HOT TAKES: Ravens Pre-Draft Ponderings

Ravens Practice Intensity Under John Harbaugh

Recently, Zay Flowers made an appearance on the podcast 4th & South, which features former NFL stars and LSU teammates Leonard Fournette and Jarvis Landry. During their conversation, the group discussed the nature of Ravens’ practices under head coach John Harbaugh. Zay highlighted the intensity of these sessions, particularly late in the season, suggesting that the demanding workload might contribute to injuries among players:

“Full pads all the time. We’re doing 1-on-1’s in Week 17. Week 17, we’re doing 1-on-1’s, everybody out there, we’re tired, we’re still going. The load was heavy.”

Zay Flowers believes John Harbaugh’s practices contributed to injuries:

“Full pads all the time. We’re doing 1-on-1′s in Week 17. Week 17, we’re doing 1-on-1′s, everybody out there, we’re tired, we’re still going. The load was heavy.”

(via @4thAndSouthPod) pic.twitter.com/gXprkS7JcW

— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) April 18, 2026

While concerns about practice intensity and injuries are valid, it is important to add context. According to Rotowire, there were 26 other NFL teams that had more man-games missed than the Ravens. For instance, Nnamdi Madubuike missed 15 games last season. That qualifies as 15 man-games missed. In total, the Ravens had 148 man-games missed in 2025. By comparison, the Arizona Cardinals led the league with 303 man-games missed, followed by the Detroit Lions with 274 and the Miami Dolphins with 265.

As for Zay Flowers himself, he has played in 50 out of a possible 51 regular season games since joining the Ravens, demonstrating notable durability.

John Harbaugh deserves criticism, and for the record, I’m glad that he’s gone. I’ve heard that many at The Castle feel the same. But Flowers’ bellyaching about practice represents unnecessary shade. Embrace the grind No. 4!

[Related Article: Another Ravens Mock Draft]

The Weakest Link

It’s no secret that the Ravens are bleeding at interior offensive line. It’s been that way for at least a full season, arguably more. And with the departure of Tyler Linderbaum, the problem has only worsened.

Meanwhile, AFC North opponents are strengthening their defensive trenches. The Bengals just added Dexter Lawrence to their defense to spin the turnstile that is the Ravens IOL. GM Eric DeCosta, a protégé of Ozzie Newsome, has long maintained that the Ravens stick to their board on draft weekend as opposed to reaching for need. Given their gaping wounds across the offensive line, the well-constructed board that represents 9 months in the making, might be ignored and force the Ravens to reach for bodies to keep their prized possession upright and off the injury report.

LJ’s Status

Speaking of which, a Lamar Jackson extension appears to be nowhere in sight. The Ravens restructured Lamar’s contract to create cap space and as of this writing, the Ravens have $29.5M in cap space available. Part of that cap space would be used to structure an extension for Lamar, so it stands to reason that the team’s recent inactivity in the free agent market despite a few glaring needs, is at least driven in part by the desire to get Jackson extended.

Cue of the crickets…

If an extension doesn’t happen, and the guess here is that more than ever Lamar has the team bankrupt of any negotiating leverage, is it fair to expect more of the same from the Ravens franchise quarterback in 2026? Will there be fewer practices attended in season; more MIA’s during OTAs; or worse – games missed?

If Lamar enters the 2026 regular season without an extension, what would be his motivation to sign one at all with free agency then, just a year away and no franchise tag to prevent it?

Perhaps the only thing that will stave off any of this heartburn is for the Ravens to give Lamar exactly what he wants.

Can you say, “fully guaranteed contract”?

Team Uniforms

The Ravens’ team uniforms remain a point of interest for fans and the team’s new game day threads have created quite a buzz. Critics claim that they don’t see much difference between the new and old. I get it, but the differences, while subtle, place a nice exclamation point on a collection of uniform ensembles that were already quite good. I particularly like the talon-esque piping down the sides of the pants, the wing tips on the collars and the changes to the purple helmet and the all-blacks.

Count me among the contingent that gives the new designs a big thumbs up.

That said, EDC still needs to fix the offensive line.

How we feeling Ravens Flock??? pic.twitter.com/gEATqSR5ht

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) April 17, 2026

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