Much of the external attention on Baltimore's quarterback situation this week has been on Joe Flacco's back injury and the possibility of signing Colin Kaepernick.
But amidst that noise, Ryan Mallett has taken all the first-team reps with Baltimore's offense. It's been an up-and-down start to camp for Mallett, but the seventh-year quarterback isn't focused on the talk of adding Kaepernick to the roster.
"We're worried about the Ravens right now," Mallett said after Sunday's open stadium practice. "If he comes, cool. If he doesn't, cool. We don't really care about that right now."
Mallett has been working to get on the same page with a receiving corps that he hasn't taken many reps with over the last few years. Jeremy Maclin was just signed last month and Mallett's time with Mike Wallace and Breshad Perriman has been limited because he typically works with the second-team receivers.
"I'm starting to feel more comfortable with them and we're getting more cohesive as a unit," Mallett said. "The line, the backs, the receivers, and tight ends."
Mallett will continue to run with the first-team until Flacco is back on the field. The plan is to give Flacco a week of rest and then re-evaluate him to see if he's ready to return. If Flacco's back injury lingers, then maybe the Ravens look more into signing Kaepernick.
Mallett, 29, has been with the Ravens since late in the 2015 season. He started the final two games that year, including a Week 16 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. He completed 60 percent of his passes and threw two touchdowns to two interceptions in his starts for Baltimore. He did not start any games last season.
Over the next few weeks, he'll look to show the coaching staff that he's again ready to be Flacco's backup. Mallett said his performance at Sunday's stadium practice was "decent," but stressed he needs to improve throughout camp.
"Every day in training camp is about taking a step forward, getting better, minimizing mistakes and fixing them," Mallett said. "Got to get better. That's what training camp is for. It's day three. It's a long training camp, a long preseason, and it's what it's for."
