OWINGS MILLS — Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey has heard the criticism about him slowing down after dealing with various injuries over the past season.
Humphrey has shown up to training camp slimmed down and in shape. He has worked closely with Ravens director of sports nutrition Sarah Snyder to have a better diet and weighs 190 pounds, compared to 200 pounds in the past few seasons.
“I slimmed down a little bit. It was kind of by design,” Humphrey said. “I looked at the past, I looked at my better seasons, and I was a little bit lighter those years, so I decided to get around a little bit lower of a weight. I’ve been feeling [and] moving pretty well at it, so we’ll kind of see how it wiggles around with training camp.”
Humphrey is off to a good start at this year’s training camp and has been one of the most dominant players on the defense. He has locked down wide receivers in coverage and knocked down several passes. Humphrey has played on the outside most of his career, but he is open to playing more nickel coverage and even safety in the future.
“I like playing nickel. [In] nickel, you kind of … I like hitting people, and you can get pretty aggressive at corner, but you just can’t get too aggressive,” he said. “The first time I ever played nickel was with [former defensive coordinator Don Martindale], and I think we had two … Our first two games, [there] was a top receiver at slot receiver, and he was like, ‘Why don’t you just match up and follow the guy in there?’ I wasn’t very comfortable with it, [and] I didn’t really want to do it, but I’m just a team guy, so I went with it, and then I really kind of started enjoying it. I made my first two Pro Bowls kind of predominantly playing inside there.”
Humphrey missed the beginning of the 2023 season with a foot injury. He also dealt with a calf injury that kept him out of the final four games. He returned for the AFC Championship Game but played just 13 snaps after missing the previous two games.
When healthy, Humphrey is one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL.
“Last year was a unique year. It was a lot of firsts,” Humphrey said, “I’m a mental guy, so I always go into any game thinking I’m ready to go. The first game [last year], I sprinted one time before I played in the first game, on that Friday, so there were a lot of things. Every time I thought I was pretty healthy, it seemed like I got hurt the next game.
“[I’m] not really making the excuses, but basically, what I’ve tried to do this offseason is to prepare a little better for even when you’re hurt, getting whatever … You’ve got to prepare for the worst.”
Since entering the NFL in 2017 as a first-round pick (16th overall) by the Ravens, Humphrey’s 71 passes defensed are the NFL’s sixth most, trailing only James Bradberry (89), Darius Slay (85), Marshon Lattimore (78), Jalen Ramsey (78) and Xavien Howard (77).
Humphrey is one of three players — James Bradberry and Marshon Lattimore — with at least 10 passes defensed each season from 2017-2021.
He is a three-time Pro Bowler (2019, 2020, and 2022), an Associated Press first-team All-Pro (2019) and Team MVP by Baltimore Media (2018).
Humphrey is looking to show that he can still play at a high level. His teammates are looking forward to him being in the lineup more consistently.
“I don’t think the Ravens are what the Ravens are right now without Marlon [Humphrey] the past eight years,” All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton said. “Losing a guy like that, in and out [of games] last year can be tough on a team, but for him it didn’t affect him at all in terms of his support for us. He was always there whether he was on the field or not, trying as much as he [could] to help – whether that’s making us laugh or actually helping with the coverage – I think he does a great job at both of those. Like I said, I’m excited for him to get back to who he is.”