ExtremeRavens Posted August 6 Posted August 6 Finally, the Ravens put on pads, took the field and hit guys in different-colored jerseys (although some hit more than others). Tuesday was the first of two joint practices Baltimore has scheduled this preseason. Most of the team’s starters won’t play until the regular season kicks off next month. So, in some ways, these heightened practices are the only tangible preseason assessment. With the Indianapolis Colts in Owings Mills, here are three things we learned. Secondary skepticism The Ravens’ secondary will, in all likelihood, be OK. They have the talent and flexibility to temper some of the NFL’s most lucrative passing attacks. What was the biggest thorn in Baltimore’s side for 10 weeks in 2024 should be a strength in 2025. It just didn’t look like it during Tuesday’s practice, which went on without All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton for what coach John Harbaugh deemed “one of those camp deals” — a precautionary measure after exiting Monday’s practice early. The rest of Baltimore’s secondary didn’t dominate the way many might have expected. In an early iteration of 11-on-11 drills, Colts wideout Adonai Mitchell burnt Nate Wiggins up the right sideline for a deep touchdown. Wiggins, who has had an otherwise strong camp, looked out of sorts in deep coverage, which might have influenced the tension that boiled over into him getting booted from practice for a scuffle that he escalated. In an early session of 1-on-1s, Colts quarterbacks unofficially combined to complete 9 of 15 passes. Alec Pierce got the better of Marlon Humphrey on a crossing route. Mitchell left Jalyn Armour-Davis in his dust on an out route. Josh Downs caught three passes in a row during 7-on-7s, including a 15-yarder over Humphrey and a 10-yard dig route through zone coverage. That said, Baltimore’s defense looked sharper in intermediate throws and played its cleanest defense while backed up in the red zone. T.J. Tampa dove to disrupt a dart from Anthony Richardson. Starks and Jaire Alexander stuffed Michael Pittman Jr. at the goal line. And on one rollout to his right, Daniel Jones tried to shovel a pass up the middle that went nowhere. Either way, it was a small sample size in the first time against a different offense and with Hamilton sidelined. Reading too much into it would be a fool’s errand. “We’re not game planning these guys or anything,” defensive coordinator Zach Orr said Monday. “[We’ll] just come out here and practice, run our defense, versus their offense and vice versa and really see where you stack up at.” It wasn’t enough to definitively say the Ravens’ back end issues are a thing of the past. Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey and safety Sanoussi Kane make contact during a joint practice Tuesday. The team's defensive backs had an inconsistent performance in the practice with the Colts. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) Charlie Kolar looks ready to be TE2 Lamar Jackson flicked a ball over a Colts defender toward tight Charlie Kolar against the right sideline. The throw traveled maybe 20 yards, sinking into a pocket in the defense that Kolar converted into a long touchdown. He had another catch in the middle of the end zone, again finding a hole between defenders that Jackson capitalized on. Kolar arrived in Baltimore in 2022 as a primary pass catcher. He wasn’t much of a blocking tight end at Iowa State, but he has made a professional career out of being a blocking tight end, sitting third on the depth chart behind Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely. Now with Likely sidelined for at least the rest of the preseason — he was seen watching Tuesday’s practice in a knee scooter — Kolar should get a slight uptick in targets. Andrews, who still holds the top spot on the depth chart, had an impressive diving touchdown catch in the back of the end zone against the Colts. But if all goes well, maybe Kolar’s success bleeds into the season and gives Jackson yet another viable option in an already crowded room of pass catchers. .@charliekolar_ highlights!!!!! pic.twitter.com/hXeB6uKdVc — Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 5, 2025 “Charlie’s getting a great feel for the game,” Jackson said, “looking like a little Mark and little Isaiah out there in his own way. He’s coming along great.” Kolar said he spent most of his offseason fine tuning his athleticism. At 6 feet 6, he’s keying in on how to stay low presnap and fire out of the stance into a route. Opportunities in the passing game have generally come from play-action or swimming upstream. Alignment and leverage, he said, will help round out his game. Although any Likely absence would be a tough blow to the offense, Kolar’s performance during Tuesday’s litmus test opposite an unfamiliar defense is a sign that the Ravens should be OK in the short term. Prioritizing a ‘punt catcher’ LaJohntay Wester snaked through an onslaught of Colts defenders and found the sideline, cruising to the end zone for a kick return touchdown. It appeared that no official made any effort to blow the play dead, insinuating that even if both teams were live tackling, he would’ve been safe. It was a remarkable display from the sixth-round draft pick making a strong case to be Baltimore’s kick and punt returner. Harbaugh and special teams coach Chris Horton don’t prioritize that kind of thing. “Your punt catcher is more important than your punt returner,” Harbaugh said. Wester is in the running to make the roster as a return man alongside Keaton Mitchell, Dayton Wade, Anthony Miller, D’Ernest Johnson and Malik Cunningham. “They all are very good after the catch,” Horton said. Harbaugh said that he thought Wester looked sharp during Tuesday’s practice but acknowledged that the decision comes down to running back the tape and diagnosing everyone’s posture when catching the ball. He wants to see the fundamentals of how the football nosedives into their waiting arms. Harbaugh said that he learned that from Chiefs coach Andy Reid and former Eagles coach Ray Rhodes. What does good posture look like when catching a punt? “Square,” Harbaugh said, excited to talk special teams minutiae. “You’re perpendicular to the path of the ball. You’re square shouldered on the catch. You are right down the middle, elbows tight, high hands. How’s that? You like that? That’s an easy one for me. I know the answer to that one.” It’s easy to look at how guys are able to give the offense an advantage with their feet. Harbaugh and Horton care far more about whether they get into a position to do something with their feet. Tuesday’s practice also helped get a feel for the way a live punt falls out of the sky versus on a JUGS machine — another nuance to the craft that can get lost in the annals of practice logs. “When we’ve got the JUGS, we’re just trying to shoot the ball as high as we can and make it a timing thing,” Horton said, “because that ball will hang up there a little bit longer, and it might not necessarily turn over, so now the ball’s falling down to the right or falling down to the left. Whereas, when you’re on the live foot, the ball’s turning over and it’s going down to the spot. So, we’re looking for a couple different things with a live punter versus the JUGS.” Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn. 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