Losing their preseason opener 16-13 to the Philadelphia Eagles left the Ravens with plenty to work on when they return to practice on Sunday. Sifting through the positives and negatives, here are some of my thoughts, all in 50 words or less:
One game into the preseason, cornerbacks Nate Wiggins (shoulder), Arthur Maulet (knee) Trayvon Mullen (shoulder), and T. J. Tampa (hernia) all have injuries. It's understandable why the Ravens regard having depth at cornerback as a necessity, not a luxury.
Hopefully, Wiggins' shoulder injury is minor. The rookie corner has looked good in training camp and looked even better against the Eagles. Wiggins has all the tools to be a top corner and he's only 20 years old.
Wiggins' debut quickly caught the eye of national pundits like NFL Network's Brian Baldinger, who praised the rookie for his "stickiness" in coverage. It's early in the process, but getting Wiggins with the 30th pick may be viewed as a steal in a few years.
Doctors did not clear David Ojabo to play on Friday night, Head Coach John Harbaugh said. Ojabo had ACL surgery in November and has been practicing during camp. Hopefully the outside linebacker will be healthy enough for game action soon. He's spent his young career dealing with injuries.
In good news regarding injuries, Ar'Darius Washington looks healthy after playing just two games in 2023 due to a chest injury. Washington had three tackles against Philadelphia and could become the primary nickel corner, at least until Maulet returns.
Trenton Simpson, the leading tackler in the preseason opener (11), looks more than ready to become the starting inside linebacker. Simpson sat behind Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen as a rookie and did plenty of learning. In 2024, Simpson will do plenty of hitting.
Simpson wore the green dot helmet Friday for the first time and enjoyed relaying defensive signals to his teammates. The experience gave Simpson a chance to hear how enthusiastically new Defensive Coordinator Zach Orr calls plays from the sideline.
Pepe Williams said on "The Lounge" podcast that his ankle injury in 2023 is totally behind him. It looks that way. Williams had three tackles, a sack, and averaged 9.0 yards on three punt returns Friday night. The third-year cornerback's stock is rising.
642: Pepe Williams Talks Getting Healthy and Ready for Rebound Season
Our insiders, Garrett Downing and Clifton Brown, sat down with defensive back Pepe Williams to discuss training camp, his recovery from last year's ankle surgery, competing for a starting job and the mindset going into the preseason.
Ben Cleveland looked like he had a solid night as the starting center – no issues with snaps, no penalties. The Ravens may have found their backup to Tyler Linderbaum and Cleveland seems to be enjoying playing center.
I'm waiting until the regular season to decide how I feel about the Dynamic Kickoff. Teams aren't going to show everything they have planned for kickoffs in August. Once we get to Week 1, we'll start getting a better idea of how much it will impact the game.
