The Ravens' 2018 preseason schedule has been announced, and there are some interesting wrinkles.
Here's the schedule:
- Thursday, Aug. 2 vs. Chicago Bears (Hall of Fame Game)
- Thursday, Aug. 9 vs. Los Angeles Rams
- Monday, Aug. 20 at Indianapolis Colts (ESPN)
- Date TBD at Miami Dolphins
- Thursday, Aug. 30 vs. Washington Redskins
As previously known, the Ravens will have five preseason games instead of four for the first time in franchise history because of the Hall of Fame Game.
The game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, will be played two days before linebacker Ray Lewis gets his gold jacket. It means the Ravens and Bears will kick off* *training camp a week earlier than the other 30 NFL teams.
Baltimore also has two nationally-televised games with the Hall of Fame Game and its third preseason game against the Colts.
Sandwiched between them is an interesting opponent. Typically, teams try to stay close to home during the preseason, but the Rams will fly all the way from Los Angeles to Baltimore for a preseason game.
It leads to questions about whether the Rams will spend extra time on the East Coast practicing against another team. Rams Head Coach Sean McVay previously coached for the Redskins, so he has ties to the area.
The last time the Ravens played a West Coast team in the preseason was in 2014 when Jim Harbaugh's 49ers came to Baltimore for several days of practice, capped by a game. The Ravens have made no such announcement this year with the Rams.
The Ravens will play their final three preseason games in a span of 11 days. The finale against the nearby Redskins could feature backup quarterback Robert Griffin III going against his former team, who drafted him No. 2 overall in 2012, for the first time in his career.
They will not face any of their preseason foes in the regular season, as they did last year with the Dolphins (wins both times).
Baltimore's regular-season schedule is expected to be released in the next couple weeks. The team's opponents and locations have already been determined, so it will feature dates and times.
Fans can purchase preseason tickets online at the NFL Ticket Exchange.
