Ravens Talk Across The Interwebs: September 6th

Kickoff for the 2022 NFL season is just one day away and it won’t be long before fans across the country will take to their televisions to watch “7 Hours of Commercial Free Football” every Sunday afternoon. Baltimore natives will likely be condemned to that fate this weekend, as the Ravens won’t host a game at M&T Bank until September 18th. However, in the meantime there is still plenty of news surrounding the team and their opening matchup in East Rutherford against the Jets.

Ravens RB J.K. Dobbins ‘hardly a sure thing’ for Week 1

Injuries plagued the Ravens running back room all of last season, and according to an article from Fansided’s Justin Fried on Sunday, they may continue to do so in the first few weeks of 2022. Gus Edwards has already been placed on the PUP list, meaning that he is not eligible to return until Week 4. In his absence, third-year back J.K. Dobbins was expected to take on a much larger role, but the lingering effects of an ACL tear he suffered last August have put that into question. Fried notes that Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic first reported that Dobbins may miss time over a week ago and head coach John Harbaugh’s recent comments did little to dispel those rumors. Even if he is good to go, Fried reports that Dobbins will likely be on a pitch count to ease him back into action. Fortunately, the Ravens should be prepared for all potential situations given their recent signings of veterans Mike Davis and Kenyan Drake. If Dobbins is out, Davis, who has been with the team throughout preseason, figures to take on the lead role with Drake filling in as needed. The Ravens saw mixed results when turning to veteran running backs Latavius Murray, Devonta Freeman, and Le’Veon Bell last season, so the front office will be hoping this year’s duo impresses out of the gate.

Why Russell Wilson’s contract extension is good news for Ravens, bad news for Lamar Jackson

Throughout the offseason, Ravens fans have been berating the front office for failing to address Lamar Jackson’s contract situation. The quarterback is entering the fifth and final year of his rookie deal and seems destined for a massive pay day. However, according to Joe Rivera of The Sporting News, the contract extension signed by Broncos quarterback Russel Wilson may not bode well for Jackson and his representatives. Wilson’s five-year deal was signed last Thursday and promised him $245 million with $165 million guaranteed. One would have to assume that the initial figure of nearly $50 million per year would be enough to sign Jackson, or any quarterback for that matter. However, Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer reported a few weeks ago that problems are arising in the form of the guaranteed money. Rivera notes that the fully-guaranteed deals given to Cleveland’s Deshaun Watson and Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins over the past few years set a precedent not many teams want to meet. However, Wilson’s deal, as well as the contract signed by Kyler Murray in July, have given the Ravens something to reference and leverage in negotiations. While many journalists have speculated that eventually a deal will come, Rivera seems less optimistic, also pointing out that Jackson recently took to twitter to deny a claim that he was offered $250 million guaranteed in a move that showed his displeasement with the Ravens front office.

Ravens getting healthier as opener approaches

Now that the bad news is out of the way, let’s get to some good news. According to Noah Trister of the Associated Press, the Ravens are finally getting healthy and it’s coming at the perfect time. Back on August 15th, cornerback Marcus Peters and the aforementioned Dobbins made their returns to practice, bringing optimism that they’d be back and seeing game action sooner rather than later. In addition, this week the Ravens welcomed former All-Pro tackle Ronnie Stanley back to practice for the first time since he underwent season-ending ankle surgery last October. Trister notes that this does not necessarily mean he will be ready to go on Sunday, but it opens the door for a return sometime within the next few weeks. Still less than a year removed from one of the most-injury riddled seasons of all-time, Ravens players and fans alike can rejoice at the idea of a nearly complete Week One roster. If all goes according to plan, Baltimore could be almost entirely back to full health by the time they take on the Jets on Sunday.

Ravens Have One of NFL’s Oldest Rosters

In an article published by Sports Illustrated, Todd Karpovich commented on a recent study done by Bill Speros of bookies.com that found that the Ravens have the eighth oldest roster in the NFL. This may come as a surprise to fans of the team considering that they selected 11 players in this year’s NFL draft, a number that was tied for the most selections in the league. All but one of those players made the roster so there’s no shortage of youth in Baltimore. In fact, add in undrafted free agent linebacker Josh Ross and it becomes likely that a fifth of the Ravens who suit up on game day will be rookies. And yet, thanks to veterans like Calais Campbell, Josh Bynes, Kevin Zeitler, and Justin Houston, the team’s average age comes in at 26 years, 10 months, and 20 days old. The league’s oldest team, the Las Vegas Raiders, come in at an average of almost seven months older than the Ravens, while the league’s youngest team, the Cleveland Browns, are on average almost a year and a half younger. The wealth of experience within the Ravens locker room, as well as the crop of young faces, should combine to create an intriguing dynamic this year.

2022 AFC win-total projections: Ravens win North; Patriots, Raiders, Steelers miss playoffs

Cynthia Frelund, one of NFL.com’s leading analysts, is well-known throughout the football community for her highly sophisticated algorithms that have yielded some unorthodox score predictions in recent years. This week, she used that same combination of matchups, rosters, and a whole lot of math to predict a ceiling, floor, and record for each NFL team and the results will be music to the ears of Ravens faithful. While she did have the team finishing 5th in the AFC, she projected that Baltimore will win 9.8 games and bring home the AFC North title for the first time since 2019. For comparison, she anticipates the Bengals will win 9.4 games while the Browns and Steelers will win 8.4 and 7.8 games respectively. With a ceiling of 11.4 wins and a floor of 7.8, the Ravens also possess one of the narrowest ranges of results in the league, indicating that Frelund thoroughly believes in the depth of their roster. She also expects Baltimore to become a bit more pass-happy this year, noting that in over 50% of simulations Lamar Jackson passes for over 3550 yards, something he has never come close to in years past. If Frelund’s projections come true, as they often do, Ravens fans could be in for a thrilling year.