Baltimore Ravens: Winners and losers of the early offseason
By Joe Schiller
Winners
He’s arguably the player under the most pressure this season but by all accounts, Joe Flacco has had a solid start to the offseason. He missed the majority of this time last year nursing a back injury. But having a fully healthy quarterback is huge for the development of a new-look offense for the Ravens. It provides time to gain chemistry with a revamped receiver core and coaches along with players have raved about Flacco’s long ball. The addition of Lamar Jackson has lit a fire under No. 5 and he’ll look to translate that to the gridiron.
Tavon Young
The Ravens were without top nickel corner Tavon Young all last season. The Temple product was part of the long list of injuries in 2017 after tearing his ACL during OTAs. Much like Flacco, a healthy Tavon Young is a huge boost for a defense that bolstered one of the top secondaries last season. Eric Weddle raved about Young’s return and Young is primed to be the starting slot cornerback. Having consistency at such a valuable position will be huge.
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Besides Breshad Perriman, Chris Moore is the only other returning receiver that caught a pass in the regular season in 2017. Injuries and inconsistencies at the position gave Moore an extended amount of playing time and he thoroughly improved with each week. He’s been labeled as one of the early camp standouts by local media and made an impressive one-handed grab in OTAs over Brandon Carr. Obviously, you have to take a receiver’s production in shorts with a grain of salt but Moore is making his case to be the No. 4 man on the depth chart.
Like a fine wine, Terrell Suggs continues to get better with age. He returned to the practice field for the first time on Tuesday during mandatory minicamp and arrived in style like only Sizzle could do. New defensive coordinator Wink Martindale said Suggs is in some of the best shape he’s been in throughout his career. The 35-year old led the Ravens with 11 sacks last season and despite his age, he’s still the top pass rusher on this defense.
Lamar Jackson
Of course, this list can’t be finished without mention of the Lamar Jackson. The excitement is beginning to build in Baltimore and while Flacco is the unquestioned starter, Jackson is the next in line. Every press conference a different teammate raves about Jackson’s ability as a natural runner and the Michael Vick comparisons are flying across the board. Jackson was given the reigns to the first-team offense and reportedly had one of his best practices to date. The rookie continues to progress and make strides to becoming the future under center.