We've hit the slow time of the NFL calendar, the time when there's a whole lot more debate than news.
Thus, over the next two weeks, we will debate some of the most pressing issues facing the Ravens as they enter the 2022 season.
When will the injured Ravens return?
Baltimore's 2021 campaign was derailed by injuries to some of the team's top players.
Lamar Jackson, Ronnie Stanley, J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards, Marcus Peters, Marlon Humphrey, Derek Wolfe and more missed either the entire season or significant time. The final blow was an Achilles tear to the team's sack leader, Tyus Bowser, in the last game.
If the Ravens are going to return to the playoffs in the 2022 season, much of it will hinge on the return of most of these star players, as Stanley, Dobbins, Edwards, Peters and Bowser are all still rehabbing.
Head Coach John Harbaugh didn't have specifics on whether any of them will be on the field at the start of training camp. However, Harbaugh did have some encouraging updates at the end of minicamp.
Stanley's ankle is "looking great," Harbaugh said. Stanley is now working on getting into "the best shape of his life." That indicates that Stanley is past the recovery stage and is now working to get into football mode. The Ravens will still be cautious after Stanley returned last year only to play in one game, but it's encouraging news.
Harbaugh was also positive about Dobbins, saying the running back already feels like he should be on the practice field. Dobbins did walk onto the field at one point during offseason practices to chat with teammates and then take passes off the Jugs machine. Harbaugh said Dobbins has "got work to do still."
Harbaugh also said Edwards is on schedule, though the "schedule" is a little tougher to nail down with knee injuries.
Peters said earlier this summer that he intends to be at full strength for the start of training camp. The Ravens will still ease him into action considering Peters didn't practice at all during OTAs or minicamp, but if Peters is on the field Day 1, that will be a great sign. Humphrey is already full back.
There hasn't been any update on Bowser, though he was walking just fine just three months after Achilles surgery and has been working diligently at the Under Armour Performance Center. Rams running back Cam Akers tore his Achilles in mid-July last year and returned in time for the playoffs, less than six months later. Bowser tore his Achilles in January. No two players or their recoveries are the same, but there is at least precedent of players returning rather quickly from the major injury.
