Early in 11-on-11 drills, quarterback Tyler Huntley fired a pass toward the right sideline as a wideout was coming back toward the ball. Cornerback Robert Longerbeam, who read the pass beautifully, knocked the ball away and got a rouse out of the Ravens' sideline.
That play set the tone for the rest of the afternoon.
While several quarterbacks and pass catchers had solid days, the defensive backs piled up pass breakups, especially during a seven-on-seven red zone drill:
- Safety Malaki Starks broke up a pass intended for tight end Mark Andrews during the seven-on-seven red zone drill.
- Not too long after, safety K'Von Wallace soared to break up a pass intended for tight end Josh Cuevas in the back right corner of the end zone.
- After being on the wrong end of a gnarly contested catch on Tuesday, cornerback Marquise Robinson got his get-back during 11-on-11, knocking away a deep ball down the left side intended for wide receiver Devontez Walker.
- The defense finished the day with a pass breakup in the red zone by undrafted rookie cornerback Lardarius Webb Jr., setting off a big celebration on the Ravens defense.
Here are other notes from Wednesday's practice:
- Head Coach Jesse Minter said the goal Wednesday was to get everybody through minicamp and the offseason program healthy. Mission accomplished. Minter said Tuesday that he expects everyone to be full-go for training camp, with Nnamdi Madubuike still a question mark.
- It wasn't just the defensive backs who logged pass breakups. Defensive linemen David Olajiga and C.J. Okoye knocked down throws at the line of scrimmage on consecutive plays during 11-on-11.
- Kicker Tyler Loop made all three field goal attempts from 28, 34 and 40 yards, respectively. The last one was a pressure kick: post-practice meetings would be cancelled for players if Loop made the 40-yarder. Plenty of arms and voices went high when Loop knocked it through.
- Jackson was sharp once again on Wednesday, making multiple nice throws, particularly on the move. Jackson also ripped a pass down the middle of the field to tight end Durham Smythe for a big gain.
- A kick return drill gave us the first glimpse of who might be returning kicks this season. The first tandem up was running back Rasheen Ali and wide receiver LaJohntay Wester, which made sense considering that they were the only two players who returned at least 10 kicks for the Ravens last season. Running back Adam Randall, wide receiver Dayton Wade and cornerback Matthew McDoom were also in the mix.
- Skylar Thompson connected with Wade on a perfect long pass down the right sideline through heavy coverage from Chandler Rivers. Jackson dapped up Thompson afterward. In the competition for No. 3 quarterback, Thompson has made strong case so far.
- Outside linebacker Trey Hendrickson and outside linebacker Kaimon Rucker each blew up a run play to the left.
- Wide receiver Cornelius Johnson made a couple of sliding catches during 11-on-11.
- Rookie wide receiver Ja'Kobi Lane showed his willingness to block when he took on burly outside linebacker and fellow rookie Zion Young. Young weighs nearly 80 pounds more, but Lane didn't back down and had an extended tussle with Young.
