OWINGS MILLS — The bad news is that Ravens cornerback Arthur Maulet will be sidelined for a while because of a knee procedure.
The good news is the injury will not end his season, according to coach John Harbaugh.
Maulet has been one of the team’s most impressive players during training camp. Last week, he made interceptions on three consecutive days.
“He’s going to have a [knee] scope surgery and a cleanup-type situation, and it’ll keep him out for a little while, but not long term by any stretch,” Harbaugh said. “We’ll revisit it as we get close to the start of the season to talk about it.”
Maulet, 31, became a valuable player in the Ravens’ defense last season, especially when Marlon Humphrey was sidelined with an injury. Maulet had 37 tackles, 1 interception, 5 passes defensed, 2 sacks, 5 tackles for loss, and 2 fumble recoveries in 14 games, including three starts.
That performance led the Ravens to re-sign him on a two-year, $4 million deal in March. Maulet said that he wanted to return to Baltimore and did not test the free-agent market.
“I didn’t want to go anywhere. I love it here – this is like a second home to me,” Maulet said. “I want to end my career here. I just want to prove every day that I’m worth their investment, like I said, [and] keep grinding away and getting better every day.”
Maulet has been especially effective at slot cornerback. In Maulet’s absence, Ar’Darius Washington and Pepe Williams could step into that role.
Lamar Jackson will not play: Harbaugh confirmed that quarterback Lamar Jackson will not play in the preseason game on Friday against the Philadelphia Eagles. Backup Josh Johnson will see some action.
Self-disciplinary action: Each time a Ravens offensive player jumps offside during training camp, he does a lap around the field, but Harbaugh said that it is not a team rule. Rather, the discipline was imposed by the players.
“I’m not enforcing it, just to be clear,” Harbaugh said. “The offense is enforcing it – they decided to do that, which I thought was pretty cool. I was not disappointed to see that. It’s a good impact. Anything that makes you intentional about what you’re trying to do – it gets you focused on it. We’ll always mark off the penalty, that’s another way to get the attention of the guys, just to realize that it’s of the utmost importance to be [as] perfect as we can be, which you can be pretty darn perfect pre-snap. We’re always chasing that kind of perfection.”
