Marlon Humphrey was in snowy Canada this offseason with his new wife when Eric DeCosta called. Suddenly, the thought hit him that the general manager could be informing him that he was going to be released.
"Just knowing how the business side of things work, I know everybody's time comes eventually," Humphrey said. "A couple of years ago I told Eric, 'Look, I know one of these days it's going to happen. Could you at least tell me before it hits Twitter?'"
Turns out, DeCosta was calling to get Humphrey's input on Derrick Henry, who he played with at Alabama. Whew.
Humphrey said the call just caught him by surprise, but it perhaps provides some insight into the veteran's subconscious.
He has carried some guilt from the way last season went – and especially finished. Now he's determined to bounce back and prove himself.
A three-time Pro Bowler as recently as 2022, Humphrey's 2023 campaign was snakebitten. It started with foot surgery that sidelined him for the first four games. Humphrey remembers going in for an MRI during training camp just for precautionary reasons. He was shocked when the doctor called to say there was a real problem.
Then, just when he was back on the field and was starting to get rolling, a calf injury sent him back to the bench for a couple games. He returned to play in the next four, but it popped back up, and lingered into the playoffs.
"Every time I thought I was pretty healthy, it seemed like I got hurt the next game," Humphrey said Tuesday at training camp.
Humphrey said there were a lot of "unexpected speed bumps" during the rehab process. It felt like every time he got an MRI, the prognosis came back negative. When it rains it pours, and "it just kept raining."
It was the first time in his life that his body seemed to be failing him. And when he was physically able to give something to the team, he didn't feel like he had put in the mental preparation to be ready.
"In the past I've played through a lot of injuries. But it didn't seem like I played through," Humphrey said.
"I had certain injuries where you needed rest, and I think I overtook some of the rest time, and then just thought I could just play in the game Sunday and be my usual self. [Those] were probably some of the things I regret."
After missing the divisional playoff game against the Texans, Humphrey returned to face the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game. He played just 13 defensive snaps and made one tackle.
"It was tough for me just because I felt that the standard that Roquan [Smith] had set and just that our defense played to, I feel like it would have been selfish for me to push through at the percentage I was at," Humphrey said.
"Even though 85% is a good percent to be at, I just felt it would be better for me to just … I went out there, I think I played like one or two series, and I was just like, 'I don't feel like I can run to the ball, I don't feel like I can give my all right now.' … I was hoping we got to the big one and I was like, 'I'll be ready to go for that one.' Things just … it was just weird."
After the Ravens' loss, Humphrey had a frustrating season to grapple with. But true to form, he pulled out of it. He's always been a half-glass-full kind of guy.
He got engaged a few months ago to his longtime girlfriend and is fathering her young son. He says that's made him work more on himself, to be a good husband and dad. He's long been a role model on the field, and now he's more conscious of the example he's setting off it.
Humphrey's social media personality and podcast are genuine reflections of him – kind of all over the place, full of life and laughter. One thing Humphrey says he learned from legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban is how to have a healthy work-life balance.
"He was almost psycho with his work-life [balance]. I mean, he'd have you at his lake house Friday, cuss you out Saturday like he wasn't your best friend like 10 hours ago," Humphrey said. "It's a combination of that and just being myself. You've got to flip the switch."
While Humphrey jokes around a lot and has a good time, he cares deeply about his craft. He has often heard teammates talk about their "why." Some guys want to buy a house for their parents or put their kids in a better situation. Humphrey said he used to do it for family, but he eventually concluded that they were well off and didn't need him playing for them.
Humphrey's "why" is respect now.
"When I'm 50, I want to see Roquan, he's got four kids. We say, 'What's up?' Our kids holler at each other. Then he leaves and his kids are like, 'Who was that?' And he's like, 'That dude used to play some football,'" Humphrey said.
"I try to make others laugh and smile with whatever dumb stuff I'm saying. But I've always felt, when it's time to work, it's time to work. I've never really felt that a teammate didn't trust me when they look at my eyes and see I'm ready to go."
That's why last season still stings. Humphrey didn't say it, but it seems like he feels like he let his teammates down when he wasn't able to get back on the field, especially for the playoffs. His teammates knew it was hard on Humphrey and them.
"It's tough to see a guy work so hard and not be able to reap the benefits of it," safety Kyle Hamilton said. "Losing a guy like that, in and out last year, can be tough on a team, but for him it didn't affect him at all in terms of his support for us. He was always there whether he was on the field or not, trying as much as he could to help – whether that's making us laugh or actually helping with the coverage – I think he does a great job at both of those.
"He's one of those guys where he's the same guy every day – you don't get a lot of them in the league that's the same guy no matter what's going on, what his situation is. It's always about the team. He's super fun to be around. I don't think the Ravens are what the Ravens are right now without Marlon the past eight years."
Humphrey has dedicated himself to getting ready for whatever comes this season. He's been taking his diet more seriously and has dropped about 10 pounds because he felt like he played better in past seasons when he was a bit lighter.
"I got my grown-man weight on me, and it just never went off," Humphrey said. "It's a young man's game, so I decided to get a little lower."
He still sits in the front of the classroom at every team meeting. He will still probably log more cumulative yards run than any player on the field at practice. Yes, the Ravens measure that and Humphrey takes pride in it.
Humphrey shined during the Ravens’ first training camp practice. He has broken up several passes through the first three days and is visibly playing fast and with confidence. After Humphrey surrendered a tightly contested long ball to Rashod Bateman Tuesday, he immediately went to the sideline and called over the cart to watch film of the play.
While Humphrey does envision eventually moving to safety, he's preparing himself to play this season at outside cornerback or in the slot, where he can take advantage of his physicality, given the arrival of talented first-round rookie cornerback Nate Wiggins.
Though it's Year 8 for Humphrey, he's still only 28 years old. He's still one of the fastest and toughest players on the team and is plenty capable of playing at a Pro Bowl level again, which would boost a Ravens defense looking to replicate last year's success or better.
"Having Marlon Humphrey at full speed and at his best would be massively beneficial, and that's what we expect him to be. He's in great shape," Head Coach John Harbaugh said. "I would never discount Marlon Humphrey if I was an opponent. I believe in Marlon. I think he's one of the best players – one of the very, very best corners – in the National Football League."
Checking off some other boxes in his life, such as marriage, has made Humphrey think more about another item high on his list – winning a Super Bowl. He's always known he wants to play double-digit years in the NFL, but he's getting close to that point now.
That's the goal this season. Humphrey laughed about landing on Bleacher Report’s most overrated players list. He's not worried about that. He's concerned with his teammates and winning.
"I've never really been big on proving people wrong as much as proving me right," Humphrey said. "I always felt that I can play pretty good ball. Health was a problem last year, so that's the biggest thing. I think when I'm out there, I just got to do me. I still feel like I have years to be me and help this team, and I'm just really excited to do that."
If he does that, surprise offseason calls from the GM probably won't make him feel so nervous next time.
"I've never really felt that anyone in this building didn't really have faith in me, so that's helped," Humphrey said. "People can kind of give up on you and make it be known. If they don't have faith in me here, I've never witnessed it."
