ExtremeRavens Posted August 22 Posted August 22 The Ravens held the last of their 21 fully open training camp practices Thursday in Owings Mills. They’ll play their preseason finale Saturday against the Commanders at Northwest Stadium, then shift into regular-season mode. Next week, only the first 20 or so minutes of Baltimore’s three practices will be open to the media, the roster will be trimmed to 53 players on Tuesday and the final practice will be held Wednesday before players break until Sept. 1 and the first full week of the regular season. Here’s a look at whose stock has risen and fallen over the past week as the Ravens get set to play their final preseason game and turn toward games that count: Brian Wacker, reporter Stock up: WR Rashod Bateman. If there was a consistent standout through training camp, it was fifth-year wide receiver Rashod Bateman. There was nary a week that went by when he didn’t do something impressive. On Tuesday, he took an end around with tight end Mark Andrews leading the way and raced for a big gain. Later in the same practice, he easily got by cornerback Nate Wiggins and hauled in a pass on an in route. Even when quarterback Lamar Jackson wasn’t throwing to him, he stood out. That includes Thursday when, during a red zone 7-on-7 period, he shielded cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis before making a fingertip grab and getting both feet down in bounds on a pass from third-stringer Devin Leary. Bateman also had a smooth one-handed catch during a full-team period later in the same practice. Stock down: QB Cooper Rush. After throwing a pair of interceptions against the Cowboys last week — only one of which was the quarterback’s fault — the trend continued this week. On Monday, Rush was intercepted on a pass intended for receiver Malik Cunningham when safety Beau Brade jumped the hitch route and snagged the ball. A day later, Rush was again looking for Cunningham when he instead threw the ball directly to rookie outside linebacker Mike Green, who had dropped into coverage. And on Wednesday, Rush almost had another pass picked off when it was tipped at the line of scrimmage. Finally, he threw two more interceptions to wrap up the week Thursday, with the first coming on a nice play by undrafted rookie defensive back Reuben Lowery and the second a gift to undrafted rookie linebacker Chandler Martin. Some of the interceptions could be chalked up to a Ravens defense that has been intentional about being more aggressive, while others were more egregious. Still, it wasn’t a great final week of training camp for the backup quarterback. Mike Preston, columnist Stock up: LB Jay Higgins IV. The undrafted rookie free agent from Iowa has a nose for the ball, regardless if it’s a run or pass. He seems to play with a lot of natural instincts. In pass defense, he gets really good drops and he can fill holes on running plays. It will be hard for the Ravens to keep him off either the 53-man roster or 16-man practice squad. He’ll be good on special teams with the ability to sniff out the ball. Stock down: WR LaJohntay Wester. The rookie sixth-round pick has been in a funk ever since the second preseason game against Dallas. In that contest, his route running was poor and he didn’t show enough as far as going back and fighting for the ball. His effort carried over earlier in the week when it appeared as though he was going through the motions again. He might make the team as a punt returner, but he has to show more promise as a receiver. Josh Tolentino, columnist Stock up: LB Jay Higgins IV. With less than a week until the NFL’s roster cut down deadline Tuesday, the undrafted linebacker out of Iowa has emerged as a legitimate 53-man roster contender. Higgins’ blend of instincts and playmaking continue to flash in practice and preseason games. He’s recorded key takeaways in each of Baltimore’s exhibitions so far, including a strip-sack of Cowboys backup quarterback Will Grier. He also led the team with six tackles in last week’s victory over Dallas. The Ravens have several undrafted rookies who’ve made their case this summer, and Higgins might be near the top of the list. Defensive coordinator Zach Orr offered his glowing review of Higgins on Thursday: “He’s really instinctive and has a high football IQ,” Orr said. “A lot of linebackers got moved to linebacker late in college. He’s been a linebacker basically his whole life. He understands how to read linemen, read pulls, understands zone drops, man drops and spacing in coverage. That’s underrated for the linebacker position.” Baltimore currently has three inside linebackers cemented atop the depth chart: Roquan Smith, Trenton Simpson and fourth-round draft pick Teddye Buchanan. If the Ravens opt to keep just four players at the position, Higgins might need to beat out special teams ace Jake Hummel. Stock down: OL Emery Jones Jr. Coach John Harbaugh revealed earlier in the week that Jones will not be ready for the start of the regular season. Since the Ravens took him with their third-highest selection in this year’s draft (Round 3, pick No. 91), Jones has yet to practice because of offseason shoulder surgery. Consider this as a step in the wrong direction after Harbaugh previously said that he expected Jones to return during training camp. Ahead of next week’s roster deadline, Jones, listed as a 6-foot-5, 320-pound offensive tackle, will remain on the non-football injury list, which will allow the Ravens to allocate his spot on the 53-man roster to another player until team doctors provide full clearance for his return. Jones, a two-time All-SEC selection at LSU, also will be forced to miss the team’s first four regular-season games against Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit and Kansas City. Given his expected late return to the field, it’s difficult imagining Jones making any type of significant contribution during his shortened rookie season. Ravens cornerback T.J. Tampa Jr., shown in June, stood out recently in his push for playing time in a talented secondary. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) Sam Cohn, reporter Stock down: CB T.J. Tampa Jr. Tampa did something no Ravens defender has done all training camp: intercept three passes in two days. The second-year cornerback hasn’t had an especially flashy summer. After a rookie year marred by injury, he invested time and money into his body to arrive back in Owings Mills for a prove-it August that might land him a tangible role. It’s tough to stand out among such a talented secondary that starts five former first-round picks. But Tampa’s takeaways, all on throws from backup quarterback Cooper Rush over two Jackson-less practices, marks his best stretch. It’s an ever-depleted position group. Maybe this helps nudge his way into more first-team reps. Stock down: RB Keaton Mitchell. He was one of the offense’s first breakout players with an electrifying performance in the preseason opener after missing most of last season in the climb back from ACL surgery. Then he suffered a hamstring injury in that game that lingered through all of last week. This week, he has steadily worked back into full speed reps. But we haven’t seen any dazzling cuts in nearly two weeks, raising an eyebrow about the 23-year-old’s ability to stay healthy. It has been deemed a nonserious injury. Harbaugh said there’s a chance that Mitchell plays against Washington. If not, “he’ll be fine for the opener.” After that win in Dallas, Harbaugh also said that the team’s current plan was to take four running backs, implying Rasheen Ali could slip into the 53-man roster, presumably for sake of injury insurance in the backfield (if not to dangle Ali as a trade chip). We got a sneak peek at full-form Mitchell. We haven’t seen that since. Have a news tip? Contact sports editor C.J. Doon at cdoon@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/CJDoon. View the full article Quote
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