The Ravens had a special guest at practice, as 22-time Olympic medalist Michael Phelps came out to watch Monday's session.
Phelps, a Baltimore native, is a long-time Ravens fan and Head Coach John Harbaugh invited him to talk with the team after practice.
"He had a great message for us and we appreciate that," Harbaugh said.
What exactly was that message?
"Go get 'em," Harbaugh said. "He just talked about the last four years and what it takes to persevere like that."
The Olympic champion, who credited Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis with helping him re-kindle his competitive spirit before winning six medals at the 2012 games, spent time catching up with Lewis after practice. The two sat out on the practice field and talked for about 10 minutes before walking back inside the team's facility.
On the walk back, Phelps also stopped to take some photos at the request of some of the players.
"It's pretty special to have him come out here and hang out with us at practice today," rookie kicker Justin Tucker said. "It's pretty surreal."
The point of Phelps' message that stuck with Tucker was the sense of pride that he has being from Baltimore.
"He really just wanted to come out here and say that he's proud to be out here and to be from the Baltimore area," Tucker said. "Seeing a guy like Michael Phelps come out here and share some love with us; that's also really cool."
