Marquise Brown is no stranger to big debuts despite missing practice time.
As a rookie in 2019, Brown sat out almost all of training camp rehabbing his college Lisfranc (foot) injury. In Week 1 in Miami, he went off for two long touchdowns and 147 yards in his first NFL game.
Now Brown will look to have a similar opening show in Las Vegas this year, after missing 22 practices and almost five weeks of action due to a hamstring injury.
Asked Monday whether he feels 100 percent healthy now, Brown replied, "Yes, sir."
"I plan on hitting it rolling this year," he said. "When I got back out there, [me and Lamar Jackson] just picked up where we left off."
Brown put on a show in the Ravens' first training camp practice, scoring multiple long touchdowns with his blazing speed. On one, he turned and waved goodbye to the defender as he sped into the end zone.
But Brown waved goodbye to the field in the Ravens' second practice when he went down early with a hamstring injury.
"Very frustrating," Brown said. "I came into this camp feeling the best that I have felt. I was excited. I had a good start to camp. It was frustrating, but everything happens for a reason."
Brown still participated in all the Ravens' meetings and did a lot of conditioning and rehab work on a side field the past several weeks. But he didn't return to practice action until a week ago and wasn't full tilt till last Wednesday.
"He's just in the process of getting himself ready," Head Coach John Harbaugh said. "You can't get those days [of camp] back, but he's a really good football player. He's in good shape. I think our people have done a good job with the rehab and the conditioning and all that. He's been in all the meetings. He knows what to do. So now he's just got to go out and do it."
The Ravens have big expectations for Brown as he enters his third season. Their other wide receiver additions of Sammy Watkins and rookie first-round pick Rashod Bateman, who will miss at least the first three weeks, were designed to help Jackson take his next step as a passer and open the field up more for Brown.
Brown advanced his game from Year 1 to Year 2, becoming the Ravens' leader in targets (100), receptions (58, tied with Mark Andrews), receiving yards (769) and receiving touchdowns (8). Brown's stats jumped across the board, despite a midseason hiccup with drops.
Now he could be primed for a 1,000-yard campaign. But Brown's self-expectations for 2021 start with a much smaller number – 17. That's how many regular-season games he wants to play in.
Brown has missed just two games over his career and played in 25 straight, but he's dealt with some injuries along the way. He had to overcome another hurdle with his hamstring injury, but he's looking to show that it won't affect his regular season.
"I just want to be healthy," Brown said. "I want to play in every game and just win the Super Bowl. I think that's my No. 1 goal."
