Blog

Aug 24, 2023

Ravens TE Mark Andrews: First Joint Practice With Commanders Competitive, Chippy

OWINGS MILLS, MD. — Odell Beckham Jr. cut to the outside, extended his right arm and made a diving catch in front of Washington cornerback Kendall Fuller. On an adjacent field, Ravens cornerback

OWINGS MILLS, MD. — Odell Beckham Jr. cut to the outside, extended his right arm and made a diving catch in front of Washington cornerback Kendall Fuller. On an adjacent field, Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey squared off against top Washington receiver Terry McLaurin.

Ravens veterans such as Beckham and Humphrey are expected to play little, if at all, in the team’s three preseason games, so the joint practices the team is holding with the Washington Commanders is as close to preseason game action as they will likely get.

The teams practiced for two hours on Aug. 15 at the Ravens Under Armour Performance Center here and will be back on the field for another joint practice Aug. 16 in advance of their preseason game at FedEx Field on Aug. 21.

“I think for a lot guys, me, Roquan [Smith], Marcus [Williams], we’re kind of taking these days as they are our two preseason games,” Humphrey said. “Don’t know how much preseason action we’ll see, but I think joint practices, it’s some of the best you can really get.”

The teams spread out across three fields for the two-hour practice, with the Ravens’ offense facing off against the Commanders’ defense and vice versa in various 7-on-7 and full-team periods. Though players from both teams had met a night earlier to go over procedures and parameters, a few scuffles broke out as the intensity ramped up.

After Ravens receiver Tylan Wallace caught a pass and the play appeared to be over, Commanders rookie cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr. tried to punch the ball out. Wallace took exception and the players exchanged shoves. As other players converged, Ravens receiver Devin Duvernay horse-collared Forbes and threw him down.

On the next play, Ravens tight end Mark Andrews was taken to the ground, he got up and body-slammed Commanders cornerback Danny Johnson. Another scrum ensued, with Morgan Moses coming in and giving a healthy shove to one Commanders player.

At that point, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh called players from both teams together and settled things down. The period continued, but tensions were still high. At one point, Andrews caught a pass and spun the ball in the direction of Forbes. He looked as if he were going to throw the ball at Andrews but decided against it, and Andrews jawed at him all the way off the field.

Andrews after practice downplayed the skirmish, saying, “We want to be competitive and play inside the rules, and I thought today was a good day. Obviously, a lot of competitiveness, a lot of chippiness, but [I have] a lot respect for the [Washington] organization and what they stand for.”

Meanwhile, on the field where the Ravens’ defense was playing, Ravens defensive back Ar’Darius Washington drove Commanders tight end Cole Turner out of bounds at the end of an incompletion, leading to pushing and shoving.

Harbaugh said such skirmishes in the heat of competition were “not really unexpected. I thought they got handled pretty quickly. We called the guys up there on our field … and Ron [Rivera] talked to their guys. After that, it was calmed down, so I felt good about that.”

Harbaugh stayed with the Ravens’ offense throughout the day as he got his first extended look at Todd Monken’s starting offense against other competition.

Granted, it was still an incomplete look; running back J.K. Dobbins and wide receiver Rashod Bateman did not take part in full-team drills as they continue to ramp up from injuries that sidelined them for the first part of training camp. Left tackle Ronnie Stanley missed his second straight practice, and Harbaugh said the team is limiting his workload right now to protect his surgically repaired ankle.

On the field, quarterback Lamar Jackson was sharp on short and intermediate routes in full-team drills, but he misfired on several deep balls. During one 7-on-7 period, Jackson made a pretty throw on a wheel route to running back Justice Hill for a long gain. But he then underthrew Beckham on a deep pass, with the ball glancing off Forbes. Jackson had Zay Flowers and Mark Andrews open deep but overthrew them on two other plays.

As he’s done all summer, Flowers proved to be a handful in 1-on-1 drills. On the first rep of the period, he got a step behind Forbes on a go route and hauled in a long gain. Later, Flowers stopped hard and cut inside, gaining separation from Commanders cornerback Jartavius Martin, who slipped once Flowers made his cut. Flowers drew big cheers from the Ravens fans nearby as he made the catch and then juked Martin again.

“He showed me he can do it against anybody else, not just our team,” Jackson said. “He was making some crazy moves, great route-running, great in and out of his cuts, and he was catching the ball. So he was looking pretty good out there.”

HUNTLEY, LIKELY, CORNERBACKS REMAIN SIDELINED: In addition to Ronnie Stanley (ankle), quarterback Tyler Huntley (hamstring) and tight end Isaiah Likely missed practice. Huntley did some conditioning work with quarterbacks before practice began, and Likely was on the field out of uniform. He was shaken in up in the Ravens’ preseason opener against Philadelphia on Aug. 12.

The Ravens were also without cornerbacks Rock Ya-Sin, Jalyn Armour-Davis, Arthur Maulet and Damarion “Pepe” Williams, as well as rookie safety Jaquan Amos. Harbaugh said Williams is going to have a surgical procedure on his ankle and will miss the start of the season, but the other ailing cornerbacks are getting close to returning.

RICARD BACK AT FULLBACK: Patrick Ricard opened some eyes last week when he worked with the Ravens’ offensive line, but the four-time Pro Bowl fullback was back at his usual fullback spot against the Commanders. Harbaugh suggested the offensive line experiment might be over for now.

“I think he wanted to get a feel for some of those blocks,” Harbaugh said. “But it’s late in camp, and he came to me the other day and said, ‘Hey, I want to get back in there where I know what I’m doing.’ And maybe this is something for next year. So he’s back at fullback and tight end.”

Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox