BALTIMORE — Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, running back Derrick Henry and safety Kyle Hamilton are expected to be among the inactives for the Ravens’ first preseason game against the visiting Philadelphia Eagles on Friday night.
The Eagles are going to play some of the starters for a series or two, according to Jeff McLane, of the Philadelphia Inquirer. However, backup quarterback Kenny Pickett got the start over the starter Jalen Hurts.
It was a still a good test for some of the younger Ravens who are making their NFL debut, including cornerback Nate Wiggins, the team’s first-round pick in this year’s NFL draft.
The Ravens’ most intriguing storyline is the offensive line, which will have three new starters.
There is competition between Josh Jones and Andrew Vorhees at left guard. Ben Cleveland and Sala Aumavae-Laulu are competing at right guard. Daniel Faalele, Pat Mekari, and rookie Roger Rosengarten are the top candidates to become the starter at right tackle. Faalele also could be the starter at one of the guard positions.
All of those players should see some action.
In addition, Justice Hill will be the main backup to Henry, and he could see limited action. That means rookie fifth-round pick Rasheen Ali, second-year player Owen Wright, and undrafted rookie Chris Collier will have a chance to showcase their skills to become the No. 3 running back.
This will be an important game for all of the players looking to show that they can be part of the 53-man roster or the practice squad.
“I think we’ll get a lot of questions answered in this game in terms of where everybody’s at at this time in a real game situation,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “Blocking, tackling, catching the ball, how we handle our assignments, things like that will be very interesting.”
Ravens first look at new kickoff rules: Harbaugh is hoping the Ravens can take advantage of the NFL’s new kickoff rules and create some big plays.
Among the changes are teams will kick off from their 35-yard line but now all the players on the kicking team besides the kicker will be lined up on the receiving team’s 40-yard line. For the receiving team, at least nine players will line up in the “setup zone,” an area between their 30- and 35-yard line. Two players can be back to return kicks.
“I’m hopeful that we come out here, and we act and look like we know what we’re doing,” Harbaugh told The Baltimore Sun. “We hope we coach it the right way, and we hope it’s an advantage for us the first part of the season. The first preseason game, all of the fans, we’re all going to be closely to see what it looks like.”
Underdogs? The Ravens are 2.5-point underdogs to the Eagles, according to the Action Network. It is the first time Baltimore has not been favored in a preseason game since 2018.
Other preseason notes
- The Ravens are 71-34 all-time in preseason play, posting a 44-14 preseason record under Harbaugh (2008-23).
- Baltimore is 37-15 in preseason home games, including a 23-5 mark at home under Harbaugh.
- The Ravens won 24 straight preseason games from 2015- 23, before falling, 29-28, at Washington (August 21st, 2023). The streak surpassed Vince Lombardi’s 1959-1962 Green Bay Packers record of 19 straight preseason wins.
- Baltimore outscored its opponent, 561-280 (+281) ,during the 24-game preseason winning streak, winning the turnover battle, 41-25 (+16).
- During the 24-game preseason winning streak, 14 quarterbacks threw passes for Baltimore, while 43 different Ravens reached the end zone.
