Ranking Ravens’ biggest training camp storylines as veterans prepare to report

Boring is good, at least it is for an NFL organization this time of year.

The fewer juicy training camp storylines and the less intense the national media glare, the better. Anything that takes away from the ultimate goal of getting ready for the regular season is an unwanted distraction.

The Baltimore Ravens are poised to start training camp next week — their first full-team practice is Sunday — without any obvious distractions, just as general manager Eric DeCosta and coach John Harbaugh like it. There are no known contract disputes involving key players or speculation about holdouts or hold-ins. The overall health of the roster is good unless there have been recent setbacks that have yet to be revealed. There are few questions about a specific player’s readiness or mindset heading into the long grind of an NFL season.

That, however, doesn’t mean there aren’t some intriguing training camp storylines. From an evolving roster to a new-look coaching staff to the acclimation process of a big free-agent signing, it will be an interesting summer in Owings Mills, Md.

It’s time to rank the 10 biggest summer storylines, starting with the most significant:

1. How will Zach Orr adapt to a new job and new personnel?

Baltimore’s defensive coaches and players performed at an elite level last season. The Ravens had one of the top defenses in the league, and that group wasn’t the reason they came up short in the AFC championship loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The defections began just days after that defeat. Defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald became the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. Key assistants Anthony Weaver and Dennard Wilson left for promotions elsewhere.

Orr, a 32-year-old whose playing career ended prematurely because of a neck condition and who formerly was the team’s inside linebackers coach, was a relatively surprising choice to succeed Macdonald. He’s a natural leader with a ton of energy and charisma. He has the support of the locker room and is close with standouts Roquan Smith and Kyle Hamilton. He also understands the organization’s high defensive standard. Still, this is a major step up for a young coach who has never called plays.

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Orr’s challenge will be compounded by the losses of linebackers Jadeveon Clowney and Patrick Queen, and defensive backs Ronald Darby and Geno Stone. Orr and his staff have to make sure young players like outside linebackers Odafe Oweh and David Ojabo, inside linebacker Trenton Simpson and cornerback Nate Wiggins are ready to contribute immediately. Major scheme and philosophy changes aren’t expected, but Orr will add wrinkles and have his own play-calling ways.

Macdonald took his lumps early. The Ravens face the Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals within the first five weeks of the season, so Orr won’t have much of a grace period.

2. How will the offensive line take shape?

Harbaugh said at last month’s minicamp that the goal will be to have a general idea about the makeup of the offensive line by the second week of training camp. If Baltimore’s decision-makers don’t need to evaluate preseason game reps before making a call, it suggests that they already have a strong sense of how they want it to play out.

There are two certainties: veteran Ronnie Stanley will be at left tackle and Tyler Linderbaum at center. The offseason departures of starting guards Kevin Zeitler and John Simpson and right tackle Morgan Moses means there will be three new starters.

Andrew Vorhees, a seventh-round pick last year who redshirted his rookie season to rehab a knee injury, is the favorite to start at left guard. Rookie second-round pick Roger Rosengarten will get every opportunity to win the right tackle job, but if he doesn’t show the necessary progress throughout the summer, the Ravens could turn to one of three veterans: Patrick Mekari, Daniel Faalele or Josh Jones.

Right guard is the hardest position to call. Faalele is in that mix and Jones is a serviceable option if a younger guard doesn’t emerge. A 2023 sixth-round pick, Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu got first-team reps for a few weeks last summer but curiously didn’t enter a regular-season game. There’s also 2021 third-round pick Ben Cleveland, who has held his own in seven career starts but has seemingly never gained the trust of the coaching staff. The Ravens don’t have many position competitions this summer, so the offensive line will be the one to watch.

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3. What do Lamar Jackson, Todd Monken have in store in Year 2 together?

Monken will be in no rush to reveal any new changes before the regular season begins, and the odds of Jackson playing in the preseason probably aren’t great. However, Monken has already discussed giving Jackson more responsibility pre-snap — and Jackson spent the mandatory minicamp working on his cadence.

The big story at this time last year was what Baltimore’s offense would look like in Year 1 under Monken and how the newly extended Jackson would fare with a more balanced attack. Jackson went out and won his second league MVP award, and Monken directed an offense that stressed defenses in myriad ways. Jackson, however, didn’t play well in the loss to the Chiefs and Monken abandoned the team’s top-ranked rushing attack. Ultimately, Jackson and Monken won’t be able to fully silence the skeptics until the postseason, but both have plenty of work to do until then.

How much Monken will use “12 personnel” and have tight ends Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely on the field at the same time might be tough to gauge this summer. Jackson can show he’s improved his touch on the deep ball and has developed a better rapport with wide receiver Rashod Bateman.

4. How will Derrick Henry handle the learning curve?

Henry has been up front about the challenges of joining a new team after spending eight years in Tennessee. It goes beyond just learning a new offense. Henry has to adapt to a new city, new teammates and a new way of doing things. The acclimation process has gone smoothly so far, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t lingering questions.

Will the 30-year-old finally look impacted by the heavy workload he absorbed in Tennessee? Will he be as successful in a Ravens offense that operates heavily in the shotgun and utilizes run-pass option plays? How will Monken adjust formations and play calling to accommodate what Henry has done best throughout his career?

The transition of one of the NFL’s top offensive players into the league’s top rushing attack is sure to garner plenty of curiosity.

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5. Can the Ravens avoid any long-term injuries to key players?

All 32 teams in the NFL are asking themselves this question this time of year. Nobody is exempt from summer and preseason injuries. Teams just hope the injuries are limited to strains or slight pulls rather than full tears and breaks, and that the return timelines are measured in weeks and not months.

The Ravens have had better injury luck over the past two seasons after enduring a bad run on the health front. Their health situation is believed to be very good heading into camp. They know they won’t have running back Keaton Mitchell (knee) for the foreseeable future. A few other vets might not be full go right away, but with the regular-season opener more than six weeks down the road, there’s no rush. Otherwise, they’re expected to have most of their roster on the field for the first practice on July 21. The challenge will be making sure it stays that way.

6. What, if any, pieces will DeCosta bring in during camp?

On the eve of training camp last year, the Ravens signed slot cornerback Arthur Maulet. A few weeks later, they added Clowney and Darby. The final piece to the defensive puzzle was veteran linebacker Kyle Van Noy. All four were instrumental in the Ravens having arguably the top defense in the NFL.

Annually up against the salary cap, the Ravens have leaned on late offseason roster additions. Veterans, whose free-agent market hasn’t developed for whatever reason, are looking for work and willing to lower their asking price to join a team with Super Bowl aspirations. It’s been a nice recipe for DeCosta and company.

The Ravens still have areas where they could upgrade their depth with a quality veteran. Backup quarterback, wide receiver, guard and safety stand out.

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7. Is this the year for Bateman’s long-awaited breakout?

With a thin depth chart at receiver, the Ravens need it to be. They did several things this offseason to show their faith in Bateman, the 2021 first-round pick who has battled injuries and inconsistency. First and foremost, they didn’t use a significant asset at the receiver position despite losing both Odell Beckham Jr. and Devin Duvernay. Their biggest offseason wide receiver addition was Devontez Walker, a fourth-round pick who doesn’t immediately threaten Bateman’s status as the team’s No. 2 wideout behind Zay Flowers.

The Ravens also signed the 24-year-old Bateman to a contract extension at a time when he was rumored to be on the trade block. The most important development is that for the first time in his young career, Bateman didn’t have to spend his offseason rehabbing an injury. Things certainly appear to be falling into place, but the next step for Bateman will be having a healthy training camp and working on his connection with Jackson. He’ll be one of the most scrutinized Ravens this summer.

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8. Did the Ravens do enough at OLB to maintain their pass rush?

Clowney had 9 1/2 sacks last season, was a force against the run and was one of the most consistent and impactful Ravens. Yet, Baltimore didn’t make any moves to replace him after he signed with the Carolina Panthers — unless you think third-rounder Adisa Isaac, who strained his hamstring in the rookie minicamp and was sidelined for the rest of the offseason program, is ready to make an immediate impact.

To maintain a pass rush that resulted in a league-leading 60 sacks last year, the Ravens are depending heavily on the 33-year-old Van Noy repeating what he did in 2023 — his nine sacks were 2 1/2 more than his previous career high — and young pass rushers Oweh, Ojabo, Tavius Robinson, Malik Hamm and Isaac growing up fast.

It’s an understandable gamble. The Ravens simply didn’t have the cap space to add one of the top available edge rushers. However, it could easily blow up if Oweh is unable to build on his five sacks from last season and Ojabo continues to be slowed by injuries. The Ravens need two of their young outside linebackers to emerge as difference makers or adding a pass rusher will become a trade deadline priority for DeCosta.

9. Is there anything to worry about with Marlon Humphrey?

Humphrey was on the field sparingly during the various offseason workouts, and when he was visible, it was mostly on a side field working with a member of the team’s strength and conditioning staff. Asked about Humphrey, Harbaugh said the cornerback is dealing with “nagging things” and should be ready for camp.

With the drafting of Wiggins and T.J. Tampa, the re-signing of Maulet and Brandon Stephens’ emergence last season, the Ravens have assembled cornerback depth. However, they’re at their best with Humphrey on the field, getting his hands on receivers, using his physicality near the line of scrimmage and punching footballs out of opponents’ hands. The Ravens need that version of Humphrey, not the one who has missed a chunk of two of the past three seasons and made fewer game-changing plays.

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10. How will the new kickoff rules impact decision-making, roster construction?

The Ravens have spent a lot of time studying the new kickoff rules and figuring out the best way to approach them. The experimentation will continue through the preseason.

All indications are they’ll continue to use Justin Tucker to kick off. Some teams have discussed having another player doing the kicking amid new rules that will lead to more returns and presumably put kickers in positions where they’ll have to tackle more. Harbaugh also said the Ravens will continue to have their natural returners back to field kickoffs, rather than using bigger, more physical players to try to exploit the new rules that will lead to less space and a smaller runway for returners.

What isn’t as clear is whether the new rules will prompt Baltimore to readjust its plan for its final few roster spots. The Ravens traditionally reserve those spots for special teams. However, with less distance to travel to cover kicks, they might want to keep a few bigger guys around — like linebackers or safeties — with good short-area quickness.

(Photo of Todd Monken and Lamar Jackson: Nick Cammett / Diamond Images via Getty Images)