When the Ravens open their preseason, quarterback Lamar Jackson will not be in the lineup.
Head Coach Jesse Minter confirmed that Jackson won't play when the Ravens host the Philadelphia Eagles at 7 p.m. on Saturday at M&T Bank Stadium. Minter plans to rest other starters as well, giving players battling to earn roster spots and playing time an opportunity to shine.
"Some established players (are) not playing in this first game," Minter said. "Good opportunity for a lot of the guys. It's an individual basis I would say based on the experience and how many snaps they've played."
Jackson has not played in a preseason game since 2021, and the Ravens have played few of their starters in recent preseasons.
The Ravens have scheduled three joint practices this preseason that will give starters an opportunity for reps against another team. Baltimore will travel to Minnesota next week for joint practices on Wednesday and Thursday prior to a preseason game on Aug. 22 against the Vikings. The Ravens will host the Washington Commanders in a joint practice on Aug. 26.
"We will have three joint practices which I view in a high regard the work we'll be able to get there in a more controlled environment for specific positions, especially," Minter said.
Minter Provides an Update on Teddye Buchanan
Inside linebacker Teddye Buchanan, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in mid-December, is making strides toward returning to practice.
Buchanan has been on the PUP list since the beginning of training camp. He won a starting job in his rookie season last year and finished with 93 tackles, five tackles for loss, and a forced fumble in 13 games.
Minter likes how Buchanan's rehab is coming along and did not rule out his availability for the regular season opener.
"The next week or two I think he'll be making some real progress," Minter said. "We'll start to look out there and have all the guys that might be available on Sept. 13.
"This dude has been incredible on how he's attacked coming off the injury. It's our job to make sure that when we put him into a football environment that he's ready, that he doesn't have any setbacks."
Minter Looks Forward to Getting Reps As Head Coach/Play Caller
Minter will be calling the defensive plays as a head coach for the first time. He was a successful play caller as a coordinator in the NFL and in college.
However, Minter is using the preseason to help him prepare for the responsibility of being both a head coach and play caller.
"I think the prep is — No. 1 — you're definitely trying to look at all three phases initially and try to be able to give some value to all three phases," Minter said.
"You want to be able to help them come up with answers on gameday. So, I am looking forward to the game as a real opportunity for me to see what that's like. I haven't been able to do that in practice — you try to simulate it — but there's nothing better than actually doing it. So, again, just like all of us, it's a great opportunity to kind of work our whole operation and see how it goes."
Minter Is Still Mulling Who Will Throw the Challenge Flag
For the first time this season, NFL head coaches will be able to designate an assistant to handle the task of throwing the red flag to challenge a call through instant replay.
Since the current instant replay rule was put in place in 1999, only the head coach was allowed to throw the flag to challenge a disputed call. But the league recently tweaked the language in the rule book, allowing that task to be delegated.
Minter will use the preseason to decide if he will throw the challenge flag or designate that responsibility to someone on his staff.
"I have actually been putting a lot of thought into that," Minter said. "I'm not quite sure of the final answer, final verdict there.
"That's certainly something to think about — it could be helpful in certain situations, potentially. We'll figure that out as we get closer to the game. I may try it a couple different ways, even in the preseason, and see what gives us the best opportunity as a team."
