Baltimore’s defensive front spent Friday making life miserable for the offense, and Anthony Weaver had every reason to leave practice smiling.
The Ravens finished the session with four straight red zone stops, and the final snap turned into an interception by second-year safety Malaki Starks. That pick forced the offense to do push-ups before heading into The Castle, a fitting ending to a day when the defense kept winning the last word.
The pressure started up front and never really let up. Trey Hendrickson has already found success against left tackle Ronnie Stanley a number of times to open camp, continuing a trend from his time as a Bengal. On the other side, Mike Green has been giving right tackle Roger Rosengarten trouble, while Tavius Robinson has been disruptive from several alignments across the defensive line.
There was more than just the established names getting in on it. Undrafted rookie Ethan Burke flashed on Friday, pairing with UDFA defensive tackle Aaron Graves for consecutive pressures.
One of them came on a well-timed stunt/loop that sent Burke straight into the quarterback’s lap. At 6-foot-6 and 257 pounds, the Texas product is a high-cut rusher, but he moves fluidly and bends better than you’d expect.
He looks like a legitimate dark horse for the fifth edge spot.
And the Ravens have been doing all of this without Nnamdi Madubuike, Travis Jones, and Calais Campbell, their top three interior rushers. Weaver made it clear he likes where this is headed once those pieces are back in the mix.
“You do not have to try to scheme up free runners or things like that,” he said. “You can use the complexity of illusion to let those guys go win.”
That’s the kind of setup Weaver seems to be building: cleaner responsibilities off the edge, more line games inside, and a pass rush that can get home with four while keeping extra help in coverage. It’s the kind of fit that makes sense when the head coach comes from the secondary and the defensive coordinator has spent more than 20 years playing and coaching along the defensive line.
In Other News...
Mike Locksley Sounds Off On NFL Coaching Problem That Wont Go Away
During the 2024 season, the Big Ten featured five minority head football coaches, but the number has since shrunk in a way that has become all too familiar across college football and the NFL. For Maryland coach Mike Locksley, who remains the lone Black head coach in both the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference, the decline is more than a talking point. It is a reminder of how quickly visibility can fade, even after years of discussion about broader access and opportunity in the profession.
Locksley has been among the coaches trying to push that conversation forward through the National Coalition of Minority Football Coaches, which aims to promote qualified minority candidates and keep them in front of decision-makers. His frustration also lands in the same space as long-running questions about the NFLs Rooney Rule, which was designed to improve hiring opportunities but still faces criticism as minority coaches continue to struggle to land head coaching jobs. [Read more 🡒]
Ravens Camp Is Raising One Early Concern Fans Cant Ignore
Through three training camp practices in Owings Mills, the Ravens have already shown the kind of early shape that tends to matter in late July: a defense that looks lively and a passing game still working through some timing issues. Malaki Starks turned in one of the days biggest defensive moments, while Lamar Jackson had a deep throw sail short, a reminder that even for a veteran quarterback, camp can be about re-establishing rhythm as much as showing off talent.
There were other signs of a roster beginning to settle, from injured players returning off the physically unable to perform list to pay cuts for Broderick Washington and Andrew Vorhees. Trey Hendrickson and Keyon Martin also drew attention, and the coaching side has its own moving parts with Declan Doyle experimenting with where hell handle play-calling. For a team built to contend, those are all worth watching, but the bigger early question is whether the offensive unevenness is just camp rust or the first clue to something fans will keep seeing. [Read more 🡒]