The Ravens will have season-long captains under Head Coach Jesse Minter, another change with the new coaching staff.
During John Harbaugh's tenure, the Ravens designated team captains on a game-by-game basis, swapping out players based on a variety of different factors.
This year, Ravens players voted on who they wanted as their season-long captains. The vote was Wednesday and those chosen were:
- QB Lamar Jackson
- ILB Roquan Smith
- S Kyle Hamilton
- DL Calais Campbell
- RB Derrick Henry
Minter said he's seen team captains work "all the different ways," but he explained why he wanted the same group for the entire season.
"I really just felt like we did have a pretty veteran team with what I felt like may be established leaders, and I want those guys to feel the responsibility of having a 'C' on their chest and being a team captain," Minter said.
The Ravens will also have a 10-member leadership team, comprised of the five team captains and five more veterans. They were next in line in the voting, Minter said.
- TE Mark Andrews
- WR Zay Flowers
- LS Nick Moore
- LT Ronnie Stanley
- OLB Trey Hendrickson
"You sort of just get a mixture of guys. Sometimes when a guy has not been here long enough and everybody might not know him as well, but I kind of want the input of some of those guys," Minter said.
"It was a pretty clear indication that these 10 players overall have the respect of their teammates. We want them to be voices in the locker room. So, I think it was just a great opportunity to go beyond just five guys and really share the leadership and share the ownership of the team with those 10 guys."
Baltimore has a strong core of accomplished veterans, each leading in their unique way. A two-time MVP heading into his ninth season, Jackson has stepped into even more of a leadership position.
"He has been incredible," Minter said last week. "His demeanor [and] everything that he has done this offseason has been incredible. The leader that he is â I think that sticks out the most â is just how composed [he is] and the way he is leading everybody on this team. It has been really awesome."
Henry is a consummate pro with a tireless work ethic, showing he can still play at an extremely high level at 32 years old. Smith and Hamilton have been two of the Ravens' defensive anchors and best in the league at their positions since joining forces in 2022. They have carried the torch on how to play defense up to Baltimore's high standard.
Campbell is the only team captain who wasn't with the Ravens last year, though he previously spent three years in Baltimore (2020-22). After going through his own family tragedy this offseason, Campbell has still been an outlet for teammates.
"Calais is a great player. He is a better person," General Manager Eric DeCosta said Wednesday. "He is amazing for everybody out here on the field â his leadership, his mentality every day. His humility is astounding to me, the way that he leads himself every single day, how he carries himself with his peers.
"This is a tough business. You have got whatever we have got â 70 guys out there every day that have their own things going on in their lives that you all do not even know about, in some cases I do not even know about, and Calais is the type of guy who can put those guys on his back and make them better. That is a force multiplier."
