There has been plenty of excitement throughout the Baltimore Ravens' training camp thus far. Rookie wide receiver Ja'Kobi Lane has been a sensation. The team is also meshing nicely with the new coaching staff, and the revamped defense looks promising. However, the Ravens offense (outside of Lane) hasn't been able to find their groove.Â
Ravens reporter Cordell Woodland noted that the Ravens offense continued to struggle on Tuesday and that the tight end room has been particularly underwhelming.Â
"The overarching theme of practice today, just not a sharp day offensively, specifically with some of the tight ends, just not very good," Woodland noted. "It's been really a struggle for the tight ends to this point, and today that continued. Whether it's at the top of the depth chart with Mark Andrews or at the bottom, it just doesn't matter; you aren't getting a lot from these tight ends... As a whole, the offense just hasn't been able to stack days. They've had their moments, and maybe even their practices, but I can't name a back-to-back practice where I can say they were on it today; they just haven't looked in sync."Â
Look, I'm not going to hit the panic button about the Ravens' offense in training camp. With Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, and Zay Flowers, I'm simply never going to be that concerned. Learning a new playbook could also be a factor here.Â
Still, it's certainly concerning that the Ravens are this out of sync at training camp, and not being able to stack together multiple good practices is alarming. There have been reports that pre-snap penalties are once again an issue, which is an all-too-familiar problem for the Ravens. To avoid a similar fate as last season, Baltimore needs to sort things out.
The Baltimore Ravens' offense needs to get in sync quickly
It's a bit ironic after the disastrous defensive season Baltimore had last year, but that's clearly the Ravens' stronger unit. Interior offensive line, particularly their center room, remains a concern. Lane has silenced some of the concerns about the Ravens' WR room, but it remains an inexperienced group outside of Flowers.Â
One undeniably concerning aspect of the Ravens' offensive struggles is the tight end room. Two or even three tight end sets have been increasingly common in the modern NFL. Mark Andrews has been steadily declining and is entering his age-31 season. Beyond that, late-round rookies Josh Cuevas and Matthew Hibner are unproven and seemingly not thriving. Veteran Durham Smythe hasn't done much in his eight seasons.Â
If Andrews takes another step back, the Ravens could have a subpar tight end group, which could limit their optionality and make life harder for Lamar. And frankly, Woodland's comments shouldn't be a shocker (well, maybe it's a bit surprising they've been this bad) with the losses of Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar; this group clearly got worse over the offseason.
Training camp is where you build reps and chemistry. There's still time for the Ravens' offense to do just that. Baltimore needs to have some urgency, though, and it's time to start building some momentum for the regular season.Â
If the Ravens remain out of sync and the tight end room is essentially a zero, another disappointing season could be in the cards. With all the changes this offseason and the Super Bowl expectations, the Ravens can't afford a second straight mediocre season.Â
While I'm confident that the Ravens' offense can get back on track, there are some clear red flags, and it's not a perfect roster. Let's hope the Ravens' offense starts clicking and the tight end room soon shows some signs of life. If not, the panic level will start to rise.Â
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