Marlon Humphrey’s path back to form is starting to look a lot more believable.
The Ravens cornerback is coming off a brutal 2025 season, the kind that naturally raises alarms for a 30-year-old defensive back heading toward free agency in 2027. But in joint practices with the Minnesota Vikings, Humphrey has flashed the kind of play Baltimore has been waiting to see again.
On Wednesday, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic reported that Humphrey had two pass breakups against Justin Jefferson, and said it was Humphrey’s best practice of the summer. Zrebiec also noted that the Vikings had a hard time generating anything downfield against Baltimore’s defense.
Fun practice so far. Been mixed bag for Ravens offense.
A bit sloppy. Some quick completions but not much else.
Ravens defense is playing well. Marlon Humphrey has two PBUs in front of Jefferson. Robinson and Campbell have a sack.
- Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) August 19, 2026
Humphrey kept it going Thursday. In another joint practice, he and Nate Wiggins stopped Jefferson on consecutive red-zone 7-on-7 snaps, and Ryan Mink said Humphrey was “off to a good start again today” and had been one of Baltimore’s top performers across the joint practices.
Marlon Humphrey and Nate Wiggins denied Justin Jefferson on back-to-back plays in red zone 7-on-7.
Marlon is off to a good start again today and has been one of the Ravens’ top performers during joint practices overall.
- Ryan Mink (@ryanmink) August 20, 2026
That matters because the questions around Baltimore’s cornerback group are real, and Humphrey’s own 2025 season was ugly. He allowed the most yards in coverage in the NFL, and the Ravens gave up the third-most passing yards. The four interceptions he produced didn’t come close to offsetting how rough things looked in coverage.
Even so, there are reasons to think last year may have been the outlier. Humphrey dealt with multiple injuries, and Jesse Minter’s schemes along with a better pass rush could make his job easier. There’s also the reminder that in 2024, Humphrey was a First-Team All-Pro cornerback.
That’s why these practices against Jefferson carry some weight. If Humphrey gets back to anything close to his usual level, it would go a long way toward settling concerns about the Ravens’ secondary. Baltimore doesn’t necessarily need him to be an All-Pro again, but it does need him to be solid, and the defense would benefit from that in a hurry.
For the Ravens to hit their defensive ceiling, they’ll probably need either a breakout from Nate Wiggins or a rebound from Humphrey - preferably both. Right now, there’s at least some encouraging camp buzz around each possibility.
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