HEAD COACH JOHN HARBAUGH
Opening Statement: "OK, great seeing everybody. I appreciate you being here. [We had a] great practice [and a] great day [and we're] excited for Sunday. One thing to start with is Make-A-Wish – the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the good work they do. We had two great Ravens fans here: Ashtin and Liam, and they were great. They broke the huddle. The guys cheered for them. They got a bunch of autographs and a bunch of pictures, and I think they're having a lot of fun. They will be honorary captains for the game on Sunday. They'll be out there at the coin toss enjoying that. I just congratulate them for being here and for the type of people they are, and also to the [Ravens'] organization – they do a great job. [Vice president of community relations/executive director, Ravens Foundation] Heather [Darney] does a great job. All of the [members of the] organization, with [owner] Steve [Bisciotti]'s leadership, do an amazing job of reaching out to the communities and to the kids like Liam and Ashtin and all kinds of other situations. I'm very proud to be a part of something like that. Alright, what questions do you have?"
We saw QB Lamar Jackson back out there. How did he look at practice? (Jamison Hensley) "[Lamar Jackson] looked good. Yes, he looked good. [It was a] good day for Lamar."
Did you guys make a trade over there? You were over there for a long time. (Childs Walker) (laughter) "We had a good conversation [and] had a lot of fun. [Owner] Steve [Bisciotti] jokes sometimes, 'If they only knew how much time we spent actually making fun of people they would ...'" (laughter) "It was a good conversation." (Bisciotti adds: "It's that we're making fun of each other.") "Well, that's what I mean. It's good having Steve here, and he spends time with the players; spends time with the coaches. [He's] very involved with everything we do, and it's much appreciated."
Do you expect S Marcus WIlliams to play? (Bo Smolka) "Yes."
There's no ambiguity about QB Lamar Jackson playing, right? No decision to make there? (Jeff Zrebiec) "Right."
Obviously WR Diontae Johnson coming in midseason, it can be challenging with only a few days to practice. How did he do, and do you feel that he's at least up to speed that he can contribute in some way on Sunday? (Luke Jones) "Yes, [Diontae Johnson] did well, and I do feel that."
We saw RB Keaton Mitchell was a full participant in the past two practices. You said one of the most important things with him is whether he can protect himself out on the field. Is that something that you may have seen over the course of practice this week? (Kyle Phoenix) "[Keaton Mitchell] looked good absolutely, and we'll just have to make a decision as we go forward here. There's roster implications to all that as well. The main thing as a coach [that] you look at [is that] he's looking good, so it's good to see him back. That's a tough rehab he had, and it's been stellar – his progress. So, we'll see where we're at."
How are you feeling about the depth of your interior defensive line right now? I know you've had a couple of guys nicked up that returned to practice today as well. (Cordell Woodland) "Yes, we had some guys back and some guys not. We'll just have to see where we're at with that. I feel good about the depth – is that your question? I feel really good about our depth on the D-Line, and I feel that guys that go out there, whether it's the guys coming back or the guys that step in, are going to do a really good job."
In a general sense, is it obviously more challenging when you know you have a Thursday game coming right after a Sunday game to kind of weigh where guys are physically and wanting to have as many guys available for either game? (Luke Jones) "It's a consideration – you definitely have to keep both games in mind. When you watch the Thursday night games, you can kind of tell what a challenge it is to have your team as ready to play as they can be. So that's definitely part of the consideration."
You mentioned RB Keaton Mitchell and the defensive line and these roster decisions. What does that look like on Saturday? The decision doesn't have to be made until 4 p.m., but does that discussion go until 3:59 p.m. tomorrow, or what will happen with that? (Bo Smolka) "I don't know that it's ever gone until 3:59 p.m., but it goes as long as it need to go. Whenever we kind of get the information that we need on the different ... There's always a lot of variables involved with something like that, so we'll just have to see."
What's the challenge when QB Lamar Jackson doesn't practice for two days and has the one practice? What's the big challenge for him to be ready? (Jamison Hensley) "[Lamar Jackson will] be ready. I'm not worried about it. He studied all week. He was involved in all the preparation stuff. He knows the gameplan; he knows the opponent. He'll be ready to go."
A lot of concentration on Colts QB Anthony Richardson and him taking himself out of that one play because he was so exhausted after the last one. We've seen QB Lamar Jackson make a lot of high exertion plays. Do you guys have a protocol in place for not putting himself in the spot when he makes a really, really tough play and he's exhausted after? (Jonas Shaffer) "We're aware of that. It's something that's important to be aware of that, really for any player, but certainly, of course, the quarterback. When they do something extraordinary like that, which Lamar [Jackson] does quite often, it's something that we do try to take that into account."
You and QB Lamar Jackson kind of hinted at this being a long season, a lot of wear-and-tear in terms of him getting the rest. Is that something you could see happening again? (Cordell Woodland) "Oh absolutely. I absolutely could. What [Lamar Jackson]'s saying is right, and that just kind of goes hand-in-hand with your question there. All that stuff, you have to take that into consideration for sure. You want your players to be at their best on Sunday. It's always a little bit of that has to be taken into account."
Was there a point of emphasis with holding the ball across the goal line after a couple of those have happened in the NFL over the last couple weeks? (Kyle Phoenix) "We did show the one last week. We do that on Friday where we show different situations, and that was one of the ones that came up just yesterday – the one the week before. We showed that one when they didn't have the camera angle down the line, and then it came up last night, too. Yes, it's definitely something you talk about. There's so many little things to the game that you just want to teach your guys. The goal really is – because you have to decide how deep you want to dig into that – is really what do the guys need to know. What do they need to know – what do the players need to know to make good decisions as much as possible in all the myriad of things that can come up like that. You do try to go through that, and we do a good job of that. [Director of football strategy/asst. quarterbacks] Daniel Stern does a good job of that. We have scenarios but we call them 'Sternarios' for Daniel Stern, and he's outstanding with that and does a great job."
QB LAMAR JACKSON
On if he'll be able to play Sunday: "Yes. 100%."
On if his status for Sunday's game was ever in doubt: "No, that wasn't in doubt. I was just resting my body. It's a long season, that's all."
On his reaction to the team trading for WR Diontae Johnson: "[It was] great pickup. [Diontae Johnson] can get separation like our other guys. [We] just have to see what he's made of. He's over here [in Baltimore] now."
On WR Diontae Johnson being from South Florida: "[Diontae Johnson] is from Tampa; that's not South." (laughter) "Yes, but he's from Florida, though. We love all of Florida, but South [Florida] is different."
On if he was more banged up than usual after Sunday's game against Cleveland: "We have a lot of games in these next couple of weeks, so I'm just trying to get my body right [and] keep it fresh."
On ILB Roquan Smith dressing up as Lamar Jackson for Halloween: "I was laughing. Before I uploaded it, [Roquan Smith] sent it to me. I was just dying laughing. I was like, 'Bro, that's funny as heck.' That was a great costume; I'll put it like that."
On if missing the last two practices will hinder him: "No, not at all. It won't hinder me or slow me down at all. [I was] just resting my body."
On the team's current mindset: "I believe our guys are locked in. I wasn't at practice the first two days, but just from watching [the practice] film, guys were locked in [and] making things happen. Practice looked good; practice looked great. It looked like I was out there. But we're going to see Sunday [and] see how guys respond after that loss last Sunday."
On what he's seen on film from Denver's defense: "[They're] a high-motor team [and a] high-motor defense. The defensive line is tremendous. They are the number three defense right now. Those guys are just flying around, making things happen, creating turnovers [and] creating chaos in the backfield. [They're] just an all-around good defense."
On if he had taken notice of WR Diontae Johnson's game while he was in Pittsburgh: "Absolutely, I had seen [Diontae Johnson] in Pittsburgh. I couldn't stand him when he was in Pittsburgh, but his game is great. Like I said before, [he] has great separation, [he's] a great route runner, [and] he's a home run hitter."
On if yesterday was the first time he and WR Diontae Johnson met: "No."
On how scary Baltimore's offense will look: "Yes. [We're] creating a lot of one-on-one matchups. We have 'Bate' [Rashod Bateman], a great guy against one-on-one coverage, Zay [Flowers], a great guy against one-on-one coverage, Diontae [Johnson], Mark [Andrews], [Isaiah] Likely, 'Nelly' [Agholor] – we have all of these great guys. Like I've been saying, it's a 'pick your poison' type of offense."
On what it was like to have RB Keaton Mitchell back out on the practice field: "It's great to have [Keaton Mitchell] back out there. I told him earlier; he caught a little small pass, [and] he took off. I'm like, 'You're starting to look like last year's Keaton.' So, it's great to see him back in good spirits. He always was in good spirits, but just to see him on the field with us is good to see."
On if RB Keaton Mitchell looks bigger than last year: "He looked the same."
