The Ravens held Day 21 of training camp on Wednesday at The Castle in what amounted to be more of a glorified walkthrough than a real practice. Baltimore didn't do much on the training field, but the Ravens decided to throw running back J.K. Dobbins into the press fire by face media members after practice.
Dobbins, who missed mandatory minicamp earlier this summer and then was on a hold-in lasting more than two weeks through the start of training camp, finally put an end to his stance and returned to practice with the rest of his teammates last week.
The running back, who is rumoredly seeking a new hefty deal, is entering the final season of his rookie contract with Baltimore and is slated to make a sizable $1.3 million this year.
Speaking to the media for the first time since returning from his hold-in (although he was around the field in all prior practices, sitting on the stands, talking to members of the Ravens staff, etc.) Dobbins shared a few comments worth noting but hard to believe.
Here are some of the main quotes and takeaways.
1. J.K. Dobbins sidestepped explaining his absence from training camp
When Dobbins missed mandatory minicamp nobody was sure what was going on. Nobody from the Ravens organization, including Dobbins, explained anything.
When Dobbins reported for training camp, but only to sit in the stands without practicing, nobody was sure what was going on. The team listed Dobbins in the PUP list, of course, but nobody really believed Dobbins was injured. Again, nobody had an explanation nor commented on it.
Nearly two weeks ago, after one of the first training camp practices, Harbaugh finally told reporters that Dobbins’ absence had “some complexity to it.” And of course, we posed three very serious questions about Dobbins and his "injury" back then.
On Wednesday, Dobbins finally spoke and said that it was "super tough" to sit out the first two weeks of training camp while reasoning that he did so because he "was just being cautious." Allow me not to believe that, please.
Dobbins tried to explain the unexplainable (h/t Ryan Mink of BaltimoreRavens.com) by saying "My teammates need me, so I want to be there for my teammates," although he clearly was not there for the first 14 practices and it never felt like he intended to come back from his hold-in until he finally came to his senses.
To his senses, of course, because there is absolutely nothing forcing Baltimore to extend Dobbins now as he still has one year on his deal, nor at the end of the season if he doesn't prove he's worth an extension.