It's the final weekend without football, as Ravens training camp opens Wednesday.
Here are my thoughts, all in 50 words or less:
Don't fret about the six rehabbing Ravens starting camp on PUP. They aren't going to rush Ronnie Stanley, Marcus Peters, J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards, Ar'Darius Washington and Tyus Bowser back just to get practice reps. A huge factor in Baltimore's 2022 success is how close those players get to their former selves.
Dobbins refuted a report that he is "no sure thing for Week 1" and advised those betting against him to "go check my resume." I checked that resume last year for a feature story on Dobbins, and it left me positive that he'll come back strong. That hasn't changed.
On the first carry of Dobbins' high school senior season at La Grange (Texas), he suffered a broken ankle and multiple ligament tears. He returned to be a true freshman starter at Ohio State, and in his first game he galloped for 181 yards, breaking a 15-year-old record.
There was never a doubt in my mind that Lamar Jackson would show up on time for training camp. Staying in Florida to continue his workouts during Ravens OTAs is one thing. Sitting out training camp is an entirely different matter. Jackson was never going to jeopardize his team.
The Orlando Brown Jr. contract situation in Kansas City continues to make Eric DeCosta's 2021 trade look better. Even though the Ravens struggled at tackle last season, it was the right long-term move. Baltimore was approaching a similar situation with wide receiver Marquise "Hollywood" Brown too. Instead, two first-round picks.
The Ravens reportedly have the least salary cap space remaining in the NFL at $732K. DeCosta likes to go into the season with cushion that allows for trades and other roster moves. Just keep that in mind when debating the merits of making more additions, such as at wide receiver.
I'm not into whining about "Madden" ratings because they don't matter. But not having Marcus Williams in the top 10 safeties with Tyrann Mathieu, who hung out on the free-agent market until May, at No. 1 is quite odd. Mathieu is great, but Williams is being majorly slept on.
The Ravens bringing back offensive tackle David Sharpe shows they want to keep their guards playing guard in training camp. Tyre Phillips has bounced outside to tackle the past couple years to fill in for injuries. His best position has always been at guard, and he'll get to show it.
