Ravens Training Camp News and Notes

Great posts, Faulk. I'm always a fan of seeing a fan's perspective who was actually at a practice

 

Thx. Anyone know when Canady and Gilmore got injured. I thought I saw Gillmore warming up with some laps, but never saw his number on field. I saw another DB on the ground with his leg getting worked over by the trainers but thought it was a cramp. It was on the opposite side of the field so I couldn't see who it was. There didn't look to be any real injuries. Even the Weddle/Smith collision ended up being minor.

 

Thank you Faulk, that was a lot of information and I appreciate you put it together in such an organized way. Thanks for taking all the notes from practice. That is helpful to try to get a little bit of a mental picture on how the squad is shaping up. Let's see if they look similar in a few weeks.

 

Gillmore had MCL repaired. Likely out for the season since it's a 5 month recovery

 

Yes, but Canady could return.

 

I like Donnell, but his blocking is almost non-existent. If he makes the team, and stays healthy, he would be good for a 4th/5th receiver. If one more TE goes down, I hope they go after Barnidge.

 

I just saw the report that Nico Siragusa is done for the season after tearing all the ligaments in his knee. What the heck is going on here? Are the Ravens the most injured team in the league? It feels like it right about now.

"Ravens rookie guard Nico Siragusa tore multiple ligaments in his knee (ACL, MCL and PCL) during Tuesday’s practice, the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports.

Rapoport reports that an MRI confirmed the tears, which would end Siragusa’s season before it began. "

 

Okay yeah, these injuries are getting wat out of hand. I think he was going to be a surprise addition to the o-line

 

Damn. I liked this kid too. I thought he had a chance to really contribute and compete for a starting job. Even though he was a rookie this was already a thin position. And yeah, the Ravens are the most injured team right now. Saw an article saying as much before these last 3.

 

Here's a list of the casualties to the roster so far which I borrowed from a BR.co,m ppost:

OUT FOR THE SEASON
1. Pitta - big loss
2. Tavon - bog loss
3. Dixon - big loss
4. Siragusa - moderate
5. Gilmore - big loss

OUT INDEFINITELY
1. Canaday - Big loss (would've been less so, if not for Young's ACL)
2. Flacco - Minor, hopefully the week rest will be sufficient
3. Perriman - Minor IF is just a tweak and not something more serious
4. Sheldon Price - Minor
5. Kenny Bell - Minor, didn't look like he was making the team
6. Quincy Adeboyejo - Minor, but I liked what this kid showed in practice


RETIRED
1. Zach Orr - big loss, but they always seem to find talent here
2. John Urschel - big loss, he was not a Pro Bowler, but a solid rotational player that could've been decent starter

We are far and away the worst team right now for injuries/losses. I'm not calling the time of death oor anything, but I'm concerned that they're approach to practices is causing more harm than good. Even with a new conditioning coach (assuming he's doing his job well) he can't control what they are doing on field.

 

I put some of my own thoughts behind this one

 

I'd call Canady a big loss. I originally didn't think much of it, but if he really was looking very good out there and was working in the slot, then that's a big loss for me. I don't really trust Boykin and outside of him, we have no true slot corners.

I still fully believe Siragusa was going to be the starting LG (reports were he was getting 1st team reps at LG before the injury) so that's another big loss in my book as well

 

I couldn't say about Canady since I never really saw him on field. I'm just going on reports that he was supposed to be competing for the starting slot corner role after Young went down. If Young was still healthy I'd say his injury was minor.

 

so news looks like the Ravens could potentially sign Austin Howard to shore up the right tackle position which would make me feel much better about the O line depth with LT locked with Stanley, LG with Alex Lewis, Center seems to be Jensen or Skura and then Yanda manning his typical RG and then Howard would be the RT and the depth would be Hurst, Skura, Nembot and Eluemenor and Wesley.

I feel better with Hurst as depth versus a starter. I know he is improved, but getting a proven veteran to start makes me feel better knowing we have a very capable, improved guy to plug in where needed in Hurst.

Also, the notes indicate that Mallet has had several impressive practices in a row which is a bit of a relief and watch out for Tim White.

 

Yeah, word is we're "finalizing" a deal with Howard. I don't know anything about him, so I did some statistically research. He looks to be an injury risk also, only playing 11 games last season. In those 11 games he gave up 5 sacks and committed 2 penalties. That's not all that great. In 15 games last season, Wagner had 3 penalties and 2 sacks allowed.

But I guess he could be better than Hurst and it'll move Hurst back to the bench. I'd rather have him as a backup than a starter. I do worry about the power run game they wanted because Lewis is just not a power guy from the guard position and there's still not idea of who the center will be (I think it's Jensen's job to lose now)

 

I don't know anything really about him. Looks like he was very durable over the last handful of years save for last year.
I googled him and it came up on NFL Trade Rumors as the 5th best available free agent right behind Nick Mangold.

http://nfltraderumors.co/top-2017-nfl-free-agents-list/

RK Player Pos. Team Age Note
1 Zach Orr ILB BAL 25
2 Ryan Clady OT NYJ 30
3 Perry Riley ILB OAK 29
4 Nick Mangold C NYJ 33
5 Austin Howard OT OAK 30

I think he is perfectly fine to sign as a starter/depth player. I think having experienced OL players is our most pressing need at this point. The OL makes everything else on offense go, so using our limited resources money wise to bolster the position is a wise decision.

I am not sure if it is jumping the gun knowing that there will be some other, potentially healthier, options that will be available when cuts start being made across the league.

 

Looks like it is official based on this article:

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/08/04/report-ravens-sign-austin-howard/

Report: Ravens sign Austin Howard
Posted by Josh Alper on August 4, 2017, 11:31 AM EDT

Getty Images
Tackle Austin Howard‘s visit to the Ravens reportedly ended with an agreement to join the team for the 2017 season.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Howard has signed with the team.


Howard brings some experience to a Ravens line that had one player — left guard Marshal Yanda — who has started more than 13 NFL games over the course of his professional career. They also saw their depth take a pair of shots when guard John Urschel retired and rookie Nico Siragusa was lost for the season to a knee injury.

Howard has primarily been a right tackle and he’ll likely compete with James Hurst for that job once he’s on the field for the Ravens. He had a previous stint on the Ravens practice squad in 2011 before moving on to play for the Jets and Raiders.

 

Was also reported on BR.com

 

I like the signing. Was concerned over his should a bit, but if they kicked the tires on Howard and thought it wasn't a problem, I think they probably got a solid starting RT. It's a 3 yr $16M deal with $5.5M coming in 2017. Not bad considering he was just released a week ago.

 

From NFLRumors.com: The Ravens announced that tight end Crockett Gillmore has been waived to make room for the newly signed Austin Howard. Gillmore, of course, is out for the year after suffering a knee injury in July. By exposing Gillmore to waivers, the Ravens run the risk of another team swooping in on him and planting him on the roster. If Gillmore clears waivers – probably the most likely scenario given his current status – then he will revert to the team’s injured reserve. From there, the Ravens can either park him on IR or release him with an injury settlement.