Ravens hold 9 players out of practice for first day of minicamp

The Baltimore Ravens officially began their mandatory minicamp for the 2021 season on Tuesday. Now that the voluntary portion of the offseason has passed, the Ravens hope to see their entire roster take the field this week.

Well, almost their entire roster.

A number of veterans sat out of OTAs for various reasons, and a lot of them will return to the field this week for minicamp. But that won’t be true for everyone.

A total of nine players were held out of the first day of minicamp due to injuries. Some of which were expected and already planned — others are a bit more telling.

The Ravens held nine players out of the first day of minicamp on Tuesday.

Among those who were absent were left tackle Ronnie Stanley, fullback Patrick Ricard, tight end Nick Boyle, offensive tackle Ja’Wuan James, tight end Jacob Breeland, cornerback Iman Marshall, defensive back Jordan Richards, and linebacker Aaron Adeoye.

Defensive end Derek Wolfe was also held out, although he was on the field, just not in uniform.

Stanley and Ricard were both expected to miss minicamp as each player rehabs offseason surgery. Stanley underwent two surgeries on his ankle this offseason while Ricard had hip surgery.

Another expected absence was Ja’Wuan James who won’t be taking part in any team activities, likely until December at the absolute earliest.

James, who was recently signed by the Ravens, tore his Achilles last month and was subsequently released by the Denver Broncos. Baltimore expects James to factor into their 2022 plans much more than their 2021 plans.

Boyle and Breeland are both rehabbing knee injuries and a timetable for their respective returns has not been set. Breeland faces an uphill battle to earn a roster spot and injuries have taken a toll on his brief NFL career so far.

The same could be said for Marshall who is also dealing with a knee injury. Marshall has been hit hard by the injury bug and isn’t a lock to make the roster given the cornerback depth the Ravens have.

In good news, however, cornerback Tavon Young did return to the practice field for the first time since tearing his ACL in Week 2 of last season. The former fourth-round pick has dealt with injuries throughout his entire career so it’s good to see him back and healthy again.

The Ravens will continue to monitor these injuries throughout the remainder of minicamp which runs from June 15-17.