OWINGS MILLS, Md. — There are only two players on the Ravens roster that have been in Baltimore longer than Marlon Humphrey. When gauging his team’s personnel moves made in the off-season the cornerback believes 2023 will be his best chance yet to capture the ultimate prize.
"It felt more than ever we put a roster together that should be able to compete for a Super Bowl," said Humphrey following Thursday's final practice of minicamp. "You pay the best quarterback in the league. You pay Odell [Beckham Jr.]. You put all these pieces together. The talent is there. It’s just putting it all together."
That begins to take shape in just six short weeks when training camp starts. As his teammates embark on their final vacation before camp, he had one parting message for them.
"To win a Super Bowl you have to put a lot of time and effort in. While we got in some good work - OTA’s, minicamp - you got this big break, whether it’s you want to hang out with your dog a lot, want to hang out with your girl a lot, want to hang out with this, try to do as much of that as you can because when we come back we want everybody to be putting in as much time into football as you can."
Spoken like a true vet. Humphrey is heading into his seventh NFL season, all spent with the Ravens.
The head coach’s message as his players skedaddle:
"I just said preparation pays off. We reap what we sow. Let’s make the most of the next few weeks and be ready to roll," said John Harbaugh.
Taking part in this week’s mandatory minicamp was right guard Kevin Zeitler. He skipped the voluntary portion of the off-season as he heads into the final year of his contract. He made it known he wants to remain a Raven.
"When you are in a place this good you’d love to finish out your career here. I have no intention of stopping any time soon."
As for a couple of Zeitler’s offensive teammates, Harbaugh said fullback Patrick Ricard will have to start training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list following hip surgery.
He also said he expected running back J.K. Dobbins to practice this week but “it wasn’t in the cards, apparently”. Dobbins is entering the final year of his rookie deal. He missed all of voluntary organized team activities before reporting to mandatory minicamp but not taking the field.
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