Star quarterback Lamar Jackson wasn’t in attendance for the Ravens’ voluntary “football school” Wednesday at the team’s facility in Owings Mills. New offensive coordinator Todd Monken isn’t concerned.
“We’re excited about the guys that are here,” Monken said. “I know Lamar’s working hard.”
It’s been six days since Jackson signed a five-year extension reportedly worth $260 million that makes him the highest-paid player in the NFL annually. But he was hardly the only big name absent from the session.
Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., whom the Ravens signed to a one-year deal worth up to a reported $18 million last month, running backs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards and linebackers Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen were also among the notable players not in attendance.
When they will be is unknown, but the Ravens’ first practice during offseason team activities is May 22.
“I know the guys that aren’t here are working hard,” Monken said. “They’re pros. When they’re here, they’re here. We look forward to getting them here and getting them up to speed on what we’re doing offensively. That’s the biggest challenge.”
In the meantime, Monken said he’s been in “constant communication” with Jackson and Beckham and talking football with them.
“I do think we’ll be able to get those guys here hopefully in a short amount of time,” he said. “But until that happens, we’ll get up to speed with the guys we’ve got.”
One of those players Monken did have on Wednesday was wide receiver Devin Duvernay, who said that he’s back to running after undergoing season-ending foot surgery in December. He said he likes where he’s at physically and participated in the media viewing portion of practice.
He’s also excited about what will be a completely revamped offense under Monken. The Ravens and Greg Roman parted ways in January after mounting frustration over what devolved into a sputtering offense, particularly in the red zone and late in the season when Jackson was sidelined for the final six games because of a knee injury.
Duvernay, Beckham, a healthy Rashod Bateman and first-round draft pick Zay Flowers give the Ravens one of the league’s fastest receiving units. Last season, Ravens receivers were last in the NFL in yards by a wide margin.
“There’s a ton a different ways to stress the field,” Duvernay said. “We have a ton of different guys who can do a multitude of things.”
None more so than their dynamic 26-year-old quarterback.
Jackson’s 4,437 rushing yards over the first five years of his career are the most by a quarterback in NFL history. Twice he topped 1,000 rushing yards in a season, including in 2019 when he ran for 1,206 yards and seven touchdowns and threw for 3,127 yards and a league-high 36 touchdowns with just six interceptions on his way to being named the unanimous NFL Most Valuable Player.
For his career, Jackson has completed 63.7% of his passes for 12,209 yards and 101 touchdowns. But after missing 11 games over the past two seasons because of injuries, it’s possible that Jackson could perhaps run less under Monken.
“It goes back to the players that you have,” Monken said. “The more talented you are around your quarterback, the less he has to take on that burden because you’re excited about getting others the football.
“But he has a unique trait, a unique skill set. You can’t take that completely out of his toolbox, because that’s a huge weapon for him and for us, using his feet.”
Monken, who was the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2018, the Cleveland Browns in 2019 and two-time defending national champion Georgia, also said earlier this year that he plans to have the Ravens play at a faster pace.
The hope is that will lead to a much more explosive offense after the Ravens averaged 20.6 points per game in 2022, which ranked 19th in the league, just ahead of the Carolina Panthers. If nothing else, it should help Baltimore avoid having trouble getting the ball snapped before the play clock expires, something that plagued the team last season.
“Game dictates tempo, players dictate tempo,” said Monken, noting that the players who have been in attendance have only been on the field for about 10 days and that the game plan is in its infancy stage. “As we move forward, we’ll have a better idea where that presents itself for us.”
Especially once Jackson and the rest of the Ravens’ offense arrive.
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