition

For the first time since 2012, the Ravens will have a new kicker.

Sixth-round rookie Tyler Loop out of Arizona and undrafted free agent John Hoyland from Wyoming are expected to compete for the job. Loop is the favorite as the first kicker Baltimore has ever used a draft pick on, but it’s worth remembering that Tucker was an undrafted free agent when the Ravens signed him a few months after Billy Cundiff missed a potential game-tying 32-yard field goal attempt in the waning seconds of the AFC championship game against the New England Patriots in 2012.

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Both Loop and Hoyland were on display during the team’s rookie minicamp earlier this month, and each missed some kicks on the day that was open to the media.

But that’s also probably to be expected early on. As Tucker said after winning the job more than a decade ago, “To the naked eye, it doesn’t look like I’ve made a lot of changes, but I’ve made a complete transformation from the kicker I was in college to the kicker I am today.”

Either way, expect the competition between Loop and Hoyland (and possibly a veteran free agent) to be one of the bigger stories of OTAs and training camp with Baltimore having to worry about a position that was a no-brainer for a dozen years.

What will Mark Andrews have to say?

While Jackson hasn’t spoken to reporters since after the Bills loss, Andrews hasn’t done so since dropping a would-be game-tying 2-point conversion with 1:33 remaining in that game.

Andrews was not made available following the game and he did not appear at locker cleanout the next day. His only comments since came in an Instagram post a few days later and in an interview with ESPN as part of a promotional tour for a name, image and likeness program for college athletes with diabetes.

In that interview, Andrews said his gloves were “soaked,” but that he still should have caught the pass.

He also addressed the trade speculation that has swirled, saying his relationship with the Ravens and DeCosta is strong. Andrews is entering the final year of his contract, while fellow tight end Isaiah Likely, who at age 25 is five years younger and on the rise, is also in the final year of his rookie deal, thus fueling questions about Andrews’ future.

The only certainty — for now — is that Andrews will be playing for the Ravens this season, with DeCosta having said as much during the draft.

But a veteran as accomplished as Andrews, who still has a few productive seasons left playing on the final year of his deal, does present some questions. Most notably, does Andrews want to be extended before the season starts, and would he ask to be traded should the Ravens extend Likely?

For a team with a roster fit for a Super Bowl run, it’s a delicate dance.

Ravens safety Malaki Starks will take on an even bigger role after Ar'Darius Washington suffered a torn Achilles tendon. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff)

It’s Malaki Starks’ time

The rookie safety and first-round pick playing early and often for Baltimore was always a possibility if not likelihood — everyone from DeCosta to coach John Harbaugh to others around the league have praised the former Georgia standout for his talent, maturity and football IQ. Now, with Washington out and the Ravens a little thinner at the position that possibility becomes a certainty.

Even if Baltimore adds a veteran safety — there are plenty of affordable options on the market — Starks should get a chance to show off his medley of skills, and it will be interesting to see the development of second-year players Sanoussi Kane and Beau Brade as well.

“I just want to be a sponge,” Starks said earlier this month when asked about what he can learn from Washington and All-Pro and two-time All-Pro Kyle Hamilton.

It’ll be interesting to watch how the Ravens deploy him without Washington in the fold. Either way, he’ll need to soak things up quickly.

Cooper Rush is Lamar Jackson's new backup. (Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News/TNS)

A new backup quarterback

For the first time in a long time, the Ravens have made a notable investment in their No. 2 quarterback, signing veteran and former Dallas Cowboys backup Cooper Rush to a two-year, $6.2 million deal in March.

It was a fascinating move after Baltimore spent little on the position in recent years, with 38-year-old Josh Johnson and 2020 undrafted free agent Tyler Huntley before that. It also gives the Ravens a much better option should Jackson miss any time because of injury, with Rush, 31, having appeared in 38 games, including 14 as a starter.

Dallas was 9-5 in those games Rush started, which included the final eight of last season, and he’s coming off a year in which he completed 60.7% of his passes, threw for 1,844 yards and 12 touchdowns with five interceptions.

With Jackson unlikely to be at every voluntary practice the next few weeks and the only other quarterback on the roster (for now) being project and last year’s sixth-round pick Devin Leary, Rush should get a healthy dose of snaps in a new offense over the next few weeks.

Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1.

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