John Harbaugh provides update on absent Ravens wide receiver

The Baltimore Ravens held their final practice of the week on Saturday inside M&T Bank Stadium but they had to run drills without a member of their starting offensive lineup for the second straight day.

With all members of the Flock Nation hitting the field at the same time, there was a notable absence for the second time since already missing practice Friday: rookie WR Zay Flowers.

The freshman, who has thrived at different portions of the preseason while showcasing his first-round-worth talents, was out of commission on Saturday with no official explanation arriving on Friday when he already was nowhere to be found.

Speaking after Saturday's practice, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh confirmed the previously reported rumors and relieved antsy fans by letting them know Flowers' absence is only due to a stomach bug.

"He's got an illness," Harbaugh said after the open practice, as quoted by The Baltimore Sun. "He had a stomach issue of some kind, so we kept him out the last couple of days. He should be back on Monday."

Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic echoed the news, adding that the Ravens are also expecting to have Damarion "Pepe" Williams back at the start of next week.

Even though Flowers didn't practice on Saturday with his teammates, he was marauding the field of M&T Stadium in clothes and wearing a mask. He was spotted "engaging in conversations with owner Steve Bisciotti, teammates, and coaches," although the Ravens didn't make him available to the media after practice, reports The Baltimore Sun.

Although he wasn't able to offer his own version of the situation, it was encouraging to see Flowers on the field already after not showing up at all for Day 3 of training camp on Friday.

It's also great news to know all of the issues he's going through are related to (we hope) minimal stomach problems causing him to feel uncomfortable on the field running plays at full speed.

With the Ravens taking Sunday off, it's reasonable to expect Flowers to be back training in full capacity come Monday and the first practice in full pads.

Flowers suffered a "tweak, soft-tissue thing," as described by Harbaugh earlier this offseason, but he proceeded to complete an extraordinary three-day run at the team's mandatory minicamp a few days later.

More Baltimore Ravens News