Ravens observations: Lamar Jackson, Baltimore get better of Commanders in joint practice

Join the huddle. Sign up here for Ravens updates in your inbox.

The Ravens ended their final practice of training camp Wednesday with a dud. Then another.

The first: a fourth-and-6 floater from quarterback Lamar Jackson, looking for wide receiver LaJohntay Wester at the end of a red-zone period but instead finding Washington cornerback Mike Sainristil camping underneath the ball for an interception.

The second: a fourth-down floater from Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, looking for rookie wide receiver Antonio Williams under heavy pressure from the Ravens and finding him on a crosser for a pinpoint 30-yard score in Washington’s own red-zone period.

But the Ravens will care more about how they looked in the first 110 minutes of Wednesday’s two-hour practice than how they finished. If the third joint practice of the Ravens’ preseason was indeed coach Jesse Minter’s final look at how his starters measured up to another NFL team, he should enter Week 1 confident in the Ravens’ summertime superiority over at least their local rival. They were stifling on defense and balanced, if uneven, on offense.

“You can practice good on good, and I love the way our guys compete in practice,” said Minter, who’s again expected to rest most of his starters in Friday’s preseason finale against the Commanders at M&T Bank Stadium. The team’s initial 53-man roster will be finalized Sunday. “We practice at a high level and [are] physical and things like that. But, when you get a chance just to go against somebody else, it sort of gives your mind a little bit of that game mentality, getting ready to defend something, being able to look at tape and look at things. So I think we got a lot out of it.”

Jackson said he “absolutely” feels ready for the Ravens’ Sept. 13 season opener against the Indianapolis Colts.

“I feel like we play better against competition, because our guys [on defense], they see us each and every day, and they pretty much get familiar with our schemes and stuff like that,” he said. “But, going against another opponent, they don’t know what we can do.”

Jackson ‘dialing in’

Commanders defensive coordinator Daronte Jones, a Capitol Heights native and Morgan State graduate, comes from the Brian Flores tree. But Washington’s banged-up defense didn’t have quite the same bite that Flores’ Vikings did against Jackson in two joint practices last week.

Jackson enjoyed solid protection and unofficially finished 18-for-25 in team drills, including a 4-for-6 mark in seven-on-seven action to start the practice. The Ravens were missing Pro Bowl wide receiver Zay Flowers, who’s dealing with an apparently minor lower-body injury, but the Commanders were without defensive linemen Daron Payne and Jer’Zhan “Johnny” Newton, former Raven Odafe Oweh and fellow outside linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson, inside linebacker Jordan Magee and cornerback Trey Amos, all projected contributors.

Wide receiver Rashod Bateman featured prominently throughout most of practice. He easily won his three matchups in a one-on-one period with starting Commanders cornerback Amik Robertson and Sainristil. Later, in team drills, he had a likely touchdown in a red-zone period after uncovering over the middle, a deep catch on a play-action drop-back and solid gains on a pair of wide receiver screens. Bateman should’ve had another explosive play on a route down the left sideline, but Jackson’s pass arrived high and late and glanced off Bateman’s outstretched hands.

“You guys saw today what he is capable of,” Jackson said. “Guys go down, but Bateman always been Bateman. He is going to always snap, and that is my guy.”

Jackson’s passing diet was mostly short and intermediate throws, including several check-downs, but one of his rare deep forays was richly rewarded. In his second-to-last 11-on-11 period, he found wide receiver Devontez Walker on a crosser over the middle about 20 yards downfield. Walker made a leaping grab and quickly accelerated into space, taking off for a catch-and-run score of about 60 yards. Tight end Mark Andrews, rookie wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane and running back Justice Hill also had scores in red-zone periods.

Jackson’s low point came at the end of practice. The Ravens’ offense took over at the Commanders’ 25-yard line, needing a touchdown with 45 seconds left on the clock. But, after a scramble, a sack from an unblocked edge rusher and a check-down to Hill, the Ravens faced fourth-and-6. Jackson had Lane lined up to his left, but he went to Wester instead. The ball ended in the Commanders’ hands.

“I think Lamar’s done a great job,” Minter said of Jackson’s growth in coordinator Declan Doyle’s offense. “Obviously, it started all the way back in the spring. I think he really enjoys the offensive coaches, the offensive system, what they’re trying to do. He understands it all. He kind of sees the vision and sees what it can be. So now it’s just the daily process, daily work, to get the reps that you need to get, get the plays in, get comfortable with all the different things that we’re asking him to do.”

Said Jackson: “I feel like my guys progressed each and every week. We got better, dialing in and building chemistry.”

Rookie struggles

After practice, Jackson had lofty praise for Lane, saying the third-round pick can “catch the ball with the best of them” and comparing his hands to those of former Ravens Odell Beckham Jr. and DeAndre Hopkins.

But Lane had more downs than ups Wednesday. He struggled to separate in his first two one-on-one reps near the goal line, and on his third the pass was overthrown. In team drills, reserve Commanders cornerback Rasul Douglas broke up a jump-ball throw from quarterback Joe Fagnano to Lane.

A few plays earlier, reserve Commanders outside linebacker Javontae Jean-Baptiste blew up Lane’s block attempt on what appeared to be a designed outside run for Jackson, disrupting the rhythm of the play.

Extra points

• Kicker Tyler Loop went 5-for-7 in his only “live” period, making field goals from 45, 49 and 53 yards but missing wide right from 41 and 60 yards.
• Quarterback Tyler Huntley had an interception in seven-on-seven work, picked off by linebacker Kain Medrano.
• Wide receiver Elijah Sarratt didn’t have his best showing in one-on-ones, but he picked up his production in team drills, catching one pass from Jackson and a couple more for first downs from Huntley.
• The Ravens’ first-string offensive line and tight ends created a handful of promising running lanes. “I think Derrick [Henry] had some nice runs,” said Minter, who mainly focused on the defense. “I think we were able to get some good movement.”
• Undrafted rookie outside linebacker Ethan Burke took out three Commanders players on a physical kickoff coverage rep, leading to a disappointing return. Burke, in the mix for one of the Ravens’ final roster spots, took on more work with the Ravens’ “starting” special teams in Saturday’s preseason win over the Vikings.
• Along with Flowers, the Ravens were missing rookie outside linebacker Zion Young, inside linebackers Jamon Johnson and Carl Jones Jr., and cornerback Bilhal Kone. Minter said Flowers and Young are dealing with minor injuries but indicated they’ll be ready for Week 1. Kone, who left practice Monday and is on the roster bubble, is “dealing with something small,” Minter said. It’s unclear whether he’ll be available for Friday’s game.
• The Ravens, needing depth at inside linebacker for their preseason finale, signed Michael Barrett, who played for Minter at Michigan and was a seventh-round pick of the Carolina Panthers in 2024. In a corresponding move, the Ravens placed center Danny Pinter (knee) on injured reserve, ending his season. The Ravens also waived undrafted rookie inside linebacker Reid Williford with an injury settlement on Wednesday, according to the league’s transaction wire.

For coverage of Washington’s offensive line struggles Wednesday, read Commanders reporter Kevin Reynolds’ practice report.