The Baltimore Ravens escaped a dangerous reality. Nate Wiggins should be fine. The third-year pro went down with a very scary leg injury during Tuesday’s practice, but reports are signaling the best-case scenario for Baltimore.
Wiggins didn’t suffer any ligament damage, and as a plus, he (along with Marlon Humphrey) should be fully recovered and back on the field in a week. That’s a huge win.
There will obviously be some time spent without either of them on the field in practice, though, making the next couple of days crucial for backups and young corners to make their presence felt.
Perhaps with the most to gain is T.J. Tampa. He’s been putting on a show, but now he has a brief opportunity for a real training camp showcase. He must send a message—one that lives rent-free in the coaching staff’s mind ahead of the regular season.
T.J. Tampa needs to impress in brief spotlight with Baltimore Ravens
It’s not going to be a lot of time, but Tampa should have enough reps to show encouraging signs if he hits a high gear. He’s already stringing together impressive practices; however, he should see a brief time with the first team on a down-to-down basis. That’s a golden opportunity he can’t waste.
Tampa is set to be the primary backup on the outside in 2026. He actually might be the only backup with outside ability that the Ravens might be able to trust in the early going. That makes it much more crucial that he slams his foot to the accelerator in the coming month, and more importantly for him, in these next practices with Wiggins and Humphrey recovering from injuries.
Coaches know Tampa can reach a starting level, too. He may still be unproven entering his third NFL season, but the talent is there, and his ceiling is pretty high.
In a recent presser, defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver spoke about what’s impressed him about Tampa up to this point in camp.
“[Tampa’s] made plays on the ball and he goes out and competes every day,” Weaver said. “If he does make a mistake, he very rarely makes the same mistake twice…he has all the skill sets to be whatever he wants to be. It’s just a matter of going out there and being consistently good and not occasionally great. And we’ve seen that from him.”
If he takes advantage of this golden opportunity lying in front of him, there’s a realm of possibilities that sees Tampa jump into more than just a rotational role. I’m talking about one where he sees way more consistent playing time.
After a forgettable year from the secondary, the Ravens need to find a way to ensure that unit levels up. They probably fixed most of the flaws with a new coaching staff and a revamped pass rush, but maybe the biggest solution comes via a T.J. Tampa breakout.
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