Kyle Hamilton is so talented he can make a recent injury seem like a distant memory.
Three days after leaving Sunday’s practice early with an apparent lower body injury, the Ravens' All-Pro safety was Wednesday's standout defensive player. Hamilton's most spectacular moment was a juggling, diving interception of a pass thrown by Lamar Jackson.
Not only was Hamilton active, but he was physical during the padded practice. After closing quickly on a pass caught by running back Owen Wright, Hamilton delivered a hard hit, wrapped up the young running back tightly, and lifted him up in a vice grip before stopping short of executing a full takedown.
Hamilton's tone-setting aggressiveness after Sunday's injury was impressive.
"It's great to have him back, playing great," Head Coach John Harbaugh said. "A very resilient guy. What a leader, leads by example. He's had two great practices since then."
On Tuesday, Hamilton welcomed himself back to action by making an acrobatic pass breakup that had Defensive Coordinator Zach Orr shaking his head with admiration.
"I'd be hard-pressed to find somebody else in the league that can make a play like that," Orr side.
Hamilton built on that momentum. Early in practice, he won a one-on-one matchup against Isaiah Likely, leaping high to deflect a pass in the end zone. During a red-zone drill, Hamilton played tight defense on rookie tight end Qadir Ismail to deny a potential completion.
Hamilton's day wasn't perfect. Undrafted wide receiver Isaiah Washington made an impressive catch near the sidelines when Hamilton was late getting over in coverage. But in game conditions, that throw would have never been made, as Malik Harrison had already stormed into the backfield for what would've been a sack.
Washington's catch still drew a loud cheer from fans in the bleachers. However, Hamilton was the day's biggest crowd pleaser.
Here are more observations from Wednesday's practice:
- Tavius Robinson and Ismail got very physical during back-to-back blocking drills. Ismail got leverage on Robinson and pushed him back during their first go-round. In Round 2, Robinson used a quick first step and made high contact with Ismail, whose helmet came flying off. Offensive players wanted a penalty to be called on Robinson, but both players kept their poise and got high-fives from teammates.
- New wide receiver/returner Deonte Harty had a long catch-and-run and has started to stack strong days after getting a late start to training camp.
- Brandon Stephens and Rashod Bateman had several competitive one-on-one battles, with Stephens winning the majority. However, Bateman caught a long pass against Stephens when he slipped in coverage, as Bateman continued to look stronger since his return to practice on Monday.
- Wide receiver Anthony Miller had the day's longest completion, adjusting his body to make a catch on a long throw by Jackson.
- David Ojabo has put together back-to-back strong days as he was consistently flashing into the backfield on pass rushes. Even though hitting quarterbacks was off limits, Ojabo got close enough to Jackson on one rush to knock the ball out of his hand by accident.
- Likely getting open consistently remained a consistent theme. Trenton Simpson was called for holding trying to keep up with Likely, and he was targeted for several completions during a seven-on-seven period.
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644: Isaiah Likely Explains Why He's Having a Monster Camp, His Connection With Lamar Jackson, Where He'll Line Up
Baltimore Ravens TE Isaiah Likely joins Ryan Mink and Garrett Downing to talk about his big training camp, working together with Mark Andrews, his chemistry with Lamar Jackson, and why he doesn't consider himself a tight end only.
- Simpson let a potential interception slip through his fingers when he anticipated where Jackson would throw on a crossing pattern. While Simpson should've made the catch, his reaction on the play showed his growth in pass coverage.
- Pepe Williams continued to have a strong week, cutting in front of Malik Cunningham to break up a sideline pass.
- Jackson and Zay Flowers had several well-timed completions on sideline throws, with Jackson releasing the football just as Flowers was making his break.
- Undrafted rookie Beau Brade had an interception against Jackson that was nullified by a penalty. However, Brade is backing up a solid performance in last week's preseason opener with a good week of practice.