The most interesting part of Saturday's practice came at the end when Head Coach John Harbaugh took the mic.
Harbaugh started by saying the referees missed an intentional grounding call in Thursday's preseason opener, which led to a discussion about how referees need more time at training camp practices to hone their craft. Currently, they're allowed just three training camp days.
"It's interesting because when you ask the league, they'll say, 'Well, the union won't let them do it,'" Harbaugh said. "When you ask the refs, they all say they want to do it. My proposal is that they get together and get on the same page."
Two sides not getting along made things take a political turn. With Republican hopeful Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton dominating the headlines, Harbaugh threw his hat in the ring.
It seems Harbaugh 2016 would run as an Independent.
"Like a government, too. Maybe talk to one another, solve a problem once in a while instead of creating a problem. Be more concerned about the country than you are your party. How about we do that?" Harbaugh said.
"Go eat your free lunch, and then go sit in your corner and don't solve anything, and who suffers? All of us suffer because they can't get along."
Then Harbs gave his political proposals.
"I'm going Trump here. Build a wall; it's not that hard. If you don't have a border, you don't have a country. You're not a country without a border, right? At the same time, we've got 12 to 15 million hard-working people here. Give them a shot! Give them a chance to become a citizen so they're paying taxes.
"All of us know that it's not that complicated. But this side doesn't want to solve it and neither does this side. Neither one of them wants to solve the problem. Solve the problem! It'd be done that fast."
A reporter joked with Harbaugh that he should enter the 2016 presidential race.
"I might be coming out," Harbaugh said with a smile. "I might be running. [Could I] get a couple votes here?"
Harbaugh said his running mate would, of course, be his brother, Jim. Now that would be quite the ticket.
Breshad Perriman Still Sitting Out
Wide receiver Breshad Perriman missed his 11th straight practice.
Harbaugh said he didn't have any further information on the injury.
"He's got whatever they want to call it with his knee situation," Harbaugh said. "It's not something that's going to keep him out for a long period of time they tell me. If I was a doctor, I'd give you more.
"He'll be back sometime here in training camp, hopefully soon. I hate that he's missing it, hate that he's not out here. I have a knot in the pit of my stomach in some ways about it. In other ways, I know it's out of our control and I put it in God's hands and let him take care of it. To me that's the best strategy right there."
Here are notes from the football portion of practice:
- Defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan returned to practice after missing Thursday's preseason opener. He participated in individual and positional drills, but not 11-on-11 work.
- Wide receiver Kamar Aiken (unknown) and Marlon Brown (hamstring) sat out, along with cornerback Lardarius Webb (unknown), defensive end Steven Means (unknown), defensive end DeAngelo Tyson (unknown) and guards John Urschel (concussion) and Robert Myers (concussion). Guard Kelechi Osemele left practice early.
- Rookie tight end Maxx Williams made the catch of practice with a full-extension, Superman diving catch along the sidelines. Even the defensive players and coaches gave him kudos after the play. Williams is developing a bit of a reputation for highlight reel catches and had a very strong practice.
- Defensive tackle Lawrence Guy stood out during practice, including when he slipped his block and stopped rookie running back Buck Allen in his tracks in the backfield. Guy also had a tipped pass and nearly an interception.
- Kicker Justin Tucker accomplished his goal of hitting an expensive camera mounted on a pole behind the uprights. Tucker didn't take it down, but still gave a little fist pump.
- Inside linebacker Daryl Smith got another interception off quarterback Matt Schaub. This time, outside linebacker Courtney Upshaw got his hand on a pass in coverage, tipping it up to Smith.
- Joe Flacco made one of his most ridiculous throws of training camp. As he scrambled to his right, it appeared Flacco was going to throw the ball out of bounds. Instead, he slung a 20-yard pass across his body to tight end Crockett Gillmore for a completion.
